The poor

Question 1

How did failures in agriculture lead to poverty?

Answer 1

1. England was hit by bad harvests between 1594 and 1598, which led to food shortages, and some people died from starvation.
2. A new system of farming was developing. More and more landowners began to keep sheep on their land rather than renting it out to farmers who traditionally grew crops on their land.
3. This system, known as land enclosure, meant fewer workers were needed and left many people jobless and homeless.
4. A significant number headed to the towns and cities to try to find work but there were not enough jobs to go around.

Question 1

How did an increase in population and prices lead to poverty?

Answer 1

1. During Elizabeth’s reign the population of England grew from 2.8 to 4 million. This was due to an increased birth rate and a decreasing death rate.
2. Limited places to live gave power to landlords who unfairly increased rents (rack renting).
3. The bad harvests resulted in less food, which led to price inflation.
4. A terrible outbreak of flu in 1556 had killed around 200,000, including many of the workers who were involved in producing food.
5. All of these factors contributed to creating a very poor group of people at the bottom of Elizabethan society.

Question 2

How did Henry VII’s reign lead to poverty?

Answer 2

1. Elizabeth’s grandfather, Henry VII, wanted to limit the threat of uprising among his nobles so he limited their rights to have their own retinues.
2. This left many soldiers without work.

Question 3

How did Henry VIII’s reign lead to poverty?

Answer 3

1. One of the most significant changes was the reformation during Henry VIII’s reign.
2. Between 1536 and 1540, Henry closed all of the monasteries in England and many people who had worked for the church were evicted.
3. In addition to unemployment, there was a huge impact on those who were poor. Before the reformation, monks and nuns had played a vital role in looking after the sick and poorest in society, giving them charity and caring for them.
4. The evicted workers had nowhere to go and this was still the case when Elizabeth came to the throne.
5. As Henry VIII’s reign went on, economic problems increased and the cost of war was great. In order to save money, form 1542 he began to debase coins so they could be produced more cheaply.
6. The problem with this was that foreign traders expected more coins for their goods. This damaged trade and jobs, and the cloth trade collapsed completely during Edward VI’s reign.
7. Elizabeth inherited a country that was in an economic mess. Unemployment and poverty were high, and this would continue to get worse.

Question 4

Why were the rich originally afraid of the poor?

Answer 4

1. They were afraid that the poor would rise up and rebel against them.

Question 5

What was the sympathetic approach to poverty?

Answer 5

1. The great chain of being made it clear to people where they were in society. The rich were simply “better” than the poor.
2. Just as God looked after his people, the wealthy were expected to offer some help to those below them.
3. In the beginning, this just meant making the odd charitable donation, but this was not big enough to solve the problem.
4. Before Elizabeth, attitudes to the poor were largely unsympathetic. It was widely accepted by the wealthy that while some people were poor because of their circumstances and so it was seen as right for charities to help them, th majority of the poor could easily find work if they wanted to.
5. However, as unemployment and poverty grew under Elizabeth, there was a change in attitude. People began to recognise that many paupers simply could not find work. They wanted to improve their situation, but were not able to. These were seen as the deserving poor.
6. The response to this change in attitude was that many wealtihier people worked hard to provide more help and charity to those in need.
7. Archbishop Whitgift established almshouses in Croydon in south london. Almshouses were buildings that provided acommodation and food for those in need.

Question 6

Who were the undeserving poor?

Answer 6

1. The undeserving poor were untrustworthy beggars who tricked people into giving them money.
2. In 1567, Thomas Harman published a book outlining all of the schemes used by these con artists.
3. Many wealthy people began to question the honesty of all beggars they encountered.

Question 7

What was a ‘Counterfeit Crank’?

Answer 7

1. A Counterfeit Crank was someone who would trick people into believing they were unwell with a condition known at the time as the ‘falling sickness’.
2. They would mimic the symptoms by biting on soap so it looked like they were frothing at the mouth, and they would pretend to have a seizure.
3. There was no known cure at the time, so people felt bad for them and gave them money.

Question 8

What was a ‘Baretop Trickster’?

Answer 8

1. A Baretop Trickster was a woman who would take off some of her clothes to trick a man into going into a house with her.
2. Once inside, there would be a gang of thieves waiting to rob him.

Question 9

What was a ‘Clapper Dudgeon’?

Answer 9

1. Clapper Dudgeons would cut their skin to make it bleed and tie dirty bandages around the wounds.
2. People would feel bad for them and give them money.

Question 10

What was the Tudor response to poverty?

Answer 10

1. Henry VIII and Edward VI passed laws to try to deal with poverty, but not only did the problem remain, it grew larger over time.
2. From 1531, with a few exceptions, beggars were publicly whipped for their first offence, had a whole burned through their ear for a second offence, and were hanged for a third offence.
3. Most of the 1531 laws remained in place for most of Elizabeths reign.
4. The 1576 “Act for setting the poor on work” placed the responsibilty of finding work for the poor on local government.

Question 11

How did York respond to poverty?

Answer 11

1. In 1515, the York Corporation began issuing beggar licenses, 16 years before other cities.
2. Licensed beggars were required to wear a badge so they could be identified.
3. From 1528, a Master Beggar was appointed, whose job it was to keep a check on the rest.
4. Many beggars were expected to work during Elizabeth’s reign; weaving and spinning helped in particular to increase the city’s growing industry.
5. Those who refused to work were sent to the House of Correction or were returned to the town or village they had come from.

Question 12

How did Norwich respond to poverty?

Answer 12

1. In 1570, the authorities in Norwich conducted a survey that concluded that 80% of the population lived in poverty.
2. They separated the poor into two categories: ‘idle poor” and “unfortunate poor”.
3. The ‘idle poor’ were given work such as knitting or sewing while the ‘unfortunate poor’ were given food and other forms of care and support.
4. This system was effective in limiting the numbers who received poor relief, as the poor had to be officially identified.
5. Norwich taxed its rich citizens to pay for the care of the vulnerable.

Question 13

How did Ipswich respond to poverty?

Answer 13

1. In 1569, Ipswich introduced a licensing system for beggars and increased support for the poor.
2. It also became one of the first towns to open a hospital specifically to help the poor and sick who could not afford treatment.
3. A youth training scheme was introduced, designed to help children learn a trade that would lift them out of poverty.
4. The town was also one of the first to build a House of Correction.

Question 14

What was Elizabeth’s new direction?

Answer 14

1. In 1601, right before the end of her reign, Elizabeth and her government introduced the first poor law.
2. The law said that in each area of the country, the wealthy should be taxed to pay for the care and support of the vulnerable, and that the healthy poor were to be given work.

Question 15

Who were the ‘Helpless Poor’?

Answer 15

1. The sick and old were provided with food to live on and placed in special homes where they could be cared for.

Question 16

Who were the ‘Able-bodied Poor’?

Answer 16

1. Those considered fit, including children, were expected to work.
2. They were given food and drink as payment and, in some cases, somewhere to sleep.

Question 17

Who were the ‘Idle Poor’?

Answer 17

1. Those who were seen as lazy were whipped and then sent to a House of Correction where they would be forced to work.
2. Those who went beyond begging into a life of crime might be dealt with more harshly.

Question 18

How effective were the poor laws?

Answer 18

1. The success of places like York, Ipswich and Norwich helped to convince Elizabeth that a new approach was needed nationwide.
2. Simply punishing the poor did not work.
3. Various MP’s attempted to introduce poor laws but it was not until the end of Elizabeth’s reign that things began to change.
4. Over the following few years instances of begging did seem to decrease, but this may have been as much due to the threat of The House of Correction as the increased help available.
5. Some argue that the 1601 poor laws were not entirely successful, however despite criticism, the Elizabethan Poor law remained in place until it was reformed in the 19th century.