Samenvatting

This article examines the historically inverse relationship between the incidence of interpersonal violence and the level of tolerance for the occurrence of violence. The Middle Ages witnessed high homicide rates, but people accepted violent conflicts as belonging to daily life. Homicide rates declined during the early modern period which resulted in a relatively peaceful nineteenth century. Precisely in this century new concerns and fears are visible over youth gangs and street robbery, which in reality were rarely lethal. The inverse relationship persisted until the mid-twentieth century, but then disappeared. While the 1950s and 1960s had low homicide rates and low concern, thereafter both homicide rates and public concern increased. The paper ends with a preliminary explanation for the historical trends observed.