NCJ Number
99793
Date Published
1984
Length
25 pages
Annotation
The prevalence of violence in England's penal punishments, family discipline, conflict resolution, and recreation changed significantly after 1700, and institutional efforts to counter violence were prominent in the early decades of the 19th century.
Abstract
The role of violence in England in the 17th and 18th centuries is evident in the penal punishments, virtually all of which involved some form of physical assault on offenders. The public also participated in penal punishments by being allowed to whip prisoners carted through the streets and pilloried in public places. Domestic discipline was administered by physical abuse, and interpersonal conflicts were resolved through duels and fights. Sports and recreational events were also predominantly violent. In the 18th century, however, evidence indicates an effort by the criminal justice system to curtail violent resolutions of private conflicts. Public disapproval of wife-beating also increased, as did disapproval of wife-beating also increased, as did efforts to reduce violence in sports, recreation, and the treatment of animals. The criminal law itself was challenged in the second half of the 18th century as being cruel, inhumane, and ineffective in preventing crime. This included an increasing reluctance to use capital punishment for minor property offenses. Public whippings and the pillory were abolished. The English society that emerged in the 18th and early 19th centuries clearly desired a more ordered and humane society. 49 references.