After the English Civil War and the so-called Glorious Revolution the upper classes of England were eager to restore order and put the poor well and truly underneath the heels of their sparkly boots.

The population of England was now at 6.5 million and the vast majority were poor people. The numbers scared the rich, they knew a revolt could easily destroy their comfortable bourgeois lifestyle and that would never do. The elite owned the land and they liked it like that, so they reasoned that harsh punishment would be the way forward as a deterrent.

Enter the Bloody Code.

Around this time in English history urbanization was in full flow with towns springing into life and spreading ever wider. It was a worrying time for the nobility, they reckoned an iron fist was the best way forward in dealing with the potential mob.

The rich also considered the poor to be lazy, greedy and sinful (no change there) and therefore had no sympathy for the potential suffering of the illiterate hordes. The minor things that had the death sentence attached were mental…

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