poverty Flashcards
who were the poor?
ordinary people who would work and provide for themselves and often lived in poverty
who were paupers?
people who relied on charity to survive e,g begging or going to the local church for help
what were the 7 causes of poverty?
-bad harvests from 1594-1598 led to food shortages, inflation and starvation
-flu killed 200,000 people in 1556 including many farm workers
-shortages of housing allowed landlords to increase rents (rack renting)
-population increased from 2.8 million to 4 million
-collapse of the cloth trade
-reformation under Henry VIII left monks and nuns homeless and no one to care for the sick
-enclosure- replacing crops with sheep means less workers are needed- unemployment
what years were the bad food harvests?
1594- 1598
how many people died of the flu?
200,000
what did the population increase from?
2.8 million to 4 million during Liz’s reign
what were the reactions to poverty?
many believed it was their duty to help those below them in society
recognised many paupers could not help their situation and were not to blame for their poverty
charities for the poor grew and almshouses were established
what were paupers seen as?
undeserving, untrustworthy beggars who had no interest in honest work
what did Thomas Haram publish?
a book which made people think that poor people were tricksters or criminals and others were seen as idle and lazy
what was a counterfit crank?
bit soap so he frothed at the mouth hoping people would give him money out of sympathy
what was a baretop trickster?
women who tricked men into following them by removing clothing. the men would then be beaten and robbed by their accomplices
what was a clapper dudgeon?
cut themselves and tied dirty bandages around the wounds to gain sympathy and money
what was a tom o’bedlam?
pretended to be mad and stuck chicken heads in his ears or barked like a dog
what were previous attempts to deal with poverty?
York 1515- beggar licenses were issued where if beggars refused to work they would be sent to the house of correction
ipswich- opened a hospital to help the old and sick and introduced a youth training scheme to teach them a trade so they could escape poverty
norwhich: rich citizens were taxed so they could take care of the vulnerable
when was the poor law introduced?
1601
what 3 things did the poor law say?
-each parish had to look after it’s own poor. if anyone was found without money they had to be sent back to their own village, if they didn’t return they would be flogged
-in each parish- overseers for the poor collected a tax called the poor rate. this tax would be used to pay for tools and materials for the poor to work and children were apprenticed to learn a trade
-anybody who refused to work would be punished and usually sent to the house of correction or whipped
what was a parish?
area served by a pastor or priest
what three groups were the poor categorised?
- the helpess poor (sick and old)
- the able-bodied poor (those considered fit)
- the idle poor
what did they do with helpless poor?
they were given food and accomodation
what did they do with able-bodied poor?
had to work in exchange for food
what did they do with idle poor?
they were punished and sent to the house of correction
was the poor law effective?
the law made a difference to some but it was not properly enforced in many areas.
begging seemed to decrease but may have been from threat of being sent to the house of corrections
