Old Bailey - Bigamy

Old Bailey - Bigamy Analysis The main criminal court of London from the late 17th century to the early 20th century was known as the Old Bailey. Many of the proceedings of this court are available online, and provide an insight into the London justice system from the year 1674 until 1913. However, only the years 1674 through 1700 will be observed in this instance, and only for one observed offence (though there are many listed). These proceedings, as stated, can provide a glimpse into the lives of commoners accused of crimes and brought to trial for these actions. The observed offence for this instance is listed under “Sexual Offences,” and the subcategory is bigamy. Listed on the Old Bailey Online, there are a number of bigamy offences, and each year between 1674 and 1700 contain anywhere from one to five cases, which leads to the conclusion that the offence of bigamy is not related to any major events happening in this time frame, and that offenders commit this offence regardless of any national situation, as one might expect of most sexual crimes. Also of note is that in most cases, there does do not seem to be any overlap, as it does not appear that anyone is accused of bigamy more than once, as can be inferred from the offence itself (i.e. one charge of bigamy in and of itself can contain multiple instances, by being married to multiple people at once, so the offence is not all that repeatable). However, as will be explored below, there is at least one person who was charged twice for bigamy, with multiple sets of husbands each time. Of the numerous case results, several will be examined and analyzed herein. The first case occurred May 10, 1676, the defendant being a man who had for about five years last past or more…made it his business to ramble up and down most parts of England pretending himself a person of quality, and assuming the names of good families, and that he had a considerable Estate per Annum, though in Truth he was old sutor ultra