part 2: the poor

Question 1

reasons for poverty

Answer 1

• changes in agriculture
• debasement
• rising population
• actions of previous monarchs

Question 2

changes in agriculture

Answer 2

• bad harvests between 1564 and 1598 leading to food shortages and starvation
• increased prices leading to inflation which they couldn’t afford due to low wages
• more land lords began to keep sheep on their land and enclosed with hedges
• meant fewer workers needed so more unemployment

Question 3

debasement

Answer 3

• mixing more of a common metal with previous metal
• more common metals meant more coins could be made which meant more money
• therefore inflation and rising prices leading to starvation

Question 4

rising population

Answer 4

• grew from 2.8 million to 4 million during reign
• limited places to live gave power to landlords who unfairly increased rent
• bad harvests, inflation, less food and a terrible outbreak of flu in 1556 killed around 200,000 people

Question 5

actions of previous monarchs

Answer 5

• Henry VIII limited rights of nobles to hold private armies, feared they would be a threat, leaving many soldiers without work
• Henry closed monasteries so church employees lost their jobs and home, left sick and poor with nobody to care for them
• economic problems under Henry and Edward VI led to collapse of cloth trade and loss of jobs

Question 6

the deserving poor

Answer 6

• great chain of being made it clear nobles were ‘better’ than the poor
• many believed it was their duty to help those below them, christian belief
• puritans felt it was moral duty to help the poor
• recognised that many paupers couldn’t help their situation and were not to blame for their poverty
• it could be due to old age, illness, being orphaned, or being unable to find work
• charities for the poor grew and almshouses were established

Question 7

the undeserving poor

Answer 7

• belief the poor were idle and lazy so should be punished
• seen as untrustworthy beggars who had no interest in honest work
• harsh punishments for beggars
• ‘warning against vagabonds’ published in 1567 by Thomas Harman encouraging the view that poor people were merely tricksters or criminals

Question 8

examples of underserving poor

Answer 8

• Tom O’Bedlam would pretend to be mad by barking like a dog
• the Counterfeit Crank bit soap so he frothed at the mouth, evoking sympathy and receiving money
• Baretop Trickster women would trick men into following them by removing clothing, men would then be beaten and robbed

Question 9

earlier attempts to deal with poverty

Answer 9

• previous monarchs passed laws but problem got worse
• from 1495 beggars were punished in the stocks
• from 1531 beggars were publicly whipped, caught a second time meant they would have a hole burned in their ear, third offence would mean they were hanged

Question 10

act for setting the poor on work

Answer 10

• 1576
• placed responsibility for poor on local authorities

Question 11

london

Answer 11

• bridewell palace used as a shelter for the homeless
• bedlam hospital built to house mentally ill
• other hospitals were opened for the sick and for orphans
• conditions in all these institutions were poor and could not cope with growing numbers coming into the city

Question 12

york

Answer 12

• in 1515, the city authority issued beggar licenses with a badge to identify holders
• from 1528, a master beggar was appointed to keep others in order
• if beggars refused to work they were sent to the house of correction

Question 13

ipswich

Answer 13

• introduced a licensing system for beggars from 1569
• opened a hospital specifically to help the old and the sick
• a youth training scheme was introduced to help children learn a trade and escape poverty

Question 14

norwich

Answer 14

• survey showed 80% of population lived in population in 1570 so authorities separated the poor into ‘idle’ and ‘unfortunate’
• idle poor were given work such as knitting or sewing
• unfortunate given food and other forms of care
• rich were taxed to pay for care of the vulnerable

Question 15

describe elizabethan poor law

Answer 15

• 1601
• success in ipswich, york and norwich convinced elizabeth that just punishing the poor wouldn’t work
• brought together all previously passed laws
• aim to help those clearly poor whilst maintaining a clear threat to the lazy

Question 16

terms of poor law

Answer 16

• everyone had to pay a local tax to fund the poor, people who refused could be fined or imprisoned
• local tax would go towards parish officials, setting up workhouses, paying relief to deserving poor
• compelled each parish to appoint ‘overseers of the poor’ who would ensure apprenticeships and almhouses for the old and ill to live in
• poor relief would get handouts of clothing, money and food known as ‘outdoor relief’

Question 17

what did the poor law show?

Answer 17

• showed it was government’s responsibility to look after the poor
• support for poor should be paid through taxing those working

Question 18

how successful was the poor law?

Answer 18

• begging did decrease in some areas
• little changed as most vagrants were still punished
• didn’t get to root cause of poverty
• houses of correction were brutal places and separated families
• attempted to recognise the difference between those who were genuinely poor and those who weren’t
• many vagrants were sent from one town to another
• many towns refused to accept that vagrants were from their area