Making crime pay in late eighteenth-century Bristol: stolen goods, the informal economy and the negotiation of risk

an article by Matt Neale (Centre for Urban History, University of Leicester) published in Continuity and Change Volume 26 Issue 3 (December 2011)

Abstract

This article examines the many ways that stolen goods were sold and circulated in late eighteenth-century Bristol.

It argues that while historians have been correct to identify the contemporary importance of second-hand markets and the ‘informal economy’ to the sale of stolen property, some of the ways that stolen goods markets have been described and conceptualised are not fully supported by the evidence from Bristol.

This raises questions about the extent to which models of crime based on London can be applied to cities in provincial England. The article also examines the influence that timing, appearance and location had on the way that stolen goods were sold.

Hazel’s comment:
There was something a bit disconcerting about reading an article about Bristol 300 years ago and realising that in many ways so little has changed about society!

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