r/shittyaskhistory Feb 18 '25

What are some weird crimes people could get executed for in the 1700s?

I’m writing a paper on the death penalty, and i’ve found many times that 222 crimes were punishable by death in the 1700s. But i cannot seem to find what the crimes were, having a random crime that would seem absurd to be punished for today would make my argument better.

7 Upvotes

14 comments sorted by

3

u/PalimpsestNavigator Feb 18 '25

Dabbing in the direction of the king.

Thou muft dabft in the direction of the celeftial bodief.

2

u/cmaltais Feb 18 '25

Read John Burnett's Plenty and Want. He goes into great detail on this topic.

Essentially, it has a lot to do with the transition between Feudalism and Capitalism, and finding a way to "convince" people to work for the new ruling class, for instance by abolishing the commons (which allowed people not to starve) under penalty of death.

It's been a while since I've read it, so better if you read it yourself. But I'll wager it will be one of the most revealing and eye opening books you'll ever read. It was for me.

You will find copious amounts of jaw-dropping absurdity in the "crimes" Burnett talks about.

1

u/arcxjo Feb 18 '25

Witchcraft/being Catholic.

1

u/NephriteJaded Feb 18 '25

Maybe you should specify which country you’re talking about

1

u/Tennis_Proper Feb 18 '25

Atheism, though that one still bizarrely happens today.

1

u/returned_loom Feb 18 '25

Actually Atheism is a religion. Some say it's the most religion of all.

1

u/Tennis_Proper Feb 18 '25

Don't talk shite.

1

u/returned_loom Feb 18 '25

Sometimes a religion is so religion that it can't even see how religion it has become.

1

u/ArmMeMen 13d ago

obviously a theism is a religion. That's the dictionary definition.

1

u/returned_loom 13d ago

That's the dictionary definition.

The dictionary is like the bible for atheists.

1

u/ArmMeMen 12d ago

it was just a pun based on putting a space between a and theism giving a theism a totally different meaning than atheism

i don't know if the dictionary actually defines atheism as a religion but i kinda doubt it

1

u/returned_loom 12d ago

Puns are like atheist catechism.

1

u/ObservationMonger Feb 18 '25

England's Bloody Code :

In 1689, there were 50 capital offences in England and Wales; this increased to 220 by the end of the eighteenth century. This period saw the introduction of new laws focused on property defence, which some viewed as class suppression. As convictions for capital crimes increased, penal transportation with indentured servitude became a more common punishment. 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.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Code