Punishment in World History (Themes in World History)

This book focuses on major changes in punishment patterns during the principal phases of world history, tracing continuities, reforms, and regional differences. Key passages analyze the reasons for changes and variations in definitions of cruelty and justice. Punishment in World History studies the official penalties enacted by governments throughout time, chronicling the limited courses of action in hunting and gathering civilizations, the array of punishments in early agricultural societies, and the various efforts to reform these patterns since the 17th and 18th centuries. The book also discusses community sanctions and disciplinary patterns applied to children. A secondary emphasis involves analyzing different regional traditions, including the impact of the principal religions, varying definitions of punishable crime, and, in the modern period, differing levels of reliance on physical punishments and imprisonment. The regional analysis also pays close attention to the effects of colonialism, imperialism, and the slave trade. Ending with an assessment of the contemporary period, the book considers the efforts to develop and apply global standards to punishment. With far-reaching coverage of a variety of human civilizations in history, this book is a core resource for students and scholars of the history of corrections, world history, and criminal justice. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Acknowledgments Chapter 1: Introduction Challenges in the History of Punishment Data Severity and Normalcy Social Structure Who Does the Punishing? Costs Emotions Historical and Comparative Perspective: The Basic Challenge Why do Societies Punish? Retributive Punishment Preventive Punishment Restorative Punishment Rehabilitative (or Reformative) Punishment Where We Go from Here Further Reading Part I: Early Human Societies Chapter 2: Punishment in Hunter-Gatherer Societies The Debates Crime Punishments—Basic Characteristics The Layers of Punishment Gossip and Rumor Shaming Ostracism Violence Against Violence Conclusion Further Reading Chapter 3: Early Civilizations and a Transformation of Punishment An Eye-for-an-eye—or More China’s Five Punishments Mesopotamia Egypt Other Early Cases Causation Social Change Crime The State Available Apparatus Complexities Clemency and Other Options Punishments Outside the State Inequality Further Innovations: Fines and Prisons Conclusion Further Reading Part II: The Classical and Postclassical Periods Chapter 4: The Classical Societies China: New Debates and some Reform; the Classical Period and its Legacy Signs of Change A Genuine Philosophical Debate Balance Sheet: The Han and Later Dynasties Classical Greece and Rome, and their Legacy Greece Philosophers and Punishment Rome Legacy: The Byzantine Empire Conclusion Further Reading Chapter 5: The Postclassical Period and the Role of Religion New Regional States Japan Russia West Africa Religion Judaism Hinduism Buddhism Islam and Christianity Christianity and the Christian States in Europe Islam and Islamic States Conclusion Further Reading Part III: The Early Modern Period, 1450–1800 Chapter 6: The Empires of Asia and Eastern Europe China Japan Ottoman Empire Russia Conclusion Further Reading Chapter 7: New Prisons and New Ideas in Western Europe Corporal Punishment Penal Colonies Emergence of Modern Prisons The Philosophers Weigh In A New Context for Punishment Responses Conclusion Further Reading Chapter 8: Punishment in the New European Colonies Latin America The British Colonies Enslavement and Punishment Conclusion Further Reading Part IV: The 19th Century Chapter 9: An Age of Reform and Its Limitations: Western Europe and Beyond Rethinking Child Discipline Public Shaming Recalibrating Punishments Debating the Death Penalty Itself The Need for Alternatives Policing Transportation The Modern Prison American Enthusiasm Prisons in Europe: Divergent Trends Prisons and Problems Punishment Outside the Law Conclusion Further Reading Chapter 10: Reform Efforts in Asia, Russia, and Latin America Russia Ottoman Empire Japan Latin America Conclusion Further Reading Chapter 11: Punishment in the New Empires: From the 19th Century to the Mid-1950s Capital Punishment Transportation Corporal Punishment Prisons and Labor Service Further Reading Part V: The Contemporary Period Chapter 12: Major Changes New Forms of Retribution or Deterrence Innovations in Torture Capital Punishment Concentration Camps Extending the Reform Effort The Death Penalty Whipping Spanking Prisons Restorative Justice Conclusion Further Reading Chapter 13: Regional Patterns in the Contemporary Period East and Southeast Asia India The Middle East Sub-Saharan Africa Russia Western Society and the American Exception Latin America Conclusion Further Reading Chapter 14: Conclusion Index This book focuses on major changes in punishment patterns during the principal phases of world history, tracing continuities, reforms, and regional differences.Punishment in World History studies the official penalties enacted by governments throughout time, chronicling the limited courses of action in hunting and gathering civilizations, the array of punishments in early agricultural societies, and the various efforts to reform these patterns since the 17th and 18th centuries. There is also discussion on community sanctions and disciplinary patterns applied to children. A secondary emphasis involves analyzing different regional traditions, including the impact of the principal religions, varying definitions of punishable crime, and, in the modern period, differing levels of reliance on physical punishments and imprisonment. The regional analysis also pays close attention to the effects of colonialism, imperialism, and the slave trade. Ending with an assessment of the contemporary period, the book considers the efforts to develop and apply global standards to punishment.With far-reaching coverage of a variety of human civilizations in history, this book is a core resource for students and scholars of the history of corrections, world history, and criminal justice.