HIS375H1

Crime and Punishment in the Early Modern World

What did it take to break the law in the period 1400-1800, and how were people prosecuted and punished when they did? We will review the kinds of crimes that triggered arrest, the different types of law codes in place and the importance of the revival of Roman law, ways of avoiding prosecution, the criminalization of “deviance”, judicial processes in colonization, and variations based on age and gender. We’ll also look at forms of punishment, including the varieties of corporal and capital punishment, the operation of prisons, the use of exile and transportation.