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Updated Mar 22, 2026

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Crime and Punishment in the Early Modern Period

Hope Yeghnazar

@hopeyeghnazar_ruqr

Exploring early modern crimes provides a fascinating window into societal... Show more

James 1

Mathew Hopkins and the witch hunts
1645-47

Roughly 1000 executed from 1542-1736

Stealing/ killing animals that were not from your

Early Modern Crimes

The early modern period introduced distinctive types of crimes that revealed much about the period's priorities and fears. Witchcraft became a serious concern during this time, with Mathew Hopkins leading infamous witch hunts from 1645-47. These hunts contributed to approximately 1000 executions between 1542-1736, showing how deeply supernatural fears affected justice.

Social crimes like poaching (stealing animals from another's property) were common offences that ordinary people might commit out of necessity. Meanwhile, heresy - crimes against the church or God - carried severe punishments, especially under Catholic Mary I who burned 283 Protestants, though this crime declined in significance after 1560.

The period also targeted the vulnerable through laws against vagabondage - homelessness and unemployment. These vagabonds typically included former soldiers, unemployed farm workers, women, children, and the elderly or sick. The 1547 Vagrancy Act was particularly harsh, demanding that able-bodied people without work be branded with a "V" and sold into slavery for two years.

Did you know? Smuggling wasn't just about pirates! Ordinary people smuggled luxury items like tea, alcohol and wool to avoid taxes, making it a common way of resisting economic control.

Other serious crimes included treason - acts against the monarch or government - which often connected to heresy charges as both represented challenges to established authority.

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549

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Updated Mar 22, 2026

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1 page

Crime and Punishment in the Early Modern Period

Hope Yeghnazar

@hopeyeghnazar_ruqr

Exploring early modern crimes provides a fascinating window into societal fears and legal systems of the past. From witch hunts to smuggling, this period saw unique criminal categories that reflected the economic, religious and social tensions of the time.

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Early Modern Crimes

Did you know? Smuggling wasn't just about pirates! Ordinary people smuggled luxury items like tea, alcohol and wool to avoid taxes, making it a common way of resisting economic control.

Other serious crimes included treason - acts against the monarch or government - which often connected to heresy charges as both represented challenges to established authority.