Mohocks

The Mohocks were a gang that terrorized London in the early 18th century, attacking men and women alike. Taking their name from the Mohawk Indians, they assaulted both men and women, disfiguring their male victims and sexually assaulting their female victims. The matter came to a head in 1712 when a bounty of £100 was issued by the royal court for their capture. The president of the club was known as "The Emperor of the Mohocks" and was distinguished by a crescent tattoo on his forehead.^[1]

This gang was also known as the "young bloods", which was later shortened to "bloods". This name is possibly the origin of the British sense of the adjective bloody, which was not considered particularly impolite until the 19th century.

According to Lady Wentworth, "They put an old woman into a hogshead, and rolled her down a hill; they cut off some noses, others' hands, and several barbarous tricks, without any provocation. They are said to be young gentlemen; they never take any money from any." (Wentworth Papers, 277)

The Mohocks were the worst and the last of the gangs of street bullies who terrorized London after the Restoration. The first gang to appear were known as the Muns, who were followed by the Tityré Tūs, the Hectors, the Scourers, the Nickers, and the Hawkubites.

In fiction

• John Gay (better known for The Beggar's Opera) wrote a play in 1712 titled The Mohocks - this was printed but never acted in his lifetime.
• Daniel Defoe's 1722 novel Moll Flanders describes Mohocks attacking people at a market.
• In the historical novel Manituana by Wu Ming, a 1770s incarnation of the Mohock gang tries to contact Joseph Brant, a Mohawk leader in visit to the king, and they apply to become the seventh Iroquois nation.
• The Charlie Trees A Jacobite Novel by B. Dew Roberts Published by Chatto & Windus 1951 (page 10: 'Set upon? By those damned Mohocks, I suppose?')

References

1. ^ http://www.archive.org/stream/clublifeoflondon01timbuoft/clublifeoflondon01timbuoft_djvu.txt