How serious were the social and economic problems in the mid-Tudor period under Somerset? Flashcards
What social and economic problems affected the nation?
-population rise
-inflation and rising prices
-enclosures
-decline in living standards
-poverty and vagrancy
-rising rent
-poor harvests
-influenza and epidemics
-debasement (the value of currency reduces)
What challenges were faced?
-ignored the most important underlying issue which was rise in population
-first time since the Black Death that the population in England was that high (1523-1551 population rose from 2.3 million to 3 million)
-agricultural productivity couldn’t keep up with the rise in population ->prices of food rose->very serious problem during bad harvests
-grain prices rose even faster than mean, dairy or wool prices->grain was a stable diet so it had serious impact
-young population->dependency ratio increased (lots of children)
-enclosures->people were angered because they believed it caused unemployment
When did prices start rising and when did it start dramatically rising?
-prices had been rising steadily since the start of the century but dramatically rose in the 1540s
Why did prices rise and what was the impact?
-in order to finance wars against France and Spain Henry VIII and Edward VI’s government debased coinage->put more money into circulation which impacted prices as more money was available but no more food->many people found themselves in poverty->wages failed to keep up with the price rises ->caused falling in standard of living
How was price rises made worse?
-by bad harvests->food prices rose even more
-Dissolution of the Monasteries had removed an institution that helped the poor and enclosures only added to the difficulties->decreasing employment and the amount of arable land
-made even worse by depression in the cloth trade->added to the unemployment and increased levels of poverty
What was the issue with Vagrants and what happened as a result?
-large number of vagrants worried authorities as they viewed them as a threat to law and order
-lacking police force meant that the government was often forced into harsh treatments
-Vagrancy Act in 1547 condemned vagrants to slavery for 2 years for a first offence or life imprisonment
What was the Vagrancy Act and when was it?
-1547
-condemned vagrants to slavery for 2 years for a first offence or life imprisonment
-but it was never passed
What does Vagrants mean?
-a person without a settled home or regular work who wanders from place to place and lives by begging
How much did the population rise from 1523-1551?
-population rose from 2.3 million to 3 million
-0.7 million
What was the problem with population?
-was not understood at the time
-significant population rise (increased by around 0.5million from 1520-1550)
-5% more people lived in urban areas from 1520-1600
What percentage did more people live in urbans areas from 1520-1600?
5%
What was the problem with enclosures?
-many people relied on common land for grazing etc
-enclosure takes some of that land away for the Lord to make more money with sheep grazing so some people lost land
What was the problem with debasement?
-in 1526 when Wolsey first looked into debasement the coins contained around 92.5% of silver
-in 1551 the level was at around 22.5%
-this caused huge inflationary problems during Edwards reign
What was the problem with a high population of young people?
-the economy is based on much more consumers than producers ->more young people and there aren’t as many people who are at the age to work which means that there aren’t as many people to help with harvests etc->prices of food went up which led to poverty, starvation, vagrancy etc
What did Somerset do to try and solve these problems?
-Vagrancy/slavery Act in 1547 but it didn’t happen
-Enclosures
