Poverty: Government Legislation Flashcards
What was the one piece of legislation regarding poverty passed in the reign of Henry VII?
1495 Vagabonds and Beggars Act
First Tudor attempt to deal with the poor. Punishments for vagrancy were introduced and vagrants were to be sent to their home parishes.
Vagabonds, the idle, and suspicious people were to be set in stocks for 3 days and 3 nights with no sustenance but food and bread, then sent out of town.
What were the weaknesses of the 1495 Vagabonds and Beggars Act?
No provision for remedying the problem, just moving offenders from town to town
Made no distinction between the two classes of vagrant: those who chose to beg despite other options and those genuinely seeking employment - both were categorised as vagabonds
Didn’t account for a third category of vagrant: the impotent poor, who were unable to support memselves because of illness, disability, or old age
Spared pregnant women and the extremely sick, but made no provision to help them
Treated poverty as a crime to be punished, rather than a social ill to be alleviated
What legislation addressing the poor was passed in Henry VIII’s reign?
1530 Royal Proclamation
1531 Vagabonds Act
1535 Draft Bill
1536 Act
What did the 1530 Royal Proclamation rule?
Described idleness as the ‘mother and root of all vices’ and ordered that whipping should replace the stocks as punishment for vagabonds
What did the 1531 Vagabonds Act do?
Replaced 1495 act
Distinguished between impotent poor and sturdy beggars by giving the old, the sick, and the disabled licenses to beg
What were the weaknesses of the 1531 Vagabonds Act?
Aside from giving them licenses to beg, no further provision was made for the impotent poor
All able-bodied unemployed were treated alike - failure to acknowledge that a man may wish to work but be unable to find employment
Those genuinely seeking had to choose between starving or breaking the law by begging
Why was the 1531 Vagabonds Act a landmark piece of legislation?
First act to distinguish between different categories of poor
Who wrote the 1535 Draft Bill?
William Marshall
What ideas did the 1535 Draft Bill put forward?
Recognised there was insufficient work available for all men - wanted to tackle this through a programme of public works on roads, forts, harbours, and rivers.
Noice to be given of any available jobs and in the mean time the unemployed to be set to work at reasonable wages.
Impotent poor to be maintained in their parishes.
Scheme to be directed by the ‘Council to Avoid Vagabonds’ and funded by a tax on income and capital.
What was the fate of Marshall’s 1535 Draft Bill?
Never came into effect - rejected by Parliament
BUT, Henry VIII publicly lent his support to the bill
What were the terms of the 1536 Act?
Responsibility for the impotent poor was put on municipal authorities
What were the shortcomings of the 1536 Act?
Measure was Iess sweeping than the 1535 Draft Bill
Still relied on voluntary donations to finance poor relief
What continuity was there between the reigns of Henry VII and Henry VIII?
All unemployed able-bodied people were grouped together and treated alike
Motivation for finding solutions to poverty was still fear of disorder and unrest, not a desire to genuinely improve people’s quality of life
Due to failure of 1535 Bill (which proposed funding through a tax on income), poor relief was still reliant on voluntary donations
What change was there between the reigns of Henry VII and Henry VIII?
Beginning of recognition that the able-bodied poor were not necessarily vagrants of their own accord and that there was simply not enough work for everyone
Indication of more progressive attitudes - Henry VIII voiced public support for the 1535 Draft Bill
Quality of poor relief diminished due to the dissolution of the monasteries
What legislation addressing the poor was passed in the reign of Edward VI?
1547 Vagabonds Act
1550 Act
1551 Poor Act
How did the 1547 Vagabonds Act approach vagrancy?
Attempted to suppress vagrancy using extreme punishments
Anybody found to have not worked in 2 years was to be branded with a ‘v’ and enslaved for two years.
Those who attempted to run away were punished with lifelong slavery or, upon a second attempt, execution.
Why was the 1547 Vagabonds Act unsuccessful?
Inadequately enforced due to lack of administrative machinery
JPs reluctant to administer such extreme punishment
Why was the 1547 Vagabonds Act unsuccessful?
Inadequately enforced due to lack of administrative machinery
JPs reluctant to administer such extreme punishment
What did the 1550 Act do?
Replaced the 1547 Act, admitting that the proposed punishments had been overly harsh, and reverted to similar measures as in the 1531 and 1536 Acts.
Vagabonds were to be whipped as a deterrent and sent to their home parish
What did the 1551 Poor Act do?
Made town and parish authorities responsible for appointing two ‘collectors of alms’
Those appointed were to ‘gently ask’ for contributions. Those who refused could be ‘gently exhorted’ and upon further refusal could be referred to the bishop
What continuity was there between the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward?
Continuation of attitude that vagabonds should be punished
Reversion back to terms of 1531 and 1536 Acts - legislation similar to that in Henry’s reign
Contributions towards poor relief were still technically voluntary, and people got away with not paying them
What change was there in Edward VI’s reign?
Introduction of extreme punishments for vagrants - step back in terms of treatment of the poor
BUT this was followed by a recognition that harsher punishment was not the way to go about solving the problem - positive development which informed future policy
Greater pressure put on people to make contributions towards poor relief through ‘persuasion’ by the collectors of alms or intervention by the vicar, churchwarden, or bishop
What legislation did Mary I pass addressing poverty?
Didn’t do much in respect to poverty and vagrancy.
Only legislation passed regarding this was in 1555 when she reinstated licensed begging.
Beggars had to wear badges in order to be easily seen by the authorities and the public -not intended to humiliate the old and infirm beggars but rather to shame their more fortunate neighbours into donating additional alms to support their local poor
What change was there in Mary I’s reign?
No substantial government legislation tackling poverty, BUT Mary did tackle oneof the underlying issues behind poverty by reducing inflation.
She created recoinage plans (combatting inflation caused by debasement) and drafted a book of revenue, significantly improving customs rates