3.2 - Poverty Flashcards
(15 cards)
Types of poor in Elizabethan times:
- widows or women abandoned by their husbands were not employed or were paid very little.
- the old and sick who couldn’t work.
- children - 40% of the poor where under the age of 16.
- people on benefits.
- Vagrants and vagabonds - homeless people who moved around looking for work - they were involved in crime and were viewed as a threat to authorities and the public.
Explain why poverty increased: Population Growth
Between 1551 and 1560, the population grew by 1.2 million. This increased the demand for food, which drove up prices while increasing the demand for labour.
Urban populations were growing but food was grown in the countryside. This meant that no one profited and the price of goods brought in from the countryside incerased.
The price of housing also increased.
Explain why poverty increased: Demand for Land
The demand for land grew with the population along with the increase of rents.
The government forced people off land, increasing poverty and vagabondage further. As a result, more people fell into poverty and became vagrants.
Explain why poverty increased: Growth of towns
many people left their village in search for a better life.
this led to an increase of the cost of rents, along with food prices as food had to be brought in from rural areas. This led to many people unable to pay for high rents and the high food prices.
Explain why poverty increased: Sheep Farming
English wool and woollen cloth accounted for 80% of England’s exports during Elizabeth’s reign.
The price of wool and the demand grew therefore, the price of wool increased and the industry became very profitable.
However, this was a large scale business only operating on large farms:
sheep farming took land that had once been used for growing crops.
did not require as much employment therefore, rural unemployment rose.
feeding sheep over winter meant that some crops were grown only for animals to eat - angered people as large numbers were starving.
Explain why poverty increased: Enclosures
This was when large open fields used by villages were bought by individual farmers and divides into small farms.
This led to more efficient techniques for growing crops, but led to fewer labourers being needed. AS the population rose and the supply of labour decreased, poverty grew.
Enclosures denied people access to land which they previously used to grow crops and then sell.
other reasons for poverty:
- dissolution of monasteries that had previously provided care and shelter.
- bad harvests meant that people could not buy food for their families, as only a small amount of good food was produced which was priced higher.
Why were the Elizabethan’s worried about poverty?
- they believed that idleness was the work of the devil
- threat of rebellion amongst proletariat
- plague
- upsetting social order
- increase in crime
- literature about the poor was popularised and had hyperbolic depictions which scared people
undeserving and deserving poor
By the late 16th century, there was a growing recognition that factors beyond personal control, such as economic hardship, bad harvests, and unemployment, contributed to poverty. This shift led to a more compassionate view of the poor, distinguishing between the “deserving” and “undeserving” poor.
Vagabond Act 1572
This act introduced severe penalties for vagrants, including whipping and branding.
Deterred vagrancy - JPs were to keep a register of the poor.
Towns and cities were given the responsibility to find work for the able bodied poor.
able-bodied poor =
idle poor = those who were fit to work but chose not to
poor rate =
a local tax to fund the poor relief
poor relief =
financial help available to the Elizabethan poor
Statute of Artificers 1563
Ensured that poor relief was collected - imprisonment for those who refused to pay poor rates.
Poor relief Act
Distinguished between able bodied and impotent poor.
It also mandated that local parishes provide relief to the “impotent poor” (those unable to work due to age or disability) and employ the “able-bodied poor” to prevent them from becoming a public nuisance.
