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Teacher Resources
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: Primary Source: Eighteenth-Century Penalties for Hog Theft
Colonial Virginians lived in an agricultural society, and pork constituted a central element of their diet. The harsh penalties for hog stealing reflect this reality. They also indicate the high value that the courts placed on the protection of private property and the maintenance of social stability. Following are the eighteenth-century penalties for hog theft, along with a modern-day translation.
FOR every Hog, Shoat, or Pig,
1st. Offence, 25 Lashes, or 10l. and 400lb. Tobacco, per Hog &c.
2d. Offence, 2 Hours Pillory, Loss of Ears, and 400lb. Tobacco.
If the Offender be a Negro, Mulatto, or Indian, Thirty Nine Lashes, and
400lb. Tobacco: If a Servant, the Master shall pay the Tobacco, and be repaid in
Service, at 150lb. Tobacco per Month: If a Slave, his Owner shall pay 200lb.
Tobacco, to the Owner of the Hog. 4 Anne, cap. 14.
Penalties of 10l. and 400lb. Tobacco, to be divided between the Owner of the
Hog, &c. and the Informer.
If several Offenders, tho’ but one Hog stol’n, each Person may be prosecuted,
and liable for the whole Fine.
But Owners of Slaves shall pay only 200lb. Tobacco, for One Hog; and if
Slaves of several Masters offend, each Master shall pay only a proportionable
Part.
Prosecution may be in the County Court; but Defendant has Liberty of Appeal
to the General Court, if he gives Bond and Security in 20l. Sterl.
3d. Offence, Felony.
Persons bringing Home, or receiving any Hog, &c.without Ears, and not
giving immediate Notice to a Justice, shall be adjudged Hog-stealers, unless
they prove their Property in such Hog.
Hogs belonging to Indians shall have the common Mark of their Town: Buying
or receiving Pork of an Indian, without Proof that it was so mark’d, 1000lb.
Tobacco Penalty to the King and Informer.
No Person shall hunt, shoot, or kill any Hog, Shoat, or Pig unmark’d, upon
another Man’s Land, on Forfeiture of 1000lb. Tobacco, to the Informer.
But any Person may, upon his own, or King’s Land, kill Hogs unmark’d, but
must give Account, upon Oath before a Justice of Peace within 3 Months, of all
Hogs so kill’d, and obtain his Certificate, otherwise may be prosecuted for Hogstealing.
Prosecution for these Offences must be by Action, or Information, in the
General Court, or County Court.
Certificate of killing unmark’d Hogs.
Middlesex sc. A. B. of &c. this Day made Oath before me, That on
the Day of last past, he killed upon his own
Land Two Hogs, and that the same were not marked. Certified under my
Hand, this Day of
Translation:
The first time a free person is convicted of stealing a hog, shoat, or pig, the thief
will receive 25 lashes or pay £10 for each animal stolen and will pay 400 pounds of
tobacco for each hog, shoat, or pig stolen.
The second time a free person is convicted of stealing a hog, shoat, or pig, the thief
will stand for two hours in the pillory and lose his or her ears. He or she will also have to
pay 400 pounds of tobacco for every animal stolen.
If the thief is a Negro, mulatto, or Indian, he or she will receive 39 lashes. If the
thief is a servant, his or her master will pay 400 pounds of tobacco for each stolen animal.
The servant will repay the master by working one extra month for every 150 pounds of
tobacco the master had to pay. If the thief is a slave, his or her owner will pay 200 pounds
of tobacco for the stolen animal.
The owner of the stolen hog and the informer will split the £10 and 400 pounds of
tobacco.
If several people are convicted of stealing only one hog, each thief will pay the
entire fine.
Slave owners will pay only 200 pounds of tobacco for one hog. If the slaves or more
than one master steal a hog, the masters will share the cost of the 200 pounds of tobacco.
Hog thiefs can be prosecuted in the county court, but the accused thief can appeal
to the General Court if he or she pays a bond and security of £20 sterling.
The third time a person is convicted of stealing a hog, the crime is a felony.
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