‘All in the Family’: Households and Petty Crime in Early Modern Scottish Burghs

Abstract

This purpose of this thesis is to examine the nature of the ‘household-family’ in early modern Scotland with particular focus on the dynamics between all members residing within the familial home. By looking at petty criminal activities in specific urban locales, this thesis will explore how families maintained bonds, achieved goals, protected reputations and resolved conflict through seemingly dysfunctional behaviour. The intention is not to focus on a particular location at a particular time in order to find a particular model that resided there. Rather, by examining the criminal actions of multiple members of a household, a unique insight into the goals, desires, aspirations and concerns of both these individuals and of the broader ‘household-family’ will be arrived at.