Lesson plan
Bloody Code
The "Bloody Code" was a series of laws in England, Wales and Ireland in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries which imposed the death penalty for a wide range of crimes, many of which would be considered minor by later standards. Between 1688 and 1820, the total number of capital crimes in England and Wales grew from about 50 to over 200. Most of the new statutes focused on the protection of property. The most significant component of the Bloody Code was the Black Act 1723, which was originally structured as short-term, emergency legislation but was later extended and expanded. Paradoxically, the total number of actual executions continued to decrease even as the total number of capital crimes increased. As capital punishment declined, penal transportation with indentured servitude became a more common sentence. In 1785, Australia was deemed suitable for transporting convicts, and over one-third of all criminals convicted between 1788 and 1867 were sent there. The Bloody Code listed 21 categories of capital crimes in the eighteenth century. By 1823, the Judgment of Death Act made the death penalty discretionary for most crimes, and by 1861, the number of capital offences had been reduced to five. The last execution in the United Kingdom took place in 1964, and the death penalty was abolished for various crimes in the following years.
Article summary
The "Bloody Code" was a series of laws in England, Wales and Ireland in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries which imposed the death penalty for a wide range of crimes, many of which would be considered minor by later standards. Between 1688 and 1820, the total number of capital crimes in England and Wales grew from about 50 to over 200. Most of the new statutes focused on the protection of property. The most significant component of the Bloody Code was the Black Act 1723, which was originally structured as short-term, emergency legislation but was later extended and expanded. Paradoxically, the total number of actual executions continued to decrease even as the total number of capital crimes increased. As capital punishment declined, penal transportation with indentured servitude became a more common sentence. In 1785, Australia was deemed suitable for transporting convicts, and over one-third of all criminals convicted between 1788 and 1867 were sent there. The Bloody Code listed 21 categories of capital crimes in the eighteenth century. By 1823, the Judgment of Death Act made the death penalty discretionary for most crimes, and by 1861, the number of capital offences had been reduced to five. The last execution in the United Kingdom took place in 1964, and the death penalty was abolished for various crimes in the following years.
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
No sources recorded.
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.