‘The Foul Conspiracy to Screen Salisbury and Sacrifice Morton’: A Microhistory of Extortion, Resistance and Same-Sex Intimacy in Early Nineteenth-Century London

Abstract

In the early Nineteenth-century, there was a concerted effort by the judiciary, media and the Home Department to close down official discussion and deny official recognition of same-sex relationships and sex amongst men. The crime that dare not speak its name became a literal description, given that the offence of buggery or sodomy was replaced with ___ in official records and media reports. The case involving Salisbury v Morton 1827, reconstructed from the petitions and pardons archive, offers a rare insight into the lived experiences of men engaging in same sex relationships in London during this time. It also shows how the criminal justice system responded to these men, and how they, in turn, used and manipulated the criminal justice system. More broadly, this micro-history speaks to the intersection of class, ethnicity and morality as the context for legal decision making