60. Socio-economic Problems In The 1590s Flashcards
When was there poor harvests?
The later 1580s and 1594-1598
What was the chief cause of bad harvests?
Excessive heavy rainfall
How many more people were in the country than 50 years previously?
A million more people
When had the price of bread doubled by?
1596
What were there severe outbreaks of in the same period?
Plague
What did parish registers show?
That almost every town was affected by plague deaths in 1596 and 1597
Who suffered the most from the plague?
Those living close to subsistence levels
Why were dairy products less affected than arable products?
Dairy products were less affected as livestock survived wet conditions
What made it difficult to more from areas where there was a surplus?
Poor communications
What did the censuses and listings of the poor in the 1590s show?
In three north Kent parishes nearly 12% of people couldn’t support themselves in 1598
Where were deaths from malnutrition recorded?
Newcastle
How much did the death rate increase by in 1595-7?
50%
When did the number of vagabonds grow?
After 1598
How many vagrants were punished in Oxford in 1598?
67 compared to 12 normally
How many vagrants were punished in London Bridewell in 1600-1 compared to 1578-9?
555 in 1600-1 compared to 209 in 1578-9
What did the privy council order about social and economic problems?
Forbade the export of grain and gentlemen were ordered to keep fewer dogs. Cattle were not to be fed peas
Why couldn’t the government do more to help social problems?
The war
When were there better harvests?
After 1598
What local unrest was there regular reports of?
Low level grumbling, some refusal to pay ship money, and complaints about purveyance and monopolies
When did the government have to abandon its attempts to collect shop money?
1596 in London
What happened in Suffolk to do with ship money?
The JPs proceeded very slowly in collecting it
Where were there food riots?
The south east and west in 1595, in Norfolk and east Anglia in 1596-7
Who did the London riots involve?
Numbers of apprentices which particularly concerned the privy council
Where did feltmakers riot?
Southwark in 1592, Bow in 1593, Southwark again in 1595 and on Tower Hill
