The Watchdogs of Georgian London: Non-human Agency, Crime Prevention and Control of Urban Space

Abstract

Property crime was a major concern in Georgian London and previous studies have noted that this spurred on the development of locks, security regimes and policing. Until now, however, the role played by dogs in eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century crime prevention has been overlooked. When thinking about Georgian canines, historians have tended to focus on nuisance strays or spoilt lapdogs. By contrast, this article reveals that domestic dogs of all shapes and sizes made a significant contribution to the London economy by protecting valuable property, both commercial and domestic, from thieves. In doing so, it challenges the assumption that access to private space, a key battleground in Georgian power relations, was controlled solely by people. Moreover, it argues that the presence and behaviour of dogs shaped human behaviour and social relations in the city, as well as debates about crime, taxation, social order and the rights of citizens. As such, this article calls for dogs and other non-human animals to be integrated into social and urban history, and to be accorded agency.