Topic 2

Question 1

What was the social structure in Elizabethan England and Wales, and what was the average population in each section?

Answer 1

Queen (1)
Nobility (~50 families)
Gentry (~10,000 families)
Wealthy merchants (~30,000 families) and professionals
Yeoman and tenant farmers (~10,000 families together)
Cottage and skilled artisans
Landless, unskilled labourers

Question 2

What do you need to know about the nobility?

Answer 2

~50 families
They owned huge areas of land that made them wealthy and powerful
Leading nobleman can have 10,000+ acres of land

Question 3

What do you need to know about the gentry?

Answer 3

~10,000 families
They owned an estate of 100+ acres
Some became very wealthy e.g. Bess of Hardwick

Question 4

What do you need to know about the landless, unskilled labourers?

Answer 4

They’re the poor and unemployed
They’re unemployed during certain times of the year

Question 5

What was the lifestyle of the rich like?

Answer 5

Homes, fashion, education and hobbies
During Elizabeth’s long reign, may of the richer members of society increased their wealth considerably
Nobles were keener to show off their wealth
Done by investing in their homes and by wearing the latest fashions
Also fortunate enough to be able to afford a thorough education

Question 6

What was the rich lifestyle for their homes?

Answer 6

They’re often built in the shape of an E or an H (For Elizabeth or Henry)
Had servants, were clean, and had carpets, carved wood and mirrors
The more they spent on houses, the more impressed Elizabeth would be- nobles spend as much as possible
Bricks- fireplace, chimney= warmer winter
Grow vegetables, lived with flower beds
More windows- glass is very expensive

Question 7

What was the rich lifestyle for fashion?

Answer 7

They changed clothes a lot
Ruff, lavish, silk, velvet, fashion dolls, wore red, blue, silver, gold or purple
Important to wear the latest fashions
Had gold and silver and jewellery embroidered on their clothes
The Sumptuary Laws- dictated what could be worn in each class- this included fashion, fabrics and colour

Question 8

What was the rich lifestyle for education?

Answer 8

Women were taught how to be a mother and wife
Noblewomen were taught how to manage the household staff
Wealthy nobles would pay for tutors to visit their houses (ONLY FOR THE SONS) to teach French, Greek and Latin
Lesser gentry could attend grammar school
Complete/ further their son’s education by going to Cambridge/ Oxford
Taught etiquette
Hunting and dancing (for men)

Question 9

What do we need to know about the lifestyle of the poor?

Answer 9

SHORT, HARD, BRUTAL LIVES

Question 10

What was the poor lifestyle on their homes?

Answer 10

Small windows, dark, 1 fire, no chimney (just a hole)
Basic possessions, meat was rare for their meals
Basic houses that were small and often overcrowded

Question 11

What was the poor lifestyle like for work?

Answer 11

Physically demanding and tiring
Labourer- casual work that had low pay (1 groat a day- around 4p per day)
1 groat was enough for bread and butter and ale per day
However, it wasn’t enough for the children or for the rent
The poor didn’t drink water- they believed it was polluted

Question 12

What was the poor lifestyle on clothing?

Answer 12

More practical than those in higher class
Plain, not colourful or extravagant
Farm workers often wore leather shoes, stockings, jacket or waistcoat, cap or hat
Couldn’t afford numerous changes of clothes

Question 13

What was the poor lifestyle on education and leisure?

Answer 13

Gambling on cockfighting/ bear baiting
Enjoyed hunting, fishing and archery
Most people couldn’t afford to send their kids to school- the fortunate ones learnt how to read and write English in parish schools. They left as soon as they could work
Musicians and actors travelled to entertain the poor
When they’re not at work, they’re at the inns/ taverns- they got drunk if they could

Question 14

What were the 8 causes of poverty (NEED TO KNOW)

Answer 14

Dissolution (closure) of monasteries
Change in farming methods
Rising population
Bad harvests
Collapse of the cloth industry
Costly foreign wards
Low wages and high prices
Rural depopulation

Question 15

How did the dissolution of monasteries cause poverty?

Answer 15

Rise in unemployment (among monks, servants and labourers) and took away the vital role of charity relief

Question 16

How did the rising population cause poverty?

Answer 16

Sharp rise in population from 2.7 MILLION TO 4.1 MILLION from the 1540s to1601
Caused more demand for food, clothes, housing and jobs. This helped increase prices

Question 17

How did the change in farming methods cause poverty?

Answer 17

Farmers switched from growing crops to keeping sheep
Enclosed common land and employed fewer workers (enclosed= cutting off land for peasants so they couldn’t use it. This meant they couldn’t sustain themselves and this links to rural depopulation)
Harder to find jobs

Question 18

How did bad harvests contribute to poverty

Answer 18

Bad harvests were mainly in 1556, 1596 and 1597
Caused a steep rise in food prices
Increased the level of starvation

Question 19

How did the collapse of the cloth industry cause poverty?

Answer 19

Decline in exports
Cloth trade collapsed as a result
Many spinners and weavers lost their jobs

Question 20

How did the costly wars and demobbed soldiers cause poverty?

Answer 20

Wars against FRANCE, SCOTLAND and SPAIN caused taxes to rise and the value of coinage to fall
End of wars resulted in large numbers of unemployed soldiers looking work

Question 21

How did low wages cause poverty?

Answer 21

Wages couldn’t keep up with rising food prices
Especially food prices (links to bad harvests)

Question 22

How did rural depopulation cause poverty?

Answer 22

Rack renting- high/ sharp increase in rent which cannot be afforded
Combination of poor harvests and changing in farming methods caused many employed farmers to go to towns in search of work

Question 23

What percentage of the population were in poverty during Elizabeth’s reign at each time?

Answer 23

Around 30-40%

Question 24

How many types of vagabonds are there (according to who?) and how many are wandering the country?

Answer 24

According to Thomas Harman, there were 23 types of vagabonds and there were 10,000 wandering the country

Question 25

What are the vagabonds we need to know about?

Answer 25

Hooker or angler Clapper dudgeon Doxy Abraham man Dummerers Counterfeit crank Ruffler

Question 26

What did a hooker or angler do?

Answer 26

Carried a long wooden stick to knock on doors to ask for charity, and to see what can be stolen At night, they’ll return to the house with a hooked stick to take valuables to try sell

Question 27

What did a clapper dudgeon do?

Answer 27

They often tied arsenic to their skin to make it bleed, hoping to attract sympathy while begging

Question 28

What did a doxy do?

Answer 28

Devious female begged- they carry a large bag and look like she’s knitting then she’ll pick up something to put it in her bag. Sometimes, she will tie bread to a string to attract chicken- she’ll choke or directly kidnap the animal while it was eating and put it in her bag

Question 29

What did an Abraham man do?

Answer 29

Acted mad so their behaviour would get donations from pity- sometimes, people would throw money just to get them away

Question 30

What did dummerers do?

Answer 30

Pretended to suffer from epilepsy, dressed in tatty clothes and sucked soap to fake foaming at the mouth

Question 31

What did rufflers do?

Answer 31

They were former soldiers who became vagabonds and who survive by robbing, using threats or by begging as an opportunity arises

Question 32

What were vagabonds?

Answer 32

A vagrant who turned to crime to support themselves

Question 33

What is a vagrant?

Answer 33

No home or settled employment so they’re forced to beg

Question 34

What were the idle poor, able bodied poor and impotent poor?

Answer 34

Idle poor- vagabonds, beggars and people who were able to work but chose to avoid doing so Able bodied poor- wanted to work but had become unemployed Impotent poor- ‘helpless poor’- too old, too young or too sick to work

Question 35

What was Henry VIII’s attitude towards the poor?

Answer 35

Harsh punishment Focus on punishing the beggars/ vagabonds, not the cause of the poverty

Question 36

What was Edward VI’s attitude towards the poor?

Answer 36

Harsh punishment- branding and 2 years hard labour Whipping is kept

Question 37

What was Elizabeth’s attitude towards the poor?

Answer 37

Punish! First time caught- whipping Second time caught- branding Third time caught- hanging (death)

Question 38

What was the reason Elizabeth introduces poor relief?

Answer 38

Fear of the poor- middle class knew that poor rates were increasing, and so were crime rates

Question 39

Statute of Artificers- when was it, what did it do and how did it impact upon vagrancy?

Answer 39

It was in 1563 It made it compulsory for boys to serve a seven year apprenticeship in a craft or trade. A maximum wage limit was set It attempted to create employment and reduce vagrancy. It tied men down to one area

Question 40

The Vagabonds Act- when was it, what did it do and how did it impact vagrancy?

Answer 40

It was passed in 1572 It had severe penalties to be used against vagrants JP’s to keep a register of the poor of their parish Local people must pay a poor rate and provide shelter for the elderly and sick Overseers of the Poor were to be appointed to help the JP’s The punishments were harsh to deter vagrancy- e.g. whipping, boring through the ear with a hot iron, death penalty for third offence Government accepted that some people genuinely needed help, but the Act did nothing to remove the causes of poverty

Question 41

Act for the Relief of the Poor (no.1)- when was it passed, what did it do and how did it impact vagrancy?

Answer 41

It was passed in 1598 Four Overseers were appointed to each parish to collect and supervise the administration of Poor Relief Work was able to be found for able bodied men and women Poor children were to learn a trade or craft Introduction to a compulsory poor rate that needed to be paid by all inhabitants The Act helped those who did need support, and it did attempt to provide jobs, and was meant to remain in place until 1834- but it stayed in place for 200+ years

Question 42

The Act for the Punishment of Rogues- when was it, what did it do and how did it impact vagrancy?

Answer 42

Establish the Houses of Correction for rogues and vagabonds Begging was forbidden and anyone found doing so would be whipped and sent to their place of birth- if they don’t have one, they’ll be sent to a House of Correction The Act helped contain poverty and vagrancy Reduced risk of social unrest

Question 43

Act for the Relief of the Poor (no.1)- when was it passed, what did it do and how did it impact vagrancy?

Answer 43

JP’s were to build two Houses of Correction in each county JP’s were to keep materials in every town to provide for those unable to find a job Those who refused were to be sent to House of Correction Help was given to provide work for able bodied vagrants Those who refused to work would be punished Act didn’t do anything to remove the causes of poverty

Question 44

Act for the Relief of the Poor (no.3)- When was it passed, what did it do and how did it impact vagrancy?

Answer 44

It made the 1598 Poor Law permanent, and it was called the Elizabethan Poor Law It was a realisation that government had to be responsible for the poor, and it set up a legal framework to tackle poverty