Poverty and Disorder

Question 1

What drove the Elizabethan poor law policies?

Answer 1

Elizabethan poor law policies were driven by localised fear and confidence at the centre

Question 2

What was evident in English society by 1580?

Answer 2

By 1580 there were clear structural economic issues: enclosures, over reliance on the cloth trade, international competition

Question 3

What did the contemporary debate of poverty and disorder focus on?

Answer 3

Contemporary discourse on poverty and disorder focused on ideas of human failings and how to classify the poor- i.e. deserving, undeserving

Question 4

What is evident in late Elizabethan urban censuses?

Answer 4

In late Elizabethan urban censuses there is a clear record of the labouring poor (willing but unable to work)

Question 5

What was the tripartite classification system of poverty which emerged in Elizabethan England?

Answer 5

The Elizabethan era saw the emergence of the tripartite classification of the impotent, the thriftless and the labouring poor

Question 6

When was decisive legislation passed in regards to poverty and disorder?

Answer 6

In 1597 and 1601 there was decisive legislation passed with regards to poverty and disorder: The Vagabonds Act and An Act For The Relief Of The Poor

Question 7

What did the Vagabonds Act and An Act For The Relief Of The Poor establish as the management for the English poor?

Answer 7

Vagrants were to be whipped, the impotent relieved, and the unemployed found work

Question 8

What does Tudor social legislation indicate about the nature of governance in England?

Answer 8

Tudor social legislation is evidence of a paternalistic moral tone- especially considering the rhetoric of social justice surrounding monarchy

Question 9

How were poverty and disorder acts found nationwide support?

Answer 9

Poverty and disorder acts were infused with references to the body politic- a key early modern concern- in order to garner support

Question 10

What is a crucial aspect of Tudor propaganda with regards to poverty and disorder?

Answer 10

A crucial aspect of Tudor propaganda with regards to poverty and disorder is the success of the metaphor of disease for idleness- that it is infecting the body politic

Question 11

What can be said of the breadth of poverty-related policies passed in the Tudor era?

Answer 11

The sheer breadth of policy concerns shows an overstretched regime outstripping its own resources

Question 12

What has changed in the historiography of Tudor mechanisms regarding poverty and disorder?

Answer 12

A new emphasis on limitations of policies and their implementation seeks to challenge traditional interpretations clouded by the Victorian tradition which exaggerated the extent of government capabilities

Question 13

How can Tudor social policy be depicted as comprehensive?

Answer 13

Tudor social policy can be seen as comprehensive because by 1598 there were regular presentments (legal lay-outs of the context) established

Question 14

What was the most severe social issue faced by Tudor governments?

Answer 14

The most severe social issue faced by Tudor governments was dearths (subsistence crises)

Question 15

How did Tudor governments attempt to manage periods of dearth?

Answer 15

Periods of dearth were managed via dearth orders, although there are cases such as in 1587 where counties refuse to act and restrict grain- there was also a staying clear of terms such as famine

Question 16

How can the Privy Council’s paramountcy be questioned?

Answer 16

Although the Privy Council had indisputable power, it felt it necessary to justify actions with precedent and statute law until 1638

Question 17

How can failures in dearth management be studied?

Answer 17

We can study government failures in dearth management by looking at records of grain surveys and food rioting

Question 18

How can the centre / periphery disparity between social policy and local desires be exemplified?

Answer 18

The centre / periphery disparity in social policies can be shown through the lack of implementation of the Ale Assize (matching ale prices to that of corn)

Question 19

What should be remembered about the Poor Laws and their continual veneration?

Answer 19

Poor rates had been levied prior to the 1590s, and implementation of the poor laws lagged in the north to the point of the Lord Lieutenant criticising it in 1586.

Question 20

What were the limitations of parish overseers?

Answer 20

Parish overseers were often distrusted, and although there to manage disputes and petitions to the poor laws, administration varied and often allowed begging out of ease.

Question 21

What were the disputes often dealt with in the poor law mechanisms?

Answer 21

The disputes dealt with by overseers of the poor were often related to the life-cycle or accidents: orphaning, widowing, disability etc.

Question 22

What can be said about the use of poor laws for the average Elizabethan subject?

Answer 22

Poor laws were often viewed as a last resort, sustenance was instead maintained by sacrificing comforts, appealing to kin networks and informal charity

Question 23

What was the nature of the poor laws in 1590s Kent?

Answer 23

Poor laws in 1590s Kent had a default rate of 10-15% because of conservatism, snobbery, and self-interest leading to falls in revenues

Question 24

By how much could poor law revenues fall due to a lack of parish participants?

Answer 24

poor law rates were known to fall up to 60% because of denial of payment

Question 25

How can parish loyalties and financial focuses be shown?

Answer 25

Parish loyalties are evident in reactions to the 1589 statute on lodging- there was an erosion of tolerance which broke into violence in places

Question 26

What was the swaying influence in centre-periphery disparity in policies according to S. Hindle?

Answer 26

S. Hindle suggests that the demands of local labour markets swayed local governments into implementing (or not) centre policies

Question 27

What was the reaction to increases in illegitimate children?

Answer 27

A rise in illegitimate children led to more punitive measures, largely tried to use paternal orders to avoid economic responsibility going to the state

Question 28

What was the consequence of failing to enforce paternity orders?

Answer 28

Failure to enforce paternity orders led to the burden of the child falling to the parish- especially as unwed mothers’ punishments increased from the stocks to whippings

Question 29

How was unemployment solved?

Answer 29

Unemployment of the labouring poor was solved haphazardly, the socio-economic conditions outstripped policy capabilities

Question 30

How was vagrancy solved in the late Elizabethan era?

Answer 30

Vagrancy was solved via an installation of martial law and houses of correction

Question 31

What was the content of martial law being warranted in regards to vagrancy?

Answer 31

Martial law was allowed in regards to vagrancy 1590s+, it meant that Officers could roam the kingdom and perform summary justice

Question 32

What was the nature of houses of correction in response to vagrancy?

Answer 32

Houses of correction tried to create “social transformation” by having 15 hour work days and 45 minutes to eat and pray

Question 33

When were houses of correction established, how did they grow?

Answer 33

Houses of correction were established in 1576, by 1600 1/4 of counties had one, by 1598 Devon had four

Question 34

What was an issue with the 1597 An Act For the Relief of the Poor?

Answer 34

The 1597 An Act For the Relief of the Poor was too vague in language, it had to be readdressed under James

Question 35

What can be said of the constant re-creating of policies on poverty and disorder?

Answer 35

The reassessing of poverty laws suggests that there was contemporary awareness of failures and limitations of policy

Question 36

How many plague relief policies were passed between the 1578-1646?

Answer 36

Between 1578 and 1646, 9 Privy Council acts were passed with focuses on regulation and supervision

Question 37

What was the acceptance of Tudor plague policies like?

Answer 37

Tudor plague policies were often seen as inhumane by contemporaries, and were not cohesive in their implementation which caused social antagonism

Question 38

What were the two functions of social policies according to S. Hindle?

Answer 38

S. Hindle suggested that social policy both helped redistribute authority as well as help subjects