elizabethan- part 2, life in elizabethan times Flashcards
chapters 4-6 (the poor, english sailors, religious matters) (127 cards)
what were the main causes of poverty in the Elizabethan era
- growing population,
- inflation
- exploration of the new world
- Henry VIII reduced coinage,
- increased Tax
- decreased International Trade
- agricultural crisis and innovations, -Rack Renting
- increased closures,
- land taken away from the poor,
- monasteries being dissolved
how did the growing population cause poverty
population rose by 43% (2.8million to 4)- placed huge pressure on resources, particularly food and jobs were hard to find
how did inflation cause poverty
- prices of food rose whilst the wages of workers stayed the same
- people started to no afford it, causing major famine
how did exploration of the new world cause poverty
there was more silver circulation throughout Europe, decreasing it’s value- less valuable items
how did Henry VIII reducing coinage cause poverty
- reduced the value of coins in the 1540s to pay for wars against France and Scotland
- made the problem of inflation worse
how did increased tax cause poverty
due to many wars being fought- many left unemployed due to being soldiers and sailors- widespread unemployment
how did decreased international trade cause poverty
wars had a harmful effect on England’s International Trade- Antwerp’s cloth trade (British biggest trade partner) collapsed due to the Spanish invasion in the 1550s
how did agricultural crisis and innovations cause poverty
- poor harvests led to food shortages and increased famine as demand was even higher, coincided with the plague-due to poor diets
how did rack renting and increased rate of enclosures cause poverty
- greedy landlords led to many evictions- traditional open fields were combined and enclosed with hedges to allow farmers arable land to be turned into profitable sheep farms
- more people lost their jobs
how did land being taken away cause poverty
- peoples way of feeding their families by growing their own crops was taken away- now couldn’t also afford to buy produce
how did monasteries being dissolved cause poverty
- key source of charity for the poor which provided food, shelter and medical care was now taken away.
- so more people flocked to towns for help when brought the poverty issue to public attention
how did the public react to the poor
they categorised them into groups based on if they deserved help or not
who were the impotent poor
- these were people unable to provide for themselves because they were too ill, young or old to do so.
- so they were not to blame, so the government were sympathetic and thought they deserved help
who were the idle poor
- they were seen as a major threat to society and social order
- they were dishonest and vagabonds and were often referred to as “sturdy beggars”
- they were believed to be perfectly fit to work, but were too lazy and instead were criminals and beggars
how did the public react to the idle poor
- people were very worried about them
-there seemed to be too many of them and they started attacking people on the streets - many pretended to be sick or hurt (clapperdudgeons) and they started their own code
how were the lifestyles of the idle poor viewed as
- sinful by puritans
- government started to be threatened of them as they were worried about a rebellion
what are some different examples of idle poor
- anglers
- ruffler
- clapperdudgeons
- doxy
- counterfeit cranks
- abraham men
how were ‘anglers’ spotted, what did they do
- part of the idle poor
- spotted by the long stick they carried which would be used to steal clothes from people’s washing lines at night
how were the ‘rufflers’ spotted, and what did they do
- part of the idle poor
- looked like an army officer, but actually robbed people at sword point
how were the ‘clapperdudgeons’ spotted, and what did they do
- part of the idle poor
- pretended to be badly wounded by using arsenic to make their skin bleed and wrapping their arms and legs in bloody rags
how were the ‘doxys’ spotted, and what did they do
- part of the idle poor
- wore a needle in her hat and carried a large pack on her back in which stolen goods were kept
how were ‘counterfeit cranks’ spotted, and what did they do
- part of the idle poor
- dressed in old, dirty clothes and pretended to have epileptic fits, using soap to make themselves foam at the mouth
how were the ‘abraham men’ spotted, and what did they do
- part of the idle poor
- pretended to be mad, walking around half naked and making strange wailing noises
when were there major outbreaks of the plague, on top of other illnesses like smallpox and influenza, and who were seen as part of the problem
- 1563, 1583-86, 1590-93
- the poor were seen as part of the problem, helping spread illness across the country