Footpad

A footpad is an archaic term for a robber or thief specialising in pedestrian victims. The term was used widely from the 16th century until the 19th century, but gradually fell out of common use. A footpad was considered a low criminal, as opposed to the mounted highwayman who in certain cases might gain fame as well as notoriety. Footpads operated during the Elizabethan era and until the beginning of the 19th century.

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the origin of the term is not entirely clear, but it may be a concatenation of foot and the word pad, related to path. This would indicate a robber who is on foot, as opposed to his equestrian counterpart.

Footpads always operated on foot and robbed people by first putting them in fear. Social and economic conditions, the high cost of horses, and their precarious state led them to commit robberies in the streets. Criminals found it safer and advantageous to move in darkness so as to put the victim in fear, escape and diminish the possibility of being recognised by witnesses. Violence was perpetrated as a means to ensure a rapid escape from the crime scene. This was the reason why footpad assaults were often accompanied by threats, violence, and in the worst case by murder.

A number of thieves operated by necessity and joined existing gangs. In the 1720s London was dominated by several large gangs. A gang consisted of an association of different sub-groups of members who committed robberies together, since acting alone was less fruitful than operating with the support of companions. This organized criminal system was the basis of a sense of cohesion at the lowest level of society. The loot was equally divided by the whole gang, and every member took an active part in the criminal operation.

While robbery in the streets was common, most of the men who committed theft were not necessarily violent, and in some cases their crimes were perpetrated because of need. At the same time, some criminals became notable for their brutality. Such was the case with Matthew Clark, who became notorious because of his numerous crimes, including the murder of a young woman, a maid working in a house he was burgling, for which he was condemned to hanging in chains.

A brief historical account of the lives of the six notorious street-robbers, executed at Kingston is an anonymous text (1726) first attributed to Daniel Defoe by James Crossley. According to the pamphlet this group was a small detachment from a large gang which originally consisted of about 32 members, including the noted Joseph Blake, alias "Blueskin", and Jack Sheppard.

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Wikipedia