Highwayman

For other uses, seeHighwayman (disambiguation).

"Highway robbery" redirects here. For other uses, seeHighway Robbery.For the general term, seeRobbery.

Ahighwaymanwas arobberwho stole from travellers. This type ofthiefusually travelled and robbed byhorseas compared to afootpadwho travelled and robbed on foot; mounted highwaymen were widely considered to be socially superior to footpads.Suchcriminalsoperated until the mid- or late 19th century.Highwaywomen,such asKatherine Ferrers,were said to also exist, often dressing as men, especially in fiction.

Asalto al coche(Attack on a Coach), byFrancisco de Goya.

English highwaymanJames Hinddepicted in an engraving now in the National Portrait Gallery.

The first attestation of the wordhighwaymanis from 1617.Euphemismssuch as "knights of the road" and "gentlemen of the road" were sometimes used by people interested in romanticizing (with aRobin Hood–esque slant) what was often an especially violent form of stealing. In the 19th-century American West, highwaymen were sometimes known asroad agents.In Australia, they were known asbushrangers.

Robbing

The great age of highwaymen was the period from theRestorationin 1660 to the death ofQueen Annein 1714. Some are known to have been disbanded soldiers, and even officers, of theEnglish Civil Warand French wars. What favoured them most was the lack of governance and absence of a police force: parish constables were almost entirely ineffective, while detection and arrest were very difficult. Most of the highwaymen held up travellers and took their money. Some had channels by which they could dispose of bills of exchange. Others had a 'racket' on the road transport of an extensive district; carriers regularly paid them a ransom to go unmolested.

They often attackedcoachesfor their lack of protection, including publicstagecoaches;thepostboyswho carried the mail were also frequently held up.The demand to "Stand and deliver!"(sometimes in forms such as" Stand and deliver your purse! "" Stand and deliver your money! ") was in use from the 17th century to the 19th century:

A fellow of a good Name, but poor Condition, and worse Quality, was Convicted for laying anEmbargoon a man whom he met on the Road, by bidding him Stand and Deliver, but to little purpose; for the Traveller had no more Money than aCapuchin,but told him, all the treasure he had was a pound of Tobacco, which he civilly surrendered.

— The Proceedings of the Old Bailey,25 April 1677,

The phrase "Your money or your life!" is mentioned in trial reports from the mid-18th century:

Evidence of John Mawson: "As I was coming home, in company with Mr. Andrews, within two fields of the new road that is by thegate-houseofLord Baltimore,we were met by two men; they attacked us both: the man who attacked me I have never seen since. He clapped abayonetto my breast, and said, with an oath, Your money, or your life! He had on a soldier'swaistcoatandbreeches.I put the bayonet aside, and gave him my silver, about three or fourshillings."

— The Proceedings of the Old Bailey,12 September 1781,

Victims of highwaymen included the Prime MinisterLord North,who wrote in 1774: "I was robbed last night as I expected, our loss was not great, but as thepostiliondid not stop immediately one of the two highwaymen fired at him (They had guns at the time) – It was at the end ofGunnersburyLane. "Horace Walpole,who was shot at in Hyde Park, wrote that "One is forced to travel, even at noon, as if one was going to battle." During this period, crime was rife and encounters with highwaymen or women could be bloody if the victim attempted to resist. The historianRoy Porterdescribed the use of direct, physical action as a hallmark of public and political life: "From the rough-house of the crowd to the dragoons' musket volley, violence was as English as plum pudding. Force was used not just criminally, but as a matter of routine to achieve social and political goals, smudging hard-and-fast distinctions between the worlds of criminality and politics... Highwaymen were romanticized, with a hidden irony, as 'gentlemen of the road.'"

Robbers as heroes

There is a long history of treating highway robbers as heroes. They were admired by many as bold men who confronted their victimsface to faceand were ready to fight for what they wanted.MedievaloutlawRobin Hoodis regarded as an Englishfolk hero.Later robber heroes included theCavalierhighwaymanJames Hind;theFrench-born gentleman highwaymanClaude Du Vall;John Nevison;Dick Turpin;Sixteen String Jack;William Plunkettand his partner, the "Gentleman Highwayman"James MacLaine;the SlovakJuraj Jánošík;and Indians includingKayamkulam Kochunni,Veerappan,andPhoolan Devi.In the same way, thePuerto RicanpirateRoberto Cofresíalso came to be venerated as a hero.

British-ruled Ireland

In the17th to the early 19th centuries in Ireland,acts of robbery were often part of a tradition of Irish resistance to the English and British authorities and theProtestant Ascendancy.From the mid-17th century onwards, highwaymen who harassed the English authorities were known as 'tories' (from Irishtóraidhe,raider;tóraíinmodern spelling). Later that century, they became known asrapparees.Their ranks includedJames Freney,Redmond O'Hanlon,Willy Brennanand Jeremiah Grant.

Dangerous places

English highwaymen often laid in wait on the main roads radiating from London. They usually chose lonely areas ofheathlandorwoodland.Hounslow Heathwas a favourite haunt: it was crossed by the roads toBathandExeter.Bagshot HeathinSurreywas another dangerous place on the road to Exeter. One of the most notorious places in England wasShooter's Hillon theGreat Dover Road.Finchley Common,on theGreat North Road,was nearly as bad.

To the south of London, highwaymen sought to attack wealthy travellers on the roads leading to and from theChannelports and aristocratic arenas likeEpsom,which became a fashionable spa town in 1620, andBanstead Downswhere horse races and sporting events became popular with the elite from 1625. Later in the 18th century the road from London toReigateandBrightonthroughSuttonattracted highwaymen. Commons and heaths considered to be dangerous includedBlackheath,Putney Heath,Streatham Common,Mitcham Common,Thornton Heath– also the site of a gallows known as "Hangman's Acre" or "Gallows Green" –Sutton Common,Banstead Downs andReigate Heath.

During the late 17th and early 18th centuries, highwaymen inHyde Parkwere sufficiently common forKing William IIIto have the route betweenSt James's PalaceandKensington Palace(Rotten Row) lit at night with oil lamps as a precaution against them. This made it the firstartificially lithighway in Britain.

Executions

The execution of the French highwaymanCartouche,1721

The penalty for robbery with violence washanging,and most notorious English highwaymen ended on thegallows.The chief place of execution for London andMiddlesexwasTyburn Tree.Highwaymen whose lives ended there includeClaude Du Vall,James MacLaine,andSixteen-string Jack.Highwaymen who went to the gallows laughing and joking, or at least showing no fear, are said to have been admired by many of the people who came to watch.

Decline

During the 18th century, French rural roads were generally safer from highwaymen than those of England, an advantage credited by the historianAlexis de Tocquevilleto the existence of a uniformed and disciplined mountedconstabularyknown as theMaréchaussée.In England this force was often confused with the regular army and as such cited as an instrument of royal tyranny not to be imitated.

In England, the causes of the decline are more controversial. After about 1815, mounted robbers are recorded only rarely, the last recorded robbery by a mounted highwayman having occurred in 1831.The decline in highwayman activity also occurred during the period in which repeating handguns, notably thepepper-boxand thepercussionrevolver, became increasingly available and affordable to the average citizen. The development of therailwaysis sometimes cited as a factor, but highwaymen were already obsolete before the railway network was built. The expansion of the system ofturnpikes,manned and gatedtoll-roads,made it all but impossible for a highwayman to escape notice while making his getaway, but he could easily avoid such systems and use other roads, almost all of which outside the cities were flanked by open country.

Cities such as London were becoming much better policed: in 1805 a body of mounted police began to patrol the districts around the city at night. London was growing rapidly, and some of the most dangerous open spaces near the city, such asFinchley Common,were being covered with buildings. However, this only moved the robbers' operating area further out, to the new exterior of an expanded city, and does not therefore explain decline. A greater use ofbanknotes,more traceable than gold coins, also made life more difficult for robbers,but theInclosure Act 1773was followed by a sharp decline in highway robberies; stone walls falling over the open range like a net, confined the escaping highwaymen to the roads themselves, which now had walls on both sides and were better patrolled. The dramatic population increase which began with theIndustrial Revolutionalso meant, quite simply, that there were more eyes around, and the concept of remote place became a thing of the past in England.

Outside Anglophone countries

Greece

The bandits inGreeceunder Ottoman rule were theKlephts(κλέφτες), Greeks who had taken refuge in the inaccessible mountains. The klephts, who acted as a guerilla force, were instrumental in theGreek War of Independence.

Kingdom of Hungary

The highwaymen of the 17th- to 19-centuryKingdom of Hungarywere thebetyárs(Slovak:zbojník). Until the 1830s, they were mainly simply regarded as criminals but an increasing public appetite for betyar songs, ballads and stories gradually gave a romantic image to these armed and usually mounted robbers. Several of thebetyárshave become legendary figures who in the public mind fought for social justice. Hungarian betyárs includedJóska Sobri,Márton Vidróczki, András Juhász, Bandi Angyal, Pista Sisa, Jóska Savanyú.Juraj Jánošík(Hungarian:Jánosik György), who was born and operated in Upper Hungary (nowSlovakia), is still regarded as the Slovak version, andSándor RózsatheHungarianversion ofRobin Hoodin their regions.

TheHajduk(Hungarian:Hajdú) also originated in Hungary. They were formed from large numbers of Hungarians forced out of Syrmia and the Banates (Banate of Srebrenik, Banate of Nándorfehérvár, Banat of Macsó), moving upwards to central Hungary because of the Turkish attacks (they are replaced by theSerbs,BosniansandCroatssettling in the region). By the end of the 16th century, they had developed into a significant military force. They developed their own military organisation, separate from the ranks established in the country – they chose their own commanders, captains, lieutenants and corporals. Their rights were later taken away by the Austrians after the defeat of theRákóczi's War of Independence,fearing their military power, they forced them into serfdom, so this was the end of the Hajduk golden age.

India

The Indian Subcontinent has had a long and documented history of organised robbery for millennia. These included theThuggees,a quasi-religious group that robbed travellers on Indian roads until the cult was systematically eradicated in the mid-1800s by British colonial administrators. Thugees would befriend large road caravans and gain their confidence, before strangling them to death and robbing their valuables. According to some estimates the Thuggees murdered a million people between 1740 and 1840.More generally, armed bands known colloquially as "dacoits"have long wreaked havoc on many parts of the country. In recent times this has often served as a way to fund various regional and political insurgencies that includes the MaoistNaxalitemovement.Kayamkulam Kochunniwas also a famed highwayman who was active inCentral Travancorein the early 19th century. Along with his close friend Ithikkarappkki from the nearby Ithikkara village, he is said to have stolen from the rich and given to the poor. With the help of anEzhavawarrior calledArattupuzha Velayudha Panicker,Kochunni was arrested and sent to Poojappura Central Jail. Legends of his works are compiled infolkloreand are still read and heard today.

The Balkans and eastern Europe

The bandits in Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia and Bulgaria under Ottoman rule, and in Hungary were theHajduks(Hajduci, Хајдуци, Хайдути) – rebels who opposed Ottoman rule and acted as a guerilla force, also instrumental in the many wars against the Ottomans, especially theSerbian revolution.Serbian and Croatian refugees in Austro-Hungarian (and Habsburg) lands were also part of theUskoci.Notable freedom fighters includeStarina Novak,a notableoutlawwasJovo Stanisavljević Čaruga. In medievalWallachia,Moldavia,Transylvaniaand Ukraine, the Haiduks (Romanian – Haiduci, Ukrainian – Гайдуки,Haiduky) were bandits and deserters who lived in forests and robbed localBoyarsor other travelers along roads. Sometimes they would help the poor peasants. In the 1800s,betyársbecame common in Hungary.

Literature and popular culture

Dick TurpinridingBlack Bess,from aVictoriantoy theatre.

InShakespeare'sHenry IV, Part 1Falstaffis a highwayman, and part of the action of the play concerns a robbery committed by him and his companions. Another highwayman inEnglish dramaisCaptain Macheath,hero ofJohn Gay's 18th-centuryballad operaThe Beggar's Opera.The legend ofDick Turpinwas significantly boosted byRookwood(1834), in which a heavily fictionalised Turpin is one of the main characters.Alfred Noyes'snarrative poem"The Highwayman"has been immensely popular ever since its publication in 1906.

A number of traditionalfolk songsabout highwaymen exist, both positive and negative, such as "Young Morgan","Whiskey in the Jar",and"The Wild Colonial Boy".

From the early 18th century, collections of short stories of highwaymen and other notorious criminals became very popular. The earliest of these is Captain Alexander Smith'sComplete History of the Lives and Robberies of the Most Notorious Highwaymen(1714). Some later collections of this type had the wordsThe Newgate Calendarin their titles and this has become a general name for this kind of publication.

In the later 19th century, highwaymen such as Dick Turpin were the heroes of a number ofpenny dreadfuls,stories for boys published in serial form. In the 20th century the handsome highwayman became astock characterin historical love romances, including books byBaroness OrczyandGeorgette Heyer.

SirWalter Scott's romanceThe Heart of Midlothian(1818) recounts the heroine waylaid by highwaymen while travelling from Scotland to London.

Ronia, the Robber's Daughter(1981) is a children'sfantasybook byAstrid Lindgren,which portrays the adventures of Ronia, the daughter of the leader of a gang of highwaymen.

Comics

The Belgian comics seriesRobin DuboisbyTurkandDe Grootis agag-a-dayseries aboutRobin Hood's attempts at robbing travellers in the forest.

The Dutch comics seriesGilles de GeusbyHanco KolkandPeter de Witwas originally a gag-a-day about a failed highwayman called Gilles, but the character later evolved into a resistance fighter with theGeuzenagainst the Spanish army.

Ithikkara Pakki,a graphic children's story book about the Indian highwaymanIthikkara Pakki,was published in April 2010 inMalayalam.The life of the Indian highwaymanKayamkulam Kochunniwas adapted as a comic by Radha M. Nair in the794th issueof the Indian comic book series,Amar Chitra Katha.

Music

There were many broadsheetballadsabout highwaymen; these were often written to be sold on the occasion of a famous robber's execution. A number of highwaymen ballads have remained current inoral traditionin England and Ireland.

The traditional Irish song "Whiskey in the Jar"tells the story of an Irish highwayman who robs an army captain and includes the lines" I first produced me pistol, then I drew me rapier. Said 'Stand and deliver, for you are a bold deceiver'. "The hit single version recorded in 1973 by Irish rock bandThin Lizzyrenders this last line "I said 'Stand-oh and deliver, or the devil he may take ya'."

The traditional Irish song "The Newry Highwayman"recounts the deeds and death of a highwayman who robbed" the lords and ladies bright ". The traditional Irish song" Brennan on the Moor "describes an escapade of the" bold, undaunted robber ".Adam and the Antshad a number one song for five weeks in 1981 in the UK with "Stand and Deliver".The video featured Adam Ant as an English highwayman.

The contemporary folk song "On the Road to Fairfax County" byDavid Massengill,recorded byThe Rochesand byJoan Baez,recounts a romantic encounter between a highwayman and his female victim. In the end, the highwayman is hanged over the objections of his victim.

MusicianJimmy Webbpenned and recorded a song entitled "Highwayman"in 1977 about a soul with incarnations in four different places in time and history, a highwayman, asailor,a construction worker on theHoover Dam,and finally as astar ship captain.Glen Campbellrecorded a version of the song in 1978, but the most popular incarnation of the song was recorded byWillie Nelson,Kris Kristofferson,Waylon JenningsandJohnny Cashin 1984, who as a group called themselvesThe Highwaymen.

The Canadian singerLoreena McKennitadapted the narrative poem, "The Highwayman"written byAlfred Noyes,as a song by the same title in her 1997 albumThe Book of Secrets.

Cinema and television

TheCarry On filmsincluded a highwayman spoof inCarry On Dick(1974).Monty Pythonsent up the highwayman legends in the Dennis Moore sketch in Episode 37 ofMonty Python's Flying Circus,in whichJohn Cleeseplayed the titular criminal who stole onlylupins.In a linking sketch in an episode ofNot the Nine O'Clock Newsa highwayman holds up a stagecoach with pistols – in order to wash the coach in exchange for small monies in the manner of a modern-day unsolicited car window washer in traffic. InBlackadder the Third,Mr. E. Blackadderturns highwayman in the episode "Amy and Amiability".In the British children's television seriesDick Turpin,starringRichard O'Sullivan,the highwayman was depicted as an 18th-century Robin Hood figure. Additionally the actorMathew Bayntonplayed Dick Turpin inHorrible Histories.A singing highwayman appears in the fourth episode of the animated mini-series,Over the Garden Wall,Songs of the Dark Lantern.

The highwayman known asJuraj Jánošík(1688–1713) became a hero of many folk legends in theSlovak,Czech, and Polish cultures by the 19th centuryand hundreds ofliterary works about himhave since been published.The firstSlovak feature filmwasJánošík,made in 1921, followed by seven more Slovak and Polishfilms about him.

Curro Jiménez,a Spanish TV series which aired from 1976 to 1979, starred a group of 19th-century highwaymen orbandolerosin the mountains ofRondain the south of Spain.

Ronia, the Robber's Daughter(akaRonja Robbersdaughterin the US) is a 1984 Swedishfantasy film,based on the 1981novel of the same titlebyAstrid Lindgren,and narrating the adventures of Ronia, the daughter of the leader of a gang of highwaymen.

Ronja, the Robber's Daughter(Japanese:Sơn tặc の nương ローニャ,Hepburn:Sanzoku no Musume Rōnya) is a Japanese animated television series, also based on Lindgren's novelRonia, the Robber's Daughter,and directed and storyboarded byGorō Miyazaki.

The lives of numerous Indian highwaymen includingArattupuzha Velayudha Panicker,Ithikkara Pakki,Jambulingam Nadar,Kayamkulam KochunniandPapaduhave been adapted for cinema and television multiple times.

Season two, episode 20, ofScooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated,the main villain (voiced byJames Marsters) disguises himself as a highwayman.

Films

• The Mark of Zorro(1920)
• Dick Turpin(1925)
• Dick Turpin(1933)
• The Adventures of Robin Hood(1938)
• The Night Riders(1939)
• Frontier Marshal(1939)
• My Little Chickadee(1940)
• Virginia City(1940)
• The Mark of Zorro(1940)
• The Wicked Lady(1945)
• The Loves of Carmen(1948)
• The Lady and the Bandit(1951)
• Bend of the River(1952)
• Son of Paleface(1952)
• The King's Thief(1955)
• The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders(1965)
• Kayamkulam Kochunni(1966)
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid(1969)
• Robin Hood(1973)
• Carry On Dick(1974)
• The Mark of Zorro(1974)
• Barry Lyndon(1975)
• Kaayamkulam Kochunniyude Makan(1976)
• Joseph Andrews(1977)
• Vellayani Paramu(1979)
• Ronia, the Robber's Daughter(1981)
• Jambulingam(1982)
• The Wicked Lady(1983)
• The Deceivers(1988)
• The Lady and the Highwayman(1989)
• Plunkett & Macleane(1999)
• Kayamkulam Kochunni(2018)
• The Highwaymen(2019)

Video games

InFable II,Highwaymen appear as an elite type of enemy which works alongside bandits and makes use of speed and agility over brute strength. It is also possible for players to dress as Highwaymen. There is an enemy type inThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrimcalled the "bandit highwayman" that acts as one of the higher-level bandit enemies. InWorld of Warcraftone can encounter the Defias Highwaymen, the strongest members of the Defias Brotherhood. InDarkest Dungeonthe Highwayman is a class of hero who wields a dirk and flintlock to fight. InRunescape,highwaymen attack lower-leveled players on a route between two cities. InBushido Blade 2there is a playable character named Highwayman who is dressed in Victorian clothing and represents the hero archetype. InBloodbornemany articles of clothing obtained by "The Hunter" are inspired by Highwaymen attire.

See also

• List of highwaymen
• Brigandage
• Bushranger
• Dacoity
• Hajduk
• Mail robbery
• Marauder (disambiguation)
• Piracy
• Renegade Nell
• Road agent (disambiguation)
• Social bandits
• Thuggees

References

Further reading

• Ash, Russell(1970).Highwaymen,Shire Publications,ISBN978-0-85263-101-0;revised edition (1994)ISBN978-0-7478-0260-0
• Billett, Michael (1997).Highwaymen and Outlaws,Weidenfeld Military,ISBN978-1-85409-318-9
• Brandon, David (2004).Stand and Deliver! A History of Highway Robbery,Sutton Publishing,ISBN978-0-7509-3528-9
• Dunford, Stephen (2000).The Irish Highwaymen,Merlin Publishing,ISBN1-903582-02-4
• Evans, Hilary & Mary (1997).Hero on a Stolen Horse: Highwayman and His Brothers-in-arms – The Bandit and the Bushranger,Muller,ISBN978-0-584-10340-3
• Haining, Peter (1991).The English Highwayman: A Legend Unmasked,Robert Hale,ISBN978-0-7090-4426-0
• Harper, Charles George(1908).Half-hours with the Highwaymen: picturesque biographies and traditions of the "knights of the road",Chapman & Hall.Online edition,viaInternet Archive.
• Hobsbawm, Eric(1969).Bandits,Delacorte Press; Revised edition (2000).ISBN978-1-56584-619-7
• Koliopoulos, John S (1987).Brigands with a Cause, Brigandage and Irredentism in Modern Greece 1821–1912.Clarendon Press.ISBN978-0-19-822863-9
• Liapi, Lena (2019). "Roguery in Print: Crime and Culture in Early Modern London" Boydell & Brewer.ISBN9781783274406
• Maxwell, Gordon S (1994).Highwayman's Heath: Story in Fact and Fiction of Hounslow Heath in Middlesex,Heritage Publications, Hounslow Leisure Services,ISBN978-1-899144-00-6
• Newark, Peter (1988).Crimson Book of Highwaymen,Olympic Marketing Corp,ISBN9789997354792
• Pringle, Patrick (1951).Stand and Deliver: The Story of the Highwaymen,Museum Press, ASIN B0000CHVTK
• Seal, Graham (1996).The Outlaw Legend: a cultural tradition in Britain, America and Australia,Cambridge University Press,ISBN0-521-55317-2(hbk),ISBN0-521-55740-2(pbk)
• Sharpe, James (2005).Dick Turpin: The Myth of the English Highwayman,Profile Books,ISBN978-1-86197-418-1
• Spraggs, Gillian (2001).Outlaws and Highwaymen: The Cult of the Robber in England from the Middle Ages to the Nineteenth Century,Pimlico,ISBN978-0-7126-6479-0
• Sugden, John and Philip (2015).The Thief of Hearts: Claude Duval and the Gentleman Highwayman in Fact and Fiction,Forty Steps,ISBN978-0-9934183-0-3

External links

Media related toHighwaymenat Wikimedia Commons

• The Heroic Outlaw in Irish Folklore and Popular Literature
• Primary source book from 1674 on aspects of Highwaymen, their customs and their crimes -Jackson's Recantation; or, the Life and Death of the Notorious Highwayman