Elective History

Crime and Punishment

Crime and punishment throughout history

Use the steps below to help guide your research for this task and apply to your chosen topic area:

Browse eLibrary - as you do this, jot down any call numbers of interest as you may not find everything in one shelf location. For example, a search in the catalogue of the term 'Aztecs' shows books are located mainly in History at 972, however, books can also be found in World History at 909, in Myths & Legends at 299.792, and in World Religions at 291. (Note: some books have been set aside for this task. You might like to consult these first and then search the catalogue).
If you find a book of interest in eLibrary, click on the book's title to see the associated Subject Terms. These may connect you to other resources of interest in the collection as well as give you other search terms to consider when researching databases or the internet later.
Search the databases available through school. In particular, start with:
- EBSCOHost History Reference Centre
- EBSCOHost Secondary Explora
- You might also like to check the databases available through your local library.
You could also check Britannica Online Encyclopedia .
See the websites listed (see below) to see if there are any of interest.
Check the ClickView document for a range of videos on crime and punishment throughout history (see embedded Google Doc below).
Through the information and knowledge you gain from accessing the resources listed above, you will be able to construct a specific search to help you find relevant resources online. Write down your search terms before you go online. You could also try an alternative search engine to Google such as DuckDuckGo.

CURIO in the AMAZE Gallery at the State Library of NSW

Photo of convict manacles, possibly from Port Arthur, 1830-1848 (right). Read more here.
Photo of convict leg irons, possibly from Port Arthur, 1830-1848 (below). Read more here.

Hyde Park Barracks

Hyde Park Barracks - The World Heritage listed Hyde Park Barracks is one of the most significant convict sites in the world.
- Convict Sydney - a site rich with information about Sydney's convict past. Visit the site and view the diagram 'How Sydney saw its convicts: Production vs Punishment, and the information that follows.

Justice & Police Museum

- Underworld: Mugshots from the Roaring Twenties (explore this photographic exhibition documenting criminals in NSW between 1920-1930).
- Watch this short video introducing this exhibition on the dark side of the Roaring Twenties.
- Mugshots (browse this fascinating collection of high quality images exploring the past of criminals from the 1920s).

EBSCOHost Databases: History Reference Centre

Try searching 'crime and punishment' along with the area you are investigating. For example, 'crime and punishment' and 'medieval England' together.

The resources below provide examples of the diversity of relevant research available in the EBSCOHost History Reference Centre:

The Wages of Sin - Examines key issues relevant to social order and crime punishment. Overview of religious systems; ethics of right and wrong; nature of afterlife; direct intervention from God; promotion of social rules on religious grounds.
Violence and the law in medieval England - This article focuses on the brutality and cruel justice of violent crimes in the Middle Ages in Great Britain. It mentions that throughout the medieval period, there was demand for criminals to receive harsh punishment, and the monarch, in a role as a judge, was expected to employ whatever violence was necessary for social stability. It mentions that with the development of the legal system, emphasis was placed on the death penalty, and clemency meant commuting the death penalty to mutilation.
Less Crime, More Punishment: Violence, Race, and Criminal Justice in Early Twentieth-Century America - An essay is presented which discusses the relationship between American crime and punishment in the context of U.S. criminal justice administration during the Interwar Period of the 1920s and the 1930s, including crime in New Orleans, Louisiana, imprisonment, the racial aspects of crime and the association of crime with African Americans. An overview of violent crime rates in the U.S., including homicide, is provided.