Early American Crime

Note: This post is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies. As stories of crime and criminals captured the attention of the eighteenth-century reading public and English jails continued to fill beyond capacity, the need to find a new form of institutionalized punishment grew. Citing the fact that current punishments had […]

Note: This post is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies. Richard Wood On February 11, 1718, Richard Wood wandered the Newgate Market at 10 o’clock at night, carefully studying the people around him. The often crowded market was located between the notorious Newgate Prison and St. Paul’s Cathedral, and it […]

Note: This post is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies. Government officials became increasingly alarmed by the rise in crime in early eighteenth century England, but its criminal justice system was woefully inadequate in stopping crime and in handling the number of criminals passing through its system. Law Enforcement Even […]