How did crime and punishment change in the early modern period, c.1500 to 1700?
The new crimes of the early modern period (vagabondage, witchcraft, smuggling and heresy), the continuing reliance on amateur law enforcement, the harsher and more public punishments, and the influence of religion and economic change.
A focused answer to the early modern section of the Eduqas Crime and Punishment thematic study, covering new crimes (vagabondage, witchcraft, smuggling, heresy), amateur law enforcement, harsher public punishments, and the influence of religion and economic change.
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What this dot point is asking
This dot point covers the early modern period of Eduqas's Component 2 thematic study. You need to explain the new crimes of the age (vagabondage, witchcraft, smuggling and heresy), the continuing reliance on amateur law enforcement, the harsher and more public punishments, and the influence of religion and economic change. As a thematic study, focus on change and continuity: what was new, and what stayed the same from the medieval period.
The new crimes of the early modern period
Vagabondage and economic change
Witchcraft and religious fear
Law enforcement and harsher punishment
Try this
Q1. Why were vagabonds treated as criminals in Tudor England? [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. Economic change (population growth, enclosure, unemployment and inflation) swelled the wandering poor, who were feared as "sturdy beggars" and a threat to order, so laws such as the 1547 Vagrancy Act punished them harshly.
Q2. Explain why witchcraft prosecutions rose sharply between about 1560 and 1660. [Short explanation]
- Cue. Religious upheaval after the Reformation heightened belief in the Devil, social stress (poverty, plague, suspicion of outsiders) fuelled blame, and the chaos of the Civil War let witch-finders such as Matthew Hopkins hunt witches, leading to many executions.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC Eduqas exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Eduqas C100 20184 marksDescribe two features of the treatment of witchcraft in the period c.1500 to 1700.Show worked answer →
The thematic-study describe question (4 marks, AO1). Reward two distinct, developed features, each with one supporting detail.
Feature one. Witchcraft was made a serious crime by law (for example the 1542 and later Witchcraft Acts), and accusations rose sharply, especially between about 1560 and 1660, driven by religious turmoil, poverty and fear.
Feature two. Prosecutions peaked during the chaos of the Civil War, when self-styled "witch-finders" such as Matthew Hopkins were paid to hunt witches in East Anglia in 1645 to 1647, leading to many executions.
Top marks. Two distinct features, each developed with precise detail.
Eduqas C100 20218 marksExplain why new crimes appeared in the period c.1500 to 1700.Show worked answer →
The thematic-study "explain why" question (8 marks, AO1 and AO2). Reward a developed analysis of two or three reasons, each with precise support.
Reason one. Religious change after the Reformation created new crimes: heresy (holding the "wrong" faith) was harshly punished as the official religion swung between Catholic and Protestant, and witchcraft fears were fuelled by religious turmoil.
Reason two. Economic and social change created vagabondage: rising population, enclosure, unemployment and inflation swelled the wandering poor, who were feared and treated as criminals (the "sturdy beggars").
Reason three. New taxes and trade made smuggling profitable and common, so a once-minor activity became a widespread crime that ordinary people often supported.
Top band. Connect each reason explicitly to why new crimes appeared, and finish with the most important factor.
Related dot points
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A focused answer to the modern section of the Eduqas Crime and Punishment thematic study, covering new crimes (cybercrime, motoring, terrorism), the transformation of policing by science and technology, the abolition of the death penalty in 1965, and the shift towards rehabilitation.
- The long-term patterns of change and continuity in law enforcement and punishment across the whole period, the factors that drove change (attitudes and religion, government, individuals, science and technology, and social and economic change), and how to compare across time.
A focused answer to change, continuity and the factors of change in the Eduqas Crime and Punishment thematic study, covering the long-term patterns in policing and punishment, the key factors driving change, and how to compare across the whole period.
- What the historic environment is and how it fits the thematic study, how a specific site illustrates crime and punishment, how to use physical features and specialist terminology, and how to answer the source and site questions on the paper.
A focused answer to the historic environment in the Eduqas Crime and Punishment thematic study, covering what it is, how a site illustrates crime and punishment, the use of physical features and specialist terminology, and how to answer the site and source questions.
Sources & how we know this
- WJEC Eduqas GCSE History (C100) specification — WJEC Eduqas (2016)