Increase in population

Question 1

how much did the population in England in the 16th century rise by

Answer 1

rose by 3.4million, and this trend continued in the first half of the 17th century

Question 2

what are some factors as to why population increased

Answer 2

• domestic peace had prevailed since the end of the war of the roses in 1485
• decline in the incidences of plague (morality rates were lower in the preceding three centuries)

Question 3

when did the Black Death reach England and what was its impact on the population

Answer 3

• reached England in 1348
• population before the 1350s was 5million and this fell to 1.5million in the 1450s

Question 4

what was the population by 1520 and what did it do

Answer 4

• by 1520, the population was around 2.5million
• it continued to increase rapidly

Question 5

where and how many of the protestant dutch immigrants settle in 1560s

Answer 5

approx 1,500 protestant dutch immigrants settled in Colchester

Question 6

after what event did the level of Dutch immigration decrease and why

Answer 6

Dutch immigration decreased after the establishment of the Dutch republic in 1581 which ended the Catholic Hapsburg rule and religious persecution for Dutch protestants

Question 7

by how much did Norwich’s population increase between 1600-1620s and why

Answer 7

• it almost doubled
• due to the influx of immigrants

Question 8

why did a large number of immigrants arrive in 1651

Answer 8

• two years after the birth of the commonwealth
• when religious toleration appeared to be an established government policy

Question 9

what did the later part of the period witness in relation to immigration

Answer 9

witnessed another wave of immigration, this time from France

Question 10

by how much did French-speaking protestant congregations increase between 1677-1680s

Answer 10

they increased by nearly six times

Question 11

how were Huguenots welcomed by English authorities, particularly James and Charles

Answer 11

• Huguenots continued to be welcomed by English authorities
• Charles welcomed them generously
• while James reluctantly welcomed them

Question 12

approximately, how many Huguenots came in during the later Stuart period

Answer 12

around 40-50,000

Question 13

what city was a magnet to the Huguenots

Answer 13

London Westminster conurbation, with major French settlements developing in the East and West London suburbs of Spitalfields and Soho

Question 14

why did population increase at a slower rate in the mid 17th century

Answer 14

• civil war
• Black Death
• migration

Question 15

what did the century preceding the civil war bring + statistic

Answer 15

• the century preceding the civil war brought inflation
• 1540-1640, prices increased by 800% while wages rose by only 300%
• led to poverty

Question 16

what did the increase in population lead to

Answer 16

• a shortage of work in both the countryside and in towns
• increase in number of people officially classed as vagrants

Question 17

what were vagrants and how were they treated by the upper-classes

Answer 17

• vagrants would travel from place to place in order to sustain themselves
• they were often punished and gawped at by the upper class

Question 18

how many peasants were employed as labourers in 1560 compared to 1640

Answer 18

• in 1560, 12% of English peasants were employed as labourers
• in 1640, 40-50% of English peasants were employed as labourers

Question 19

why were owners of smaller amounts of land disadvantaged compared to the aristocracy and gentry

Answer 19

owners of smaller amounts of land were unable to invest in their farms, unlike the wealthy aristocracy and gentry who had the capital to invest in buying more land and implementing many of the agricultural innovations to improve yields

Question 20

what was an increasing common occupation of the poor classes

Answer 20

they became servants in the households of the wealthy, in both rural and urban settings

Question 21

what was the % of the workforce in villages who took up jobs as domestic servants

Answer 21

40% of the workforce in villages took up jobs as domestic servants in wealthier households

Question 22

what were the factors that increased urbanisation

Answer 22

• population growth
• changes in agriculture
• expansion of overseas trade
• gradual introduction of new industrial techniques

Question 23

by how much did London’s population increase between 1625-1640

Answer 23

doubled to 400,000

Question 24

how much of the urban population lived near the poverty line

Answer 24

2/3 of the urban population

Question 25

what was government intervention motivated by to help the poor in the 17th century

Answer 25

weren’t motivated by compassion but by the fear of the potential threat to the social and political order

Question 26

what was the 1601 poor relief act and what were the basic principles behind it

Answer 26

• it provided the basis of poor relief from Charles I’s reign until the restoration
• basic principle behind the poor law was that provisions should be made for those unable to work and punishment for those who wouldn’t

Question 27

what were some of the features of the 1601 poor relief act

Answer 27

• begging was allowed in a person’s home parish, but only to provide food
• poor could be sent to a poorhouse at the expense of local parishioners

Question 28

what was left to the decision of each parish

Answer 28

that each parish could decide how to provide for their poor which meant that the type and level of relief differed from parish to parish

Question 29

what did Charles publish in 1631 in line with his policy of ‘thorough’

Answer 29

he published the Book of Orders to all JPs in the countries

Question 30

what was Charles’s policy of thorough

Answer 30

it was a system of Governance introduced by Charles and Laud which aimed to centralise power in the monarchy and increase royal control over the church, judiciary and local government

Question 31

what was the Book of Orders

Answer 31

• included instructions for poor relief and treatment of vagrants
• but it contained nothing new and was a reflection of the great fear of social order

Question 32

what problems did the years 1629-1631 hold

Answer 32

• it was period of economic and political instability and uncertainty
• a slump in the cloth trade
• poor harvests

Question 33

how was the growth of poverty and the fears of those in power and ratepayers reflected

Answer 33

it was reflected in the increase in poor rates from £30,000 in 1614 to £250,000 in 1650

Question 34

what did economic depression in the late 1650s lead to

Answer 34

led to increasing complaints from ratepayers in wealthier parishes that vagrants from poorer areas were moving to squat on common land in the wealthier parishes to claim higher levels of poor relief

Question 35

what did vagrants from poorer areas were moving to squat on common land in the wealthier parishes to claim higher levels of poor relief consequent in

Answer 35

the 1662 settlement act

Question 36

what was the the 1662 settlement act

Answer 36

• a person could only claim poor relief from a parish if they were legally defined to be ‘settled’ there
• if a resident of a parish moved into a parish, they were required to remain resident for 40days until they were entitled to claim poor relief there

Question 37

what happened if a complaint was made to the parish overseer about one of the vagrants during the 40 days

Answer 37

• individual could be sent back to their original parish
• act authorised the arrest of vagrants and their committal to a workhouse or prison
• the most severe form of punishment was transportation to the colonies for 7 years

Question 38

who benefitted from the 1662 settlement act and how

Answer 38

• owners of large estates as they were able to demolish labourer’s houses on the estate in order to prevent the return on former occupants
• estate owners would hire labourers who lived in the neighbouring parishes, knowing that if they were laid off in the future, their poor relief would be paid by the ratepayers in the parish in which the workers were legally settled in

Question 39

what were the consequences of the 1662 settlement act

Answer 39

• it had a negative effect
• reduced the mobility of labour
• discouraged the unemployed from leaving the parish of origin in order to find work