Life in Elizabethan Times Flashcards
what were the main causes of poverty?
- religious changes
- population growth
- agricultural change
- monopolies
how did religious changes cause poverty?
- dissolution of the monasteries 1536-1541 - sold off most of their land
- monasteries had performed important social functions by providing support for many poor, ill, and disabled people
- their dissolution removed a valuable source of assistance for people in need
how did population growth cause poverty?
- birth rate increased and death rate fell (during her reign, population grew from ~3 mill to at least 4 mill)
- food production didn’t keep pace with population growth, so food prices rose and there were sometimes shortages
- food prices rose much more quickly than wages so the food-wage gap grew
- standards of living fell for many workers as they struggled to afford the necessities and many were forced into poverty
- growing competition for land, due to population growth, so rents increased
what were traditional farming methods?
- many farmers rented strips of land in large open fields called subsistence-level farming (each farmer only grew enough crops to supply himself and his family)
why did farming methods change?
subsistence-level was an inefficient form of farming so in 16th cent. landowners changed techniques to try and make more money from their land
what was the new farming method?
no longer shared open fields among many farmers but enclosed fields to create a few large farms
how did the change in farming methods cause poverty?
- required fewer labourers, so farmers who rented land were evicted, leaving them unemployed & homeless
- forced many people to leave their villages & migrate to towns or cities in search of work & the gvt viewed these migrants as ‘vagabonds’ & feared they’d encourage riots & rebellion
- exporting wool to europe was more profitable than selling grain so many landowners stopped growing grain & began farming sheep; the fall in grain production contributed to higher food prices & there was a higher risk of food shortages when there was a bad harvest
how did monopolies cause poverty?
- Liz rewarded her courtiers with monopolies which gave them the exclusive right to produce or distribute a certain item
- they were unpopular as they made rising prices worse as monopoly-holders had no competition, they could fix high prices for their goods
why did poverty become worse in the latter years of her reign (1580s-90s)?
- several failed harvests led to food shortages + higher food prices
- more people pushed into poverty
- in some areas people starved to death
what was the traditional area of support for poverty?
charity: rich people made donations to hospitals, monasteries & other organisations to help the poor however during Liz’s reign, poverty became so extreme these individual donations were no enough
what was the new attitude towards poverty during elizabeth’s reign?
society as a whole must take responsibility for helping the poor
how were the Poor Laws made?
- Privy Council researched how local gvt had tackled poverty and based the Poor Laws on local policies which seemed the most effective as London, Norwich, Ipswich, York had been using compulsory poor rates since mid-16th cent.
what was the 1560s Poor Law?
introduced a tax to raise money for the poor ⇒ the ‘poor rate’
what were the 1597 and 1601 Poor laws?
- in response to poverty crisis of 1590s
- poor rate became a national system of compulsory taxation
- collected locally by an Overseer of the Poor
what were Poor rates used for?
to provide hospitals and housing for the elderly, sick and disabled
how were the poor treated?
- poor children given apprenticeships which usually lasted at least 7 years
- LAs expected to provide financial support or work for the deserving poor but poor people could be sent to prison if they refused to take work
- undeserving poor were publicly whipped and forced to return to their home parish, and repeat offenders sent to prison
why were the ‘undeserving poor’ treated so harshly?
were seen as serious threat to society & many believed poor criminals and vagabonds had encouraged the Northern Rebellion so in response, gvt introduced particularly harsh punishments for undeserving poor in 1572
what were the 3 categories of poor people?
- helpless poor
- deserving poor
- undeserving poor
who were the ‘helpless poor’?
- unable to support themselves
- young orphans, the elderly, sick, disables
who were the ‘deserving poor’?
people who wanted to work but couldn’t find a job in their home town or village
