Describe two features of the Bloody Code

Question (4 marks): Describe two features of the "Bloody Code" in eighteenth-century England.

Mark scheme (AO1, 4 marks): 1 mark per feature + 1 mark for detail.

• Expansion of capital crimes (1) — from c.50 in 1688 to c.222 by 1815, including theft of goods worth more than 12 pence and poaching (1).
• Public executions (1) — held at Tyburn (until 1783) and Newgate, intended as deterrent spectacle attracting large crowds (1).
• Use of pardons and transportation (1) — many capital sentences commuted to transportation to America (until 1776) or Australia (from 1787), reflecting reluctance of juries to convict (1).