Crime And Punishment In The 18th Century

Imagine watching a brand being burned into the side of someone’s face for stealing an apple. This is one of the many harsh punishments given in 18th century England. Crime was not taken lightly, and criminals were made sure to be punished. Compared to modern day England, punishments for any crime were unrelenting. These punishments were even made for the public to watch. In 18th century England, punishments were dictated based on the established laws, the gender of the accused, and how severe the crime.
To begin, the laws that are established determine whether a crime has been committed. One of the ways laws are enforced are by having constables. Constables were paid watchmen that patrolled the streets and reported any crime. Unfortunately, constables only patrolled in their spare time.In Matthew White’s article, “Crime and Punishment in Georgian Britain”, he mentions that every parish, which is a small district that has both a church and a pastor, required to have at least two constables.If a crime has been committed, the constables would report their findings to their pashish’s magistrate.
They were the ones responsible for keeping the peace in the parish that they belonged to and only dealt with political issues. They dealt with crimes without a jury, so whatever the punishment ended up being could be influenced purely by opinion. White also mentions “Courtrooms were sprinkled with herbs and scented flowers in order to prevent the spread of disease and to mask the smell of unwashed prisoners, while much of the courts’ daily business was conducted in Latin.” Magistrates were highly dominant people of the court, so they made sure the environment was always