Blackmail is a recent invention
I’m surprised to learn that blackmail has a short history:
The use of blackmail in matters of the heart is a relatively recent development in the long march of human history, said Angus McLaren, a professor emeritus of history at the University of Victoria and author of “Sexual Blackmail: A Modern History.”
“It was a crime that only emerged in the 19th century,” he said. Before that, the law did not recognize such attempts as much of a threat, because anyone with the kind of wealth that might be worth trying to tap had little to lose through scandal. “If one was an aristocrat, say, you couldn’t lose your position because of trifling with the housemaids.” The Duke of Wellington, he said, “was the Duke of Wellington, and no one could take that from him.”
As the 19th century advanced, however, the professional class began to grow; people built their own fortunes, and came to learn that their position depended in no small part upon how they were seen by others. “Reputation was the most important piece of property any individual might have,” he said.
Posted by James on Wednesday, October 07, 2009