Jonathan game (* 1683 in Wolverhampton; "† 24. May 1725 in London) is considered as one of the criminal England. Its acts became by novels, dramas and political satires in completely Great Britain admit. The character of the Peachum in John Gays The Beggar's Opera and in Bertolt Brechts three-groschen opera is formed after it later. Both Daniel Defoe and Henry falling thing wrote Biografien over its life.

Jonathan game succeeded it long time to lead a double life which it permitted to lead a gang from thieves to and appear simultaneous in the public as someone, which keeps the public order upright. After it was into the 1720er years in London one of the most outstanding persons, this appreciation changed to hate and Verachtung, when its double life admits became. After its process and its death at the Galgen he became the symbol of unrestrained corruption and self glory.

Life

The early years

Wildly in Wolverhampton in the year 1683 as a son of a poor family one bore. After a theory with a Schliessenmacher he worked as a Dienstbote and came in the year 1704 to London. After it dismisses from its service gentleman was, it returned to Wolverhampton, where it was thrown because of not paid debts in the debtor's prison. While it received "the Liberty OF the gate there to its time "- a kind permission for the exit, while it was helpful whose in the arrest of thieves at night. It became acquainted with Mary Milliner, also Mary Mollineaux mentioned. Mary Milliner was a prostitute, of the game different techniques of the trick theft learned. With these new abilities to come at money game in a the position was to pay its debts back and become released in such a way from the debtor's prison.

After its dismissal game with Mary Milliner lived together. Both were otherwise married at the time already, and game, which probably worked at that time as Milliners had even a child. Soon game was thoroughly familiar underworld and its members with the methods of the Londoner. When it separated from Milliner again, she was "the madame "(Bordellwirtin) for several other prostitutes, and game had begun to act as Hehler with stolen goods. It invented however soon one apparently more promising method.

Criminality in London

Here in London it almost comes each night to a bad assault. Past week one Gentleman and two ladies in Hyde park Corner were expenditure-robbed. They came from Chelsea and straight pc. James park had orbited, when suddenly six bright swords were put into their Kutsche. (Exchange of letters Sir John Verney, quotes after Waller, S.442)

Between 1680 and 1720 the number of crimes in London had dramatically increased. This was to be due among other things to the economic problems into consequence of the war with France and to the increasing number of dismissed and become impoverished soldiers and sailors.

Daily papers, at that time still another relatively recent phenomenon, reported frequently on crimes and criminals. Also due to the reports of the newspapers the public concern increased over the rise of the criminality, and in the public one began to be interested increasingly in forms of the criminality fight. Before this background anonymous writings circulated like "Hanging is to emergency Punishment Enough for Murtherers, Highwaymen and House Breakers "("death at the Galgen as insufficient punishment for murderers, Wegelagerer and burglars "), which demanded a preceding torture additionally to the death penalty, in order to create finally sufficiently deterrence.

A police in the today's sense did not exist yet. The Historikerin Maureen Waller describes the situation in London around the turn to 18. Century as follows:

The guardians of law and order in London were weak, since there was no central authority. A correct police troop did not give it. A police was regarded as un-English, while it was in the neighbouring France an instrument of royal tyranny. Police work was only sporadically carried out in London. There were the royal messengers, which were directly responsible to the Kronrat. They were responsible for high treason and other political crimes. Since money falsifying likewise fell under high treason, they had to do much. The advice the busy in such a way specified city march all, which worried about the road inhabitants. They possessed the power to issue also in the surrounding Countys of warrants of arrest. Up to a certain degree their work on district level was copied by the Constablern, church servants and road guards, even if these large restrictions were subject, which concerned the right to arrest someone. Constabler were not paid; simple citizens changed themselves annually in this post off theoretically. Practically the citizens Deputies (deputy) paid, which relieved this work to them of and it immediately always did. "Â… The majority of the police work rested on the shoulders of the citizens, who organized citizen weirs in their quarters and detective work carried out, in order to bring criminal ones to the distance. (Waller, S. 446f)

Such a surrounding field created humans such as game a sufficiently large operating field, which let it appear outward as respectable.

Game methods

Game method to enrich themselves on the one hand and stand at the same time apparently on the correct side of the law, was refined. It led a gang of thieves, retained their stolen goods and was waiting, until the theft in the newspapers appeared. After it it, its private police army, "the Thief stated briefly taking agents ", by careful detective work it had found and returned the stolen goods to the legal owner. This paid it a fee for this find, with which he remunerated allegedly his private police. Apart from "finding "stolen goods it supported the police with the arrest of thieves. The thieves, to whose arrest game contributed, were either members of rivaling gangs or such, that extracted themselves from a co-operation with him.

In order to limit the thefts, laws had been issued, the acceptation of stolen goods with stolen goods hard punished. Straight simple and inexperienced thieves died a substantial risk, if they sold their stolen goods. Game position was substantially strengthened by this law. For a thief the way over game was one of the few methods to make relatively safely thief property money. If a thief did not co-operate with game, he ran the risk by him the courts to be transferred.

Sent masked extortion belonged also to game repertoire. In that DAILY post office of 1724 appeared the for example following announcement:

On 1 October lost; a note book merged into black burl leather, edges with silver, some entries. The mentioned book was lost in the evening in the road "The beach ", the close "Fountain Tavern ", against seven or eight o'clock. If someone this book with Mr. Jonathan game in the old Bailey delivers, it Guinea as reward is received. (Source: Howson)

The denomination of the entries was the December duck reference that game knew, whose note book in his possession was. And game also communicated to the owner about the announcement that it knew, why this was in this road - Fountain Tavern was a well-known brothel. The real purpose of the announcement was a threat addressed to the owner of note book that one will make its brothel attendance public. The announcement called also the price for discretion (Guinea or a Pound and a Shilling).

That game knew to use itself for its purposes of the means of the lining, its utterance shows

The MASK is the summum bonum OF our age.

(The mask is the highest property of our days.)

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