How successfully did Elizabeth handle poverty between 1558-1588? Flashcards
What is a vagrant/vagabond?
-someone who wanders from place to place without a home or job
What was poor relief previously in Tutor England?
-Monasteries had been important but the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530 removed that help
When did poverty worsen? Why?
-poverty worsened in the 1560s due to the collapse of the cloth trade->Vagrancy became a problem
-became clear vagrancy needed to be sorted
What was Elizabeth the first to set up?
-the start of Elizabethan England is the start of the welfare state
-poor relief->before Elizabeth there was no help for the poor
What two terms did the Welfare state use to define the vagrants?
-deserving poor
-undeserving poor/idle poor
Who were the deserving poor?
-people who were poor through no fault of their own and who for very good reasons couldn’t work
Who were the undeserving poor/idle poor?
-people who were fit and healthy but who chose not to work->these were people who wouldn’t work
Why were people so concerned with poverty?
-so many more people on the streets
-didn’t understand why there was more poverty
-thought disease, crime and rebellion were causing poverty
What were the reasons for increased poverty in Elizabethan England? (8)
-inflation - prices rose more than wages
-more migration of workers looking for jobs in larger towns
-larger numbers of labourers in towns who were under employed
-population rise/change
-former soldiers and sailors were discharged often with little money and far from their home parishes
-enclosure of arable land for pasture farming led to unemployment
-sheep farming
-living standards declining
Why was prices rising more than wages (inflation) a problem?
-caused people to not be able to afford goods ->reducing the purchasing power of those who were in employment
Why was more migration of workers looking for jobs in larger towns a problem?
-due to decrease in living standards (especially in London)->it appeared that vagrancy was increasing->caused problems because it would increase the amount of vagrants in London and cause more issues
Why were larger numbers of labourers in towns who were unemployed a problem?
-concern that these groups would cause riots and rebellion
Why was the rising and changing population a problem?
-more people looking for work, a home and needing food etc
Why was the discharging of former soldiers, often with little money and far from their home parishes a problem?
-no support for them and they would become vagrants due to being discharged
Why was the enclosing of arable land for pasture leading to unemployment a problem?
-price rises and farmers lost jobs due to enclosing of land
Why did sheep farming cause problems?
-required less labour which increased unemployment
How much had living standards declined over Elizabeth’s reign?
by a 1/4
What laws did Elizabeth pass to overcome these issues?
-Statute of Artificers and Alms Act 1563 (same year as trade embargo)
-Vagabonds Act/Poor Relief Act 1572 (same year as St Barthes massacre)
-Act for the relief of the poor 1576 (same year as Spanish Fury)
What did the Statute of Artificers act want to do and what did it provide as a result of this? When?
-1563
-wanted to create more jobs
-apprenticeships
What was the Alms Act? When?
-1563
-introduced for the first time ever the Poor Rate (only for deserving poor)->wealthy members of parish had to give money to help the deserving poor->didn’t have to but encouraged
What happened in the same year as the Statute of Artificers and Alms act?
Trade Embargo
How did the Alms Act deal with the poor?
-anyone who was found refusing to pay the poor rates could be imprisoned
-any officials who failed to organise poor relief in their local areas could be fined up to £20
What were the strengths of the Alms Act? (3)
-Elizabeth’s government was adopting a national approach towards the organisation of poor relief
-created consequences for those that did not abide by the act.
-poverty recognised as a real problem
What was a limitation of the Alms Act?
-the problem of poverty persisted
