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“There were two somewhat distinct criminal underworlds in early modern England: That of wayfaring vagabonds and that of urban-based thieves.” Discuss
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"There were two somewhat distinct criminal underworlds in early modern England: That of wayfaring vagabonds and that of urban-based thieves." Discuss In early modern England there was clearly a problem with crime, although a lot of it was petty theft. There was also a fair amount of organised crime, the more serious mainly in urban areas. Historians have put the high rate of theft down to the " rhythms of the pre-industrial economy" 1 as many people could only be provided with employment for a couple of months in the harvest season and would struggle to find any employment in the non harvest months. These long periods of un-employment made unskilled labours of the working class population search for other means to supplement their income, many turned to petty theft or begging while a few opted for a life of crime and, some were urban based thieves others were wayfaring vagabonds...
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