The Problem Of The Poor Flashcards
What would happen to an Elizebethen who couldn’t work?
Poverty - may lead to illness and starvation
What was a big concern about?
People who were poor enouh to need financial help, or who begged or were homeless
Itinerants
What was an itinerant?
Someone who moved away from their home parish looking for work
What was someone who moved away from their home parish looking for work called?
Itinerants
What was a “poor” person?
Someone who soent 80% of their income on bread
What did a survey in Norich in 1570 show?
40% of the poor were 16 or under
Lots of families headed by women (often widows) were poor (as they got payed a lot less)
What factors lead to an increase in the poor?
Population growth
Rising prices
Changes to the countryside
Hwo much did population grow in Elizebeth’s reign?
35%
What was the population of London in 1603?
150,000
X10 the size of the next larges city Norwich
What did the cities rely on the countryside on?
How did population change efect the price of food?
Food
Because there were more people food prices rose
Why did rising prices effect poverty?
There were some bad harvests
Food growth grew slover than population growth
Wages didn’ rise as fast as prices
As population grew labour became cheaper as there was more demand that ment that sometimes wages actualy decreased. Rent increased due to the increased population
People were evicted to make way for sheep farming
How did the countryside change?
More sheep farming
Enclosure
Land values and rent
How much of England’s export were wool and wollen cloth?
81.6%
Why did sheep farming grow?
It became very profitable
How many sheep may a sheep farm have?
Over 2,000 sheep
Why was sheep farming a problem?
It took up land onced used for crops or common land
Farming sheep didn’t require as much labour so unemployment rose
Feeding the sheep ment that some crops were “wasted” on sheep and not humans
What does enclosing land mean?
When an individual replaced large open fields that were farmed by mamy vilagers with individuals fields belonging to one person.
Why did enclosure cause?
It lead to depolpulation of rural areas
Why did farmers enclose the land?
Farming techniques improved
Having animals in enclosed spaces stopped them from trampaling other crops
As animals became better (through breeding) farmers didn’t want them wandering off
What did the new farming techniques include?
Improving land through land draniage and better use of fertiliser