Lifestyles of the Rich and the Poor Flashcards
What was the Elizabethan era known as due to many landowners rebuilding their homes in order promote their wealth
The Great Rebuilding era
Act passed in 1601 to help tackle poverty
Act for relief of the poor
Year poor law was finally made permanent
1601
(Act for relief of the poor- legal framework to help tackle poverty)
What was the Vagabonds Act
1572
Severe punishments for vagrants
+ locals pay poor rate
What year was the Vagabonds Act
1572
What Act was introduced 1563 to try and tackle poverty
Statute of Artificers
(Compulsory 7 yr apprenticeship for boys in craft/ trade- attempted to create employment to reduce vagrancy) also tied men down to one area so helped reduce spread of diseases which was a key concern associated with vagrancy
Group of people seen as threat to society and blamed for increase in crime
Sturdy beggars
Did poverty increase or decrease during Elizabeth’s reign
Increase
2 categories of poor
Impotent (deserving- included elderly, ill, injured soldiers that returned from war and anyone believed unable to work)
Able- bodied (undeserving- believed to be too lazy to find work)
Names of some of The Elizabeth’s houses
Burghley House
Longleat House
Hardwick Hall
Relationship between power and wealth
As one increases, so does the other
Rich= lots of power
Poor= no power
Factors increasing poverty
Inflation
Increasing population
Bad harvests
Increased food prices
Increased unemployment
Rural depopulation
Rack renting
Demobbed soldiers
Dissolution of monasteries
+ lots more
All led to vicious cycle of poverty as lots were caused by one another e.g poor harvests means rural depopulation as farmers can’t sell anything so move to cities to try and find work but in turn less food is being produces etc
Dissolution of monasteries meaning
When Henry V111 closed down monasteries as part of the reformation of the church
Contributed to increased poverty (people who worked at monasteries no longer had a job and it also acted as a social place for people to go to)
What is meant by rack renting
When landlords dramatically raised rent prices so people could no longer afford housing and became homeless (contributed to increasing poverty)
True or false, when Elizabeth becomes Queen, she already inherits some factors contributing towards poverty
True
Whilst poverty increases during her reign it still exists and is a problem before she becomes Queen
For example Henry V111 closing monasteries wasn’t something she did
What was society’s initial views on poor people
They were generally lazy and should be punished to make them change their ways to not be poor
(It was their fault for being poor not their circumstances)
True or false, it was very hard for poor people to become rich
True
The poor had very little power and married other poor people
An extremely rare exception was if you were to marry someone in the upper class (Bess of Hardwick) however rich people normally married rich people to gain more land and improve their social status
Which social hierachy’ category did most Elizabethan’s fall into
Craftspeople/ labourers/ servants/ poor
What % of people lived on the edge of starvation
20- 30%
True or false, the wealth gap (difference between rich and poor) grows during Elizabeth’s reign
True
Rich are powerful so can get i her but poor have no power so get even poorer and suffer more from bad harvests, high food prices etc
How many years was the compulsory apprenticeship in the Statute for Artificers Act
7 years
What education did the sons of Nobles/ Lords receive
Home tutoring (French/ Latin/ Greek)
+ social etiquette (table manners, hunting, dancing etc
What education did daughters of Nobles/ Lords receive
Tutoring by a governess- how to run a large house
3 key features of the rich house
Long gallery
Landscaped gardens
Large windows
Main function of Long Gallery in rich homes
Entertainment, Music, dancing, games, exercise
What shape were homes of the rich
Symmetrical e.g shape of E and H
Compare homes of Gentry to rich
Gentry aimed to copy homes of the rich but on a less grand scale
They rented out large areas of their home to tenant farmers to receive income
What was education like for boys in the Gentry
Grammar schools
Many went on to Cambridge/ Oxford or to study law
True or false, number of grammar schools increased during Elizabeth’s reign
True
360 grammar schools by end of 16th century
How many grammar schools in England and Wales by end of 16th century
360
(Number of grammar schools increased during Elizabeth’s reign)
What was education like for the poor
Little to none- couldn’t afford it
(If they could it would be basic reading/ writing)
Roughly how many vagabonds were there wandering around the countryside
10, 000
Different types of Vagabonds (different ways they seek out money/ a living)
Hooker
Ruffler
Doxy
Abraham man
Etc
How did the hooker get money
Carry long wooden stick
Knock on doors seeking charity and and see what they could potentially steal
After dark return to house, reach through window and steal clothes/ valuables to sell
Why was Elizabeth’s reign a turning point towards vagrancy
First time Government accepted responsibility for dealing with poor
Were the impotent poor deserving or not
Yes
E.g disabled/ ill
3 key years there were bad harvests
1556, 1596, 1597
What was the population in 1540s
2.7 million
What was the population in 1601
4.1 million
What did the population increase from and to between 1540s and 1601
2.7 million to 4.1 million
Roughly how many monasteries did Henry V111 close during the dissolution of monasteries
800
When was the dissolution of monasteries
Following Henry V111 reformation of the church
Officially between 1536 and 1539
How dissolution of monasteries contributed to poverty
Between 1536 and 1539 Henry V111 officially closed down all monasteries following his reformation of the church (‘breaking with Rome’) in 1534. This therefore meant that many people who previously worked there became unemployed so no longer had a job or way to earn money including Monks, Servants and labourers. Due to around 800 monasteries being closed this therefore meant that a huge number of people were affected so no longer had the money need to be able to afford basic food etc and instead were dragged into poverty.
Additionally it made the situation worse for those already living in poverty because previously monasteries had been used as a place for the poor/ needy to seek charity including receiving food and shelter and this was no longer in place so the poor had nowhere to go
Tenant farmers meaning
Farmers who occupy land (often of gentry)
Fashion of gentry
Modern stylish outfits
Similar to nobles/ lords but without as many expensive jewels or fine threads
3 key clothes materials worn by nobles/ lords (rich)
Silk, linen, velvet
2 groups of people that lost jobs from changes in cloth industry
Weavers
Spinners
Original attitudes towards vagabonds
Seen as too idle and lazy to find jobs
Feared that they would cause rebellion
Wonder from place you place (spread disease e.g plague)
Fear they would turn to crime like rogues
How effective were Poor laws
System introduced to manage poor relief so good
But didn’t end poverty
Effective as kept in place for over 200 years after Elizabeth’s reign
Good as governmnet took action and responsibility to look after poor
Created jobs e.g st statue of artificers
Helped reduce threat of rebellion and reduce social unrest
Who wrote a book about vagabonds
Thomas Harman
Thomas Hartman wrote a book about vagabonds, how many different types did he identify there to be
23
(Categorised by way they make their living)
For over how many years did poor laws last after Elizabeth’s reign showing that they were mainly effective
Over 200 years
Why was Elizabeth’s reign turning point for vagabonds
First time government accepted responsibility for dealing with poor (even though they could still be punished like with 1572 vagabonds act)
Elizabeth passed series of laws to set up national, compulsory system of poor relief
How many key poor laws were inctroduced
6
Including statute of artificers
Vagabonds act
Act for relief of the poor
2 key examples of poor laws that still punished vagabonds
Vagabonds Act 1272- vagabonds harshly punished
Act for punishment of rogues 1598: begging forbidden, rogues sent back to place
of work (helped reduce social unrest)
One key poor law that helped reduce social unrest
Act for Punishment of rogues 1598 (begging forbidden, rogues sent to place of birth + whipped)
How change in farming methods led to poverty
Farmers changed from farming crops to sheep as it was more profitable. They enclosed common land and employed fewer labourers.
labourers lost jobs so we’re forced into poverty as they couldn’t afford basic food etc
Less people receive so end up facing starvation
What were the changes in cloth industry and how did it cause poverty
There was a decline in the number of cloth exports so the cloth trade collapsed as less cloth was needed to be made so less workers were needed so many lost their jobs e.g spinners and weavers
How long was the working day of the poor
12 hours (main meal of vegetable stew at 6pm as mat was too expensive)
How many families did the rich (nobles and lords) consist of
50
How did Abraham man seek living
Pretended to be mad to get donations through pity
How did dummerers seek a living
Pretend to be dumb to get charity
How did rufflers seek a living
Former soldiers who use violent threats to get money
How did doxy seek a living
Women who stole things e.g chickens then hid them in her bag and tried to hide the stolen items by pretending to knit
When is the first act for relief of the poor
1576
House of correction set up for vagabonds to go to if they can’t find work
Help reduce crime, spread of disease…
All poor laws
1563= statute of artificers= 7 year apprentiship
1572= vagabonds act - poor rate + punishment
1576= first act for relief of the poor (house of correction set up)
1598= second act for relief of the poor and poor rate made compulsory
1598= act for punishment of rogues= rogues sent back to place of birth + punished + begging forbidden
1601= act for relief if the poor
