TheproblemofthepoorWhowerethepoorandwhydidpovertyincrease?

Keyterms:Vagabond ApersonwhowandersfromplacetoplacewithoutahomePoorReliefFinancialhelpAlms CharityItinerants Peoplewhohadmovedfromtheirhomeparishlookingforwork

Whowerethepoor?• Anyonewhocouldn'tworkledtopoverty• Povertyledtostarvation&illness• Illnessledtodesperation- begging

Elizabethansocietywasconcernedforthepoor,in1570asurveywasundertakeninNorwich.Themayorwantedtoknowhowmanyitinerants wereinNorwich,hewaslookingforanyonewhoisreceivingorwhointhefuturemightneedpoorrelief.

Mainfindings:• 40%ofthepoorcountedwereunder16• Familiesheadedbywomenwereverypoor.If

womenhadtoworktheywerepaidlessthanmen• 80%ofafamiliesincomewasspendonbread• 2/3’swerewomenand¼ofthemwere60+• Mostofthesewomenhadbeenabandonedby

theirhusbandsorwerewidowed

Aswegothroughthisinformation,considertheLONGTERMandSHORTTERMcausesofpoverty

Whydidpovertyincrease?• Populationgrowth:

Populationgrewbymorethan1millioninElizabeth’stime,intownsandcities(urban)thisgrowthwasmuchfaster.LondonbecamethefastestgrowingcityinEnglandwith150,000peopleby1603.

• Food:Foodwasgrowninthecountrysideandbroughttothetownsandcitiestosell.Asthedemandforfoodwentup,sodidtheprice.

• BadHarvestsleadstoinflation:Badharvestsinthe1550’s,60’sand70’saddedtothispopulationrisemeanttherewasn’tenoughfoodtogoaround,breadandgrainbecamethestapledietofmostpeople

• Lowwagesleadstoinflation:Wagesdidn’triseasfastasprices,morepeopleneedingworkmeantlabour wascheaper.Manylandownersandemployerscuttheirwagestoreducecosts

• Land:Asthepopulationgrew,sodidthedemandforlandmeaninglandownerscouldchargehigherrents,entryfees(newtenancies)alsowentup.

Usingthisinformation– Createagraphicalmindmapofthesereasons

Longterm

Shortterm

Longterm

Shortterm

Longterm

Sheepfarming&enclosure

Manyfarmersbegantolookformoreprofitablewaystoearntheirlivingbyswitchingtodifferentmethodsofagriculture.

• Enclosure:Enclosecommonlandwithhedgesandputsheepontheland,thissavedmoneyastheydidn’thavetopaywages.WoolwasofcourseveryvaluableinTudortimesforthewool/clothtrade!Italsomeantthatlesscropswerebeinggrownaddingtotheproblems

• Afterthelandlordsputtheirrentsup,manyfarmershadtomovetothetownsandcitieslookingforworkaswellfurtherrisingruralunemployment

• Cropsweregrowntofeedthesheepwhenthemasseswerestarving!

Whathappenedtotheselabourers? KeyTerm

Longterm

Thecountryside:• Bettertechniqueswerebeingdevelopedand

spreadthroughtheprintingpress.Betteranimalcontrolledtobetterbreedingsothisledtofurtherenclosure.Amixofarableandanimalfarmingbecamecommon.

• Enclosurecontinuedandmoreandmore‘commonland’wasenclosedleadingtoevenmoreangerfromthepoor.

So… allofthistogether

=Massivepoverty

Attitudesandpoliciestowardsthepoor

Poorreliefwasavailablepaidforbyalocaltax,JP’sorganised thepoorrelief.FormanyElizabethans,helpingthelessfortunatewasaChristianduty.Theimpotentandelderlyweretreatedwithsympathyandcharity.

Itwasn’tthatsimplethough…

CanyouthinkofanythingthatHenryVIIImighthavedonethatmakesthischarityharder?

Theyfeltthatpovertywouldleadtodisorderandrebellion!Everyonehadaplaceinsociety,Vagabondsdidn’t!Theyhadnomaster,noemployer,belongednowhere,solivingoutsideofthelawaswellwasn’treallyaproblemforthem– eg.stealing&othercrimesetc.

Whywasthegovernmentworriedaboutpoverty?

PoorshacksThegovernmentwererighttoworryasthepoorbuiltshacks,tightlypacked,outsidethecitywalls.

Astheywereoutofreachofthecitieslaws,crimeanddisorderwererife!Alltownsfacedsimilarproblems!

Quickcontextcracker…Whathappenedearlierinthecoursethathasmadethiseconomicrecessionandproblemsworse?

Clue1:1563

Clue2:PhilipII

Clue3:Netherlands

Clue4:EnglishMerchants

TRADEEMBARGO:Onlylasted1yearbecauseofthedamageitwascausinginEnglandwithinflation

Impotent (Deservingpoor)

Ablebodied/Idle(undeservingpoor)

The“undeservingpoor”weretreatedveryharshly.Vagrantsfacedseverepunishmentiftheywerecaught,suchaswhippingorimprisonment.Ifavagrantwasconsistentlycaught,theycouldevenbekilled.Ablebodiedpoorincreasedduringthetradeembargoof1563,butthe

tradealsosufferedin68-73and86-88.

Angler– usedalongsticktostealclothesfromwashinglines

Counterfeitcrank– pretendedtohaveafitbyswallowingsoapandfoamingatthemouth

Clapperdudgeon– putarsenicontheirskintomakeitbleedandwrappedbandagesaroundtheirarmsandlegs

Doxy– carriedabagwhereshehidthingsshestole,oftenknittedwhilebeggingandworeaneedleinherhat

IdlePoor

Governmentaction!TheGovernmentrealised thatunemploymentwasamassiveproblemsotheybegandevelopingwaystohelpthepoor.

• Vagrantswerewhippedandsentawayfromatown/parishiftheyhadn'tbeenbornthere

• Localofficerscollectedpoorratesweeklyandgavethemoneytotheimpotentpoor

• TherewasclearlyachangeofattitudestothepoorasParliamentandElizabethpassedlawstodealwiththeproblem,mostlyduetothefearoftroubleandrebellion.

• 1563: StatuteofArtificersToensurepoorreliefwascollected.Anyonewhorefusedtopaythepoorratescouldbeimprisonedandofficialswhofailedtocollectitcouldbefinedupto£20

TheActs!

Remembertheimportanceofdistinguishingbetweenthe‘deservingpoor’andthe’idlepoor’

ImpactofElizabethanpoorlaws

• Manythingschangedforthebetter,butpovertycontinuedtobeaproblem.• ConflictwithSpainandtheNetherlandshittradebadly• Asmoreandmorepeoplecametotownsandcities,vagrancygrewasdidtrouble

• Mostimportantchange– therecognitionofunemploymentasagenuineproblem

• Providingthepoorwithrawmaterialstomakethingstosellbecamethelaw,thisgavethepoorsomeindependenceanddignity

• Ipswichhadestablishedaschoolforthepoorchildrenandahospitalforthosewhoweresick.

• InsomeLondonparishesspecialhelpwasprovidedforabandonedbabies,theoldandthesick

ExamQ:

DescribetwofeaturesoftheElizabethsystemofpoorreliefOrDescribetwofeaturesoftheElizabethsystemofpoorreliefthatwerenew

Summarydiagram

Populationincreases Risingprices enclosure unemployment vagabondage

Revisionexercise:

Explainhoweachoftheaboveledtothenextproblem

Canyouaddanyfurtherfactors/examplestomakeitabiggercausationdiagram?

Graphstogiveyousomefacts