19th Century Bermuda: Whipped for Sunday Work
Looking back into Bermuda’s history provides an interesting insight into exactly how much things have changed.
Many years ago Bermuda had a law calling for the “strict observation of the Lord’s Day, commonly called Sunday.”
Working, engaging in sports, fishing, sailing, playing cards, and “idle wandering from house to house” were all outlawed.
Breaking the law would earn the offender a number of punishments including public whippings, being placed in the stocks or their possessions being seized.
The law of the times dictated that the above activities were “to the great dishonour of God“. It was also stated that “the Lord’s Day now is too much prophaned and neglected, by the disorder and lewdness of some sort of people“.
The pertinent text from the Bermuda Laws that were in effect in 1860 is reprinted verbatim below.
[Interesting factoid: The text below is a single sentence, it doesn't contain a single full stop.]
Be it therefore enacted by the Governor, Council, and Assembly, and hereby it is enacted and ordained by the authority of the same, That if any person or persons inhabiting or residing in these Islands shall, from and after the publication hereof, use or exercise on the said Day any sports, pastimes, sailing in Boats, fishing, or other employments as aforesaid, or any of them, in any part or parts, place, Tribe, or Parish of these Islands, that he, she, or they so offending, shall forfeit and pay for every such offence unto the Church-warden or Overseer of the Tribe or Parish wherein the same offence shall be committed, for the use of the Poor of the same Tribe or Parish, the sum of five shillings current money, the same offenders to be convicted upon view of the Justices of the same Tribe or Parish, or confession of the said party, or by proof of any one or more Witness or “Witnesses on oath, which the said Justice is hereby authorized to administer; and on refusal of payment of the forfeitures aforesaid, the said Church-wardens or Overseers shall and may, by warrant of such justice as aforesaid, under his hand and seal, levy the said forfeiture by Distress and sale of the offender’s Goods, rendering the party the overplus; and in default of such distress, or in case of the insufficiency of the offender, that then such offender shall be set publickly in the stocks, there to remain for the space of two hours, or be publicly whipt, at the discretion of the Justice.
