Elizabeth 5 Flashcards
Causes of poverty
- Population increase - Land enclosure - Wars - Dissolution of the monasteries.
population increase
During Elizabeth’s reign the population increased from 2.8 million to 4 million.
Population was increasing as girls were getting married young and having loads of kids.
More mouths to feed. Price of goods rose up due to inflation. Not enough food to go around and people couldn’t afford it.
People resulted in begging which was illegal without a licence.
land enclosure
Growing crops needed a lot of people.
Looking after sheep only needed 1-2 shepherds.
Unemployment → begging → illegal.
Dissolution of the monasteries
Henry VIII got rid of the monasteries.
Monks were unemployed and homeless.
Some monasteries looked after the needy.
The needy were also homeless and had no one to care for them.
wars
Henry VIII’s reign - men who were breadwinners went to war.
If they die, there is no one to look after the family.
Elizabeth didn’t go to war so soldiers and sailors were jobless.
At times of war, taxes are increased.
Attitudes towards poverty
Attitudes towards poverty
The Elizabethan wealthy stopped giving money to the poor due to the scams they used to pull such as: throw a fit and gain sympathy;bark like a dog and follow them for hours & dress up as a poor man to get money.
1567 act for setting the poor on work - placed responsibility for finding work for the poor in the hands of the local authority.
House of correction - place where beggars were forced to spend the night as punishment.
How does the government help the poor?
PUNISHMENTS
House of correction
Return to the town they came from.
Vagabonds with any lawful means of livelihood were sentenced to be hanged.
Beggars were punished in stocks.
Beggars without a licence were publicly whipped.
If they were caught a second time, they would have a hole burned in their ear.
Third offence meant they were hanged.
How does the government help the poor?
SKILLS / ASSISTANCE
Weaving and spinning.
Licensing system.
Increases support.
Opened a hospital specifically for the old and sick who could not afford hospital treatment.
Youth training scheme.
2 categories: idle poor and unfortunate poor.
The poor were given work.
Unfortunate poor were given food and support.
Taxed rich citizens to pay for the poor.
Carries a census to make registers of the poor.
Types of poor people
The helpless poor, the able bodied poor, the idle poor.
The poor laws were introduced as the poor were on the verge of a rebellion.
They were fed up with their Queen not caring.
Poor laws- introduced in 1601. The wealthy should be taxed to pay for the care and support of the poor and vulnerable.
How effective were the poor laws?
→ Inconsistently implemented. → Begging decreased. → Unnecessarily harsh, focusing too much on punishment. → Arguments over where paupers belonged resulted in them being sent from one place to another.
Poverty in Elizabethan England
Almhouses: wealthy + landowners
To gain prestige and respect
Providing for the poor became their responsibility
Leave behind a legacy
Lasting memorial
Emphasises their status and presence.
almhouses: christians
Salvation
Save them from punishment
Christian obligation
Prayer for dead
Outward sign of Christian faith
Encourages the poor to convert.
almhouses: location + daily prayer
Recite: lords prayer, ten commandments and articles of faith,
Daily morning and evening prayers.
Regular church services.
Located in places important to the founder.
Lord burghley
Born close by in Lincolnshire.
Grandfather David was a very important man in Stamford.
Lord Burghley = William Cecil - in charge of finances.
Established in 1597, 13 almshouses.
It used to be a hospital (both places help people).
Justice of the peace said there were a lot of poor people in the area.
