Ludicrous crimes that would have gotten you hanged in 18th century England
Imagine being hanged for stealing a handkerchief, cutting down a tree and for blackening your face.
If you were living in England in the 18th century, you could be hanged for all these offences. From 1688 to 1815, law makers in England introduced the death penalty for a myriad of offences in a bid to deter property loss. Poaching of deer, stealing of rabbits, looting from shipwrecks, pickpocketing… every page of the statue book dripped with the threat of the hanging noose.
By 1800, there were over 220 property-related crimes in the English criminal law that were punishable by death. George Savile said “Men are not hanged for stealing horses, but that horses may not be stolen.”
Historians referred to this era of criminal law as the “Bloody Code”.
The Bloody Code
“Every page of our statue book book smelt of blood. We hanged for everything — for a shilling — for five shillings — for forty shillings — for five pounds! We hanged for a sheep — for a horse — for cattle — for coining — for forgery — even for witchcraft — for things that were…
