Section C: Punishment in early modern England

Burning at the stake 

1. Heretics were punished by being ‘burned at the stake’.  

2. During the reign of Mary I, there were 283 executions for heresy (compared to 2 under Edward VI and 5 under Elizabeth I).  

Early prisons 

1. Prisons in this period were not considered a punishment in their own right, but rather a ‘holding area’ where people waited for trials.  

2. Conditions were very poor. Inmates had to pay prison wardens for food and other basics.  

3. They had no proper sanitation, and people often died of diseases like typhus.  

4. In 1556, a new type of prison, or ‘house of correction’ was opened, called Bridewell prison. It was used to punish people who had broken the law, and house poor children. Inmates were made to do ‘hard labour’. 

5. During the 17^th century, further similar prisons were opened around the country.  

Capital punishment and the ‘Bloody Code’ 

1. During the 17^th century, there was a harsh attitude to law-making that is sometimes called the ‘Bloody Code’.  

2. By 1688 there were 50 crimes that could be punished with the death penalty (called ‘capital crimes) 

3. These included relatively minor crimes like poaching rabbits or fish.  

4. As the penalties were so severed, a lot of pardons were given, which led to a confusing message.  

5. Pregnant were able to ‘plead for belly’, which meant escaping punishment until after the baby was born.  

6. By the 18^th century, even more crimes were made capital offences, and the weaknesses in the system became even more apparent.  

Transportation to North America 

1. This was introduced during the reign of James I, when North America was a new English colony.  

2. Prisoners would be used on the east coast of America for tough manual labour like clearing trees or doing farm work.  

3. If you were transported instead of being executed, you would serve 14 years. Lesser offences would typically be given a 7 year term.  

4. At the end of the term, prisoners would be free to return home in theory, but in reality would be unlikely to have the money to do so.  

5. An estimated 50,000-80,000 people were transported to America in the period up to c1770. This included some vagrant children.  

6. Transported children were called ‘duty boys’, although about a quarter of them were girls.  

Why was transportation introduced as a punishment? 

1. It was seen as an effective deterrent.  

2. It was seen as a potential route to rehabilitation – helping someone return to normal life and have a fresh start.  

3. England did not have an effective prison system.  

4. Convicts could be used to provide manpower for the permanent colonies the government wanted to establish in North America.