King Charles I left us with some of the most intriguing questions of his period. In January 1649 Charles I was put on trial and found guilty of being a tyrant, a traitor, a murderer and a public enemy of England. He was sentenced to death and was executed on the 9th of February 1649. It has subsequently been debated whether or not this harsh sentence was justifiable. This sentence was most likely an unfair decision as there was no rule that could be found in all of English history that dealt with the trial of a monarch. Only those loyal to Olivier Cromwell (The leader opposing Charles I) were allowed to participate in the trial of the king, and even then only 26 of the 46 men voted in favour of the execution. Charles was schooled from birth, in divine right of kings, believing he was chosen by God to be king, and handing power to the parliament would be betraying God. Debatably the most unjust part of his trial was the fact that he was never found guilty of any particular crimes, instead he was found guilty of the damage cause by the two civil wars. King Charles I was the only m...
Thomas Cromwell Is known as the architect of the English Reformation and legal advisor to King Henry VIII. However not many historians look into the life of Thomas Cromwell. Cromwell is notorious with the English Reformation. Every source on Cromwell speaks a little on the man himself, they focus on the part he played in the Kings “great matter”. Thomas Cromwell was a self taught man and struggled for everything he had. Cromwell began his journey to the Kings court in the most modest of ways. He left home at age fifteen because of a dispute with his father. His life before the reformation helped shape his decisions and his actions. Yet very few historians spend any real time looking at whom and what led Thomas Cromwell to become the Kings
Criminals were not dealt with in private. They were displayed in towns and the middle of the marketplace for all the people to see. Many were witnessed by hundreds of people. Commoners treated punishment days as “exciting” days out("Elizabethan Crime and Punishment" 1). The crowds of people who gathered for the public punishments and executions could be considered twisted individuals. They relished these days. For example, theft resulted in public hanging for all of the people to watch. Often times crimes were falsely accused and the crowds knew it, but nothing could be done. Small crimes, such as stealing bird eggs would result in a death sentence. It was the terrible price starving people had to pay because the government made begging illegal("Elizabethan Crime and Punishment" 1). Many crimes resulted in brutal beatings. Beatings and executions were definitely not an issue, the only question was the type of beating a person would get or how they a would be executed("Elizabethan Crime and Punishment" 1). A lot of times the Upper class was exempt from punishment unless it was a serious crime. Unfortunately, the Commoners did not get that valuable treatment because they were almost always in trouble. With any evidence of relationships with evil spirits condemned a person to death by hanging, burning, or drowning. More punishments included: beheading, pressing, and the drunkard's cloak. The drunkard’s cloak was basically a big barrel
Passage Analysis - Act 5 Scene 1, lines 115-138. Shakespeare’s ‘King Henry IV Part I’ centres on a core theme: the conflict between order and disorder. Such conflict is brought to light by the use of many vehicles, including Hal’s inner conflict, the country’s political and social conflict, the conflict between the court world and the tavern world, and the conflicting moral values of characters from each of these worlds. This juxtaposition of certain values exists on many levels, and so is both a strikingly present and an underlying theme throughout the play.
Oliver Cromwell was a well known military dictator. He helped the Parliamentarians win the First Civil War and was named Lord Protector. He died in 1658 but many people still remember him as one of the best leaders in history although others believe he was a harsh tyrant and always wanted too much power for himself. Throughout the years, numerous historians have changed their views on whether he was a good leader or not. This work will look at three interpretations from different people on who Cromwell was and what he was like and compare them.
In the early hours of February 2, 1864, fifty-three North Carolina men were captured by Confederate forces under the command of Major General Pickett. Within four months of their capture, most would be dead. Most would fall victim to the diseases acquired in Southern P.O.W camps in Richmond, Virginia, and Andersonville, Georgia. However, twenty-two were publicly hanged in Kinston, North Carolina. The wives, neighbors, friends, and former brothers in arms in the Confederate army were forced to watch the executions. From the Confederacies point of view, the executed men were Union soldiers because they deserted. Once captured, they deserved to be treated as prisoners of war. President Abraham Lincoln mentioned this on July 31, 1863. He ordered retaliation on the enemy prisoners in the North’s possession. His response was to kill a Southern P.O.W for every P.O.W the Confederacy killed. The Confederates argued that the men were simply deserters and therefore execution was a legitimate punishment for them.
...epresents the religious significance behind the sentencing process as well; the cruel death sentencing was justified as an attack on the Christian faith as well as the civil order through which it is justified. England’s constant struggles with their enemies caused fear among all of its subjects, which resulted in conspiracy accusations, and hastened death sentencing without fair trials, with tangible evidence. All of the early law systems seemed as if they deemed its structure righteously advocated through the works of the Christian bible, and the Protestant ethics in maintaining social order.
There were 20 people executed in 2016 (“Executions By Year”). At first glance, this may seem like a fairly normal number that is close to the previous few years. However, when comparing this to the amount of people executed during the Elizabethan Era, it is a miniscule number. The exact number is unknown, but Queen Elizabeth I was said to have executed hundreds, or even thousands of people, just on her own. Just from these numbers alone, it is easy to tell that crimes committed and punishments received were extremely brutal compared to what we have today, and have impacted the way we deal with things.
American colonies were introduced to the practice of capital punishment, through European colonization. The offenses punishable by the death penalty in each colony varied from stealing, to denying the existence of God. Ceasre Beccaria’s 1776 essay, titled On Crimes and Punishment acted as the chief catalyst behind the abolition movement against the death penalty. In his essay, Beccaria asserted that the death penalty deprives men of life, true deterrence resulted from imprisoning criminals and using this as an example to show the value of freedom and laws, and that the death penalty be used only in cases of treason. Beccaris’s rationalism induced Thomas Jefferson to attempt the first reform effort in the United States of America. Jefferson proposed a bill to Virginia under which capital punishment was only applicable to murder and treason. Although the bill was defeated by a single vote, Jefferson’s hope for reform still persists through modern day reformists. Currently, the debate over capital punishment rages on with fervor on both ends. Those in favor of capital punishment find it necessary in deterring future murders, the right way of punishing murders, bringing closure to victims, and for making society feel safer. Although their argument seems sound, after scrutiny it can be asserted that it is in fact irrational. The death penalty is an improper way of punishing criminal as it is barbaric, immoral in taking life, and flawed.
The author Alden noman uses several poetic elements in his poem “The Execution”. The execution is a free verse poem this makes it more story-like as the poem has no rhyme or rhythm to it and the type of poem is narrative. The poem has 6 stanzas and 118 lines. There is alliteration, such as “we went” and “thought they”. The story is mostly the type of stanzas that contain 3 lines called tercet. Alden also uses symbolism in this poem take the reverend for example, who is a symbol of the church and the holy spirit, there is then the sheriff who represents the order of society and then there is the press who is the symbol of free speech. There is also imagery, but it's minor and that is “the lights were so bright”. There is also spondee in the
Charles V gained control of the Netherlands and many other countries when his father passed away. At the age of 16, his grandfather, Ferdinand II died, leaving Charles V as joint ruler of Castile and the full ruler of Aragon, Naples, and
In 1608 the case of Captain George Kendall became the first recorder Capital Punishment case in the colonies. Capital punishment has been a very controversial topic since the beginning of the 13 colonies. Capital Punishment is defined as the legally authorized killing of a subject as punishment for committing a crime, mostly involving a homicide. In the first couple of years that Capital Punishment was first used, the subject would be hung from a tree in a public viewing, but as laws changed it became a more private practice. Many people have issues with Capital punishment, while some people believe it is just. Lawyers have fought for many years for what they believe to be the injustice and immoral practice of killing a human being,
During Marvell's lifetime, many historical eents took place. King Charles was over thrown and beheaded all before Marvell was four. In 1660, Charles the Second was made king and under his reign, Oliver Cromwell was dug up and decapatated. The had his severed had placed on a pole and mounted over West Minister hall as caution to all the upcomming rebels("Andrew Marvell" 281).
In February, 1587, Queen Elizabeth had ordered her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scotts, to her execution to eliminate all possibilities of any threats to her throne. This event would reflect the relentless violence and unforgiving punishments of the judicial system in Elizabethan Era. Criminals during Queen Elizabeth’s reign in England, known as the Elizabethan Era, were subject to harsh, violent punishments for their crimes. England was separated into two social classes, which were the nobility, and the commoners. Within each class, the punishments were defined by the class and type of crime that had been committed. Under the Tudor rule, the punishments dating back to the middle ages were revived. Such gruesome punishments were carried out to strike fear into the hearts of the English citizens and lower crime rate. There were a wide range of crimes that a person could be prosecuted for, and even included the act of witchcraft and alchemy. Of course, today the American court system would find prosecutions of witchcraft and alchemy ridiculous. However, in the Elizabethan Era, people accused of even the most petty of crimes would be immediately placed in prison to await their sentences, often resulting in death. Public executions were a common practice, and were often a form of entertainment for a crowd of spectators. Often considered as the “Golden Age” in English history, England’s court systems became an essential part of society because cruel punishments were severe enough to strike fear into English citizens as well as demonstrating the influence and power of Queen Elizabeth’s rule.
When Shakespeare was born in 1564, Queen Elizabeth had taken power a mere 6 years prior, and her justice system was very different from ours. In this paper, I hope to explore some of the ways punishments were different, such as how many crimes had individual punishments, often times depending on how severe the crime was. I will also go in-depth to one of the most infamous cases of the medieval period.
Once the King of England, Scotland, as well as Ireland, and the second son of James VI and Anne of Denmark, King Charles I was born in Scotland on November 19,1600 and died January 30, 1649 by the hands of execution. Even at a young age King Charles was granted power as Duke of Albany at his own baptism. However he did not stop there soon after in 1605 he was proclaimed Duke of York. King Charles was not perfect though, from and early age he suffered from weak ankle joints which in return affected his physical growth. Not only was King Charles also suffering physically but mentally as well. He was very slow at learning how to speak as a child, however he would some day grow out of all of his small issues and become a powerful King. King Charles was not an only child, he was aided by his older brother and sister who played a huge part in his rise to power. However his power would soon be tested as he engaged in a power tug of war with the Parliament of England which sought out to change his royal ways in which he believed was his divine right.