The bloody code
"Why did the Bloody Code last so long? By Justine Nathan "People who committed crimes were sinful, lazy or greedy and deserved no mercy" - Lord Chief Justice Edward Law (1802 - 1818) Criminal justice in the 18C was about accomplishing a sense of balance and order. Criminal justice reflected the social changes that were taking place in a period that was undergoing urbanisation and industrialisation. There was a great desire for continuity in the legal process dealing with criminal activity. There were no other types of punishments available at that time and during the early parts of the Bloody code transportation and imprisonment was not an alternative. The thought processes behind the action of hanging during the Bloody Code were that the harsher the punishment the ultimate result in the reduction of crime. Therefore acting as a deterrent. The hanging was performed as a sort of ritual ceremony in the presence of a priest (the upholder of the ultimate law - god) and large crowds. The death penalty clearly controlled the criminal and acted as a deterrent. However, it was obviously by nature steadfast and did not allow for reform of the offender or perfecting of mistakes that had been made. There was a lack of humanitarianism and a lack of civilisation in this era. It was seen as the crime merited punishment and terrible crime merited terrible punishment. Since the
Women in Maos China
Women in Mao's China- What was life like prior to 1949? Traditional views • China was a patriarchal (male dominated) society. • Obedience to authority was expected of all citizens. • This idea stemmed from Confucius. San gang • The three rules which brought about harmony according to Confucius. . Loyalty of ministers to the Emperor 2. Respect of children for their parents 3. Obedience of wives to their husbands What did this mean? • As daughters women owed obedience to their fathers. • As wives and widows they owed obedience to their husbands, eldest sons and even brothers-in-law. • It had become traditional for women to be discriminated against. Arranged marriages • Arranged marriages were common. • Families would pay a dowry to the man's family. • Rich men would also keep concubines as well as wives. Women's rights • Under the rule of warlords women were not given the right to vote. • The practise of foot binding was gradually beginning to disappear in the early 20th century. Early changes made by the Communists • In the 1930s the communists made it illegal to buy wives and outlawed arranged marriages. • (Mao had refused to go through with his own arranged marriage in 1914 which he later used as evidence for his dislike of a corrupt social system which used women as commodities). • Divorce was made easier. •
To what extent did WW1 cause the collapse of Tsarism?
The Tsarist state by 1914 was already considerably weak and did not survive after 1917. Without the assistance of World War 1, the Tsarist state would have been very likely to collapse either way. The personality of Nicholas was a downfall but more importantly, other factors such as the increasing population led to food shortages, terrible working conditions for the Russian people and lack of power of the army which introduced the Revolution of January 1905 which the Tsarist regime survived. However, the Revolution of 1917 was more successful in bringing an end to Tsarism. The death of Alexander III in 1894 led Nicholas II to inherit an Empire. This caused problems for the Tsars and due to his father's untimely death, he had not had the opportunity to train or gain experience for his political and imperial duties as an autocrat for Russia. Nicholas was weak willed, indecisive and his wife, Tsarina Alexandra, had a large impact on his decision making - not ideal for the autocrat who had all the power. It was even said by himself that he was not prepared or willing to become the next Tsar, 'I am not prepared to be Tsar. I never wanted to become one. I know nothing of the business of ruling. I have no idea of even how to talk to ministers.' Already, the Tsarist state was weak just as he was beginning to reign. 910 saw around 60,000 million more Russian citizens from 1890
