Society Flashcards
What does society mean?
The population and the groups it can be split into i.e gentry and aristocracy
What are three factors that affect population size?
Migration
Death rate
Birth rate
What was the size of the population in 1348?
4.8 million
What was the size of the population in 1430?
2.2 million
Why did the population size fall between 1300-1500?
The Black Death
What was the size of the population in 1600?
4.1 million
What was the size of the population in 1650?
5.3 million
What was the size of the population in 1700?
5.2 million
When does the population size recover from the Black Death?
1625
What fraction of Londoners does the Great Plague kill?
1/5
What is subsistence farming?
Farming to look after the household and leaving little for trade
What part of England remained largely uninhabited?
The north
What class grew rapidly since 1500?
The gentry and merchant class
Why were there occasionally bursts in population size?
Huguenots and Americas being discovered
What percentage of Norwich was made up of migrants?
35%
Why did fertility rates fall between 1650 and 1700?
People were getting married later and having less children
How big was London compared to the next biggest English city?
Ten times bigger
What percentage of the population lived in London in 1700?
9%
What percentage of the population lived in London in 1520?
2.75%
How did London emerge as such a significant trade centre?
It has three rivers that surround it which made it defendable so the Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Normans built on
Who were three notable members of the gentry?
John Pym, Oliver Cromwell, George Monck
How many upper gentry were there ?
3,000
How many lower gentry were there?
12,000
How many people as well as upper and lower gentry were there in Yorkshire?
Population = 300,000
Upper Gentry = 256
Lower Gentry = 323
What percentage of wealth belonged to the gentry?
50%
What percentage of wealth belonged to the nobility?
15%
Why did the influence of the gentry increase?
Their second and third sons became lawyers and politicians
Why did the role of the gentry increase during the Civil War?
The role of parliament was more important so Charles 1 had to call on them for help
What was Tawney’s view on why the gentry grew?
The collapse of the nobility
What was Trevor-Roper’s view on why the gentry grew?
Their involvement in politics
What were the two groups the poor could be split into?
The settled poor and the vagrant poor
What were the settled poor?
Those who were established in one parish and did not move around to find work
What were the vagrant poor?
Those who traditionally travelled in order to sustain themselves
What percentage of the population were arrested for vagrancy in the 1630s?
0.5%
What percentage of village population became slaves?
40%
What were the advantages of becoming a slave?
Free housing, clothing, food and safeguarding from inflation
What fraction of village population left to find work elsewhere?
1/3
How many people went to America with the Puritans?
200,000
How is poverty dealt with in the 1600s?
Elizabethan Poor Laws in 1601 - tax to parishes to help the unemployed
What fraction of the urban population lived near the poverty line?
2/3
When was the Book of Orders and what did it include about poverty?
1631 - provisions on relief of poor and treatment vagrants
What did the Act of 1601 do for poverty?
It allowed them to beg for food and set up poorhouses
In 1650 how much was state relief?
£188,000
When did the Cavalier Parliament pass the Poor Relief Act and what did it achieve?
1662 - stopped squatting and allowed vagrants to be sent back to their original parishes
What percentage of London was burned down in the Great Fire?
60%
Why and did the Huguenots moved to England?
1685 - The Edict of Nantes was torn up
What and where did the Huguenots set up?
Silk industry in spitalfields
What famous shipping company did the Huguenots set up?
Lords of London
When was the Bank of England set up?
1694
What percentage of British imports and exports were handled by London?
80% of imports and 69% of exports
What happened when the Thames froze over and they couldn’t transport goods?
They had frost fares
