Cromwellian Dublin.
No city for slackers/businesswomen.
“… it is therefore ordered and agreed upon, by the authorities aforesaid, that there be beadles appointed in every parish of this city to be maintained by the inhabitants of each parish, and that forthwith there shall be a large cage set in the Cornmarket, where the beadles and constables are to imprison all beggars, idle women and maids selling apples and oranges and all idle boys and all other idlers, who are to be kept there until they shall be examined and punished.. the said cage to be built at the city’s charge.”
From the Dublin Assembly Roll,, 1659
Sibling of Daedalus writes:
“No sign of the Cage (situated at the junction of High Street and Thomas Street, Dublin) remains today; it was destroyed when King Charles II (a monarch with a soft spot for idlers and orange-sellers) returned to the throne the following year…Those unfortunate enough to end up in the Great Cage were, if they were lucky. and thought capable of reform, released after ‘chastisement’. The truly irredeemable idlers, on the other hand, were transported to the West Indies to work as indentured labourers. Broadsheet commenters take note…”
Gulp.
