Pre-industrial Britain Flashcards
What was sports participation influenced by during pre-industrial Britain (pre-1780).
• Availability of money
• Law and order
• Types and availability of transport
• Education/literacy
• Availability of time
• Gender
• Social class
How did money influence participation rates in sport during pre-industrial Britain?
Wagering from the upper class enabled the lower class to make money from sports.
How did law and order influence participation rates in sport during pre-industrial Britain?
Cruel and harsh living conditions were replicated in the violent nature of popular recreation.
How did types and availability of transport influence participation rates in sport during pre-industrial Britain?
Games were restricted to local areas as the lack of transport meant that those participating could not travel far to play other teams.
How did education/literacy influence participation rates in sport during pre-industrial Britain?
Many of the population were illiterate, meaning that rules needed to be simple to be understood. They were never written down.
How did availability of time influence participation rates in sport during pre-industrial Britain?
- Long working hours meant that sporting events were occasional
- Sport was played on holidays, festivals and holy days
How did gender influence participation rates in sport during pre-industrial Britain?
- Men had greater participation rates than women
- Women played sports such as smock races and bat and ball games
How did social class influence participation rates in sport during pre-industrial Britain?
Upper Class:
- Signified those with money and who owned large amounts of land, and did not partake in manual labour
- Took part in rational recreation such as real tennis, with those from the lower class not having access to this sport.
Lower Class:
- Manufacturers with little money, living in poverty and cramped poor conditions.
- Popular recreation was violent due to the lower class enjoying the violent nature of the sport.
Characteristics of rational recreation
- Organised
- Had codes of conduct
- Promoted fair play
- Considered respectable
- Exclusive to the upper class
- Played in urban environments
- Played in specific facilities
Characteristics of popular recreation
- Violent
- Local
- Rural
- Irregular
- Large teams
- Lower-class participation
- Unwritten and simple rules
What was mob football like?
- No skill development, no rules, brutal in nature
- Only lower class participation
- Very occasional, usually on religious holidays when had time off work
- Risk of injuries and therefore income due to time off work
- Large scale, village vs village
- Property was often damaged
Characteristics of real tennis?
- Game for the upper class
- Expensive equipment
- Access to appropriate facilities
- Sophisticated
- Set of written rules
- Compete in a fair manner
- Understand the rules and play within them
