the problem of the poor · 2019-08-10 · the problem of the poor who were the poor and why did...
TRANSCRIPT
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