Pre-industrial Britain Flashcards
What was life like in pre-industrial Britain?
Cruel
Clear class division
Lots of countryside
Poor communication
Popular recreations
The sport and pastimes of people in pre-industrial Britain
Feudal system
A way of structuring society around a relationship derived from the holding of land in exchange for service of labour
How did work hours affect sport?
Lower class were constantly working and were only let off when upper class bosses let them leave or on national holidays, usually religion based
How did transport affect sport?
People couldn’t travel to games outside of small areas meaning limited competition
What were activities like in pre-industrial Britain?
Aggressive Male dominated Lots of injuries Lots of property damage Reflected the harsh society Chaotic
What did the pre-industrial society look like?
Very divided
Two sided
Rich or poor upper class or lower class nothing really inbetween
Rich did not play mob football and poor didn’t play real tennis
How did education affect sport?
People couldn’t read or write so they wouldn’t be able to read or understand the rules of the game hence why they became so violent and chaotic.
Mob football
Played by peasants Localised Used resources available to them Rare opportunity to play Male dominated Violent No rules
Real tennis
‘Royal tennis’
Only played by upper class wealthy people
Played to a high moral code
Played in a civilised manner with mutual respect
Purpose built facilities
Non-local
Skillful game with difficult technical demands
Athletics
Otherwise known as foot racing
Footmen competed to cover as many miles in a set time
Form of competitive running
Success meant increase in social status
Upper class would wager and act as patrons to lower class performers
Characteristics of popular recreations linked to pre-iB festivals
Rules were simple/unwritten Set in a rural location Occurred annually Events were local, neighbouring villages Betting occurred with wagers put on outcomes
Why were popular recreations banned in the 19th century
Violent Unruly in nature Involved gambling/wagering Led to injury or death in extreme cases Led to property damage
