Topic 2 Flashcards
What was the social structure in Elizabethan England and Wales, and what was the average population in each section?
Queen (1)
Nobility (~50 families)
Gentry (~10,000 families)
Wealthy merchants (~30,000 families) and professionals
Yeoman and tenant farmers (~10,000 families together)
Cottage and skilled artisans
Landless, unskilled labourers
What do you need to know about the nobility?
~50 families
They owned huge areas of land that made them wealthy and powerful
Leading nobleman can have 10,000+ acres of land
What do you need to know about the gentry?
~10,000 families
They owned an estate of 100+ acres
Some became very wealthy e.g. Bess of Hardwick
What do you need to know about the landless, unskilled labourers?
They’re the poor and unemployed
They’re unemployed during certain times of the year
What was the lifestyle of the rich like?
Homes, fashion, education and hobbies
During Elizabeth’s long reign, may of the richer members of society increased their wealth considerably
Nobles were keener to show off their wealth
Done by investing in their homes and by wearing the latest fashions
Also fortunate enough to be able to afford a thorough education
What was the rich lifestyle for their homes?
They’re often built in the shape of an E or an H (For Elizabeth or Henry)
Had servants, were clean, and had carpets, carved wood and mirrors
The more they spent on houses, the more impressed Elizabeth would be- nobles spend as much as possible
Bricks- fireplace, chimney= warmer winter
Grow vegetables, lived with flower beds
More windows- glass is very expensive
What was the rich lifestyle for fashion?
They changed clothes a lot
Ruff, lavish, silk, velvet, fashion dolls, wore red, blue, silver, gold or purple
Important to wear the latest fashions
Had gold and silver and jewellery embroidered on their clothes
The Sumptuary Laws- dictated what could be worn in each class- this included fashion, fabrics and colour
What was the rich lifestyle for education?
Women were taught how to be a mother and wife
Noblewomen were taught how to manage the household staff
Wealthy nobles would pay for tutors to visit their houses (ONLY FOR THE SONS) to teach French, Greek and Latin
Lesser gentry could attend grammar school
Complete/ further their son’s education by going to Cambridge/ Oxford
Taught etiquette
Hunting and dancing (for men)
What do we need to know about the lifestyle of the poor?
SHORT, HARD, BRUTAL LIVES
What was the poor lifestyle on their homes?
Small windows, dark, 1 fire, no chimney (just a hole)
Basic possessions, meat was rare for their meals
Basic houses that were small and often overcrowded
What was the poor lifestyle like for work?
Physically demanding and tiring
Labourer- casual work that had low pay (1 groat a day- around 4p per day)
1 groat was enough for bread and butter and ale per day
However, it wasn’t enough for the children or for the rent
The poor didn’t drink water- they believed it was polluted
What was the poor lifestyle on clothing?
More practical than those in higher class
Plain, not colourful or extravagant
Farm workers often wore leather shoes, stockings, jacket or waistcoat, cap or hat
Couldn’t afford numerous changes of clothes
What was the poor lifestyle on education and leisure?
Gambling on cockfighting/ bear baiting
Enjoyed hunting, fishing and archery
Most people couldn’t afford to send their kids to school- the fortunate ones learnt how to read and write English in parish schools. They left as soon as they could work
Musicians and actors travelled to entertain the poor
When they’re not at work, they’re at the inns/ taverns- they got drunk if they could
What were the 8 causes of poverty (NEED TO KNOW)
Dissolution (closure) of monasteries
Change in farming methods
Rising population
Bad harvests
Collapse of the cloth industry
Costly foreign wards
Low wages and high prices
Rural depopulation
How did the dissolution of monasteries cause poverty?
Rise in unemployment (among monks, servants and labourers) and took away the vital role of charity relief
How did the rising population cause poverty?
Sharp rise in population from 2.7 MILLION TO 4.1 MILLION from the 1540s to1601
Caused more demand for food, clothes, housing and jobs. This helped increase prices
How did the change in farming methods cause poverty?
Farmers switched from growing crops to keeping sheep
Enclosed common land and employed fewer workers (enclosed= cutting off land for peasants so they couldn’t use it. This meant they couldn’t sustain themselves and this links to rural depopulation)
Harder to find jobs
How did bad harvests contribute to poverty
Bad harvests were mainly in 1556, 1596 and 1597
Caused a steep rise in food prices
Increased the level of starvation
How did the collapse of the cloth industry cause poverty?
Decline in exports
Cloth trade collapsed as a result
Many spinners and weavers lost their jobs
How did the costly wars and demobbed soldiers cause poverty?
Wars against FRANCE, SCOTLAND and SPAIN caused taxes to rise and the value of coinage to fall
End of wars resulted in large numbers of unemployed soldiers looking work
How did low wages cause poverty?
Wages couldn’t keep up with rising food prices
Especially food prices (links to bad harvests)
How did rural depopulation cause poverty?
Rack renting- high/ sharp increase in rent which cannot be afforded
Combination of poor harvests and changing in farming methods caused many employed farmers to go to towns in search of work
What percentage of the population were in poverty during Elizabeth’s reign at each time?
Around 30-40%
How many types of vagabonds are there (according to who?) and how many are wandering the country?
According to Thomas Harman, there were 23 types of vagabonds and there were 10,000 wandering the country
What are the vagabonds we need to know about?
Hooker or angler
Clapper dudgeon
Doxy
Abraham man
Dummerers
Counterfeit crank
Ruffler
What did a hooker or angler do?
Carried a long wooden stick to knock on doors to ask for charity, and to see what can be stolen
At night, they’ll return to the house with a hooked stick to take valuables to try sell
What did a clapper dudgeon do?
They often tied arsenic to their skin to make it bleed, hoping to attract sympathy while begging
What did a doxy do?
Devious female begged- they carry a large bag and look like she’s knitting then she’ll pick up something to put it in her bag. Sometimes, she will tie bread to a string to attract chicken- she’ll choke or directly kidnap the animal while it was eating and put it in her bag
What did an Abraham man do?
Acted mad so their behaviour would get donations from pity- sometimes, people would throw money just to get them away
What did dummerers do?
Pretended to suffer from epilepsy, dressed in tatty clothes and sucked soap to fake foaming at the mouth
What did rufflers do?
They were former soldiers who became vagabonds and who survive by robbing, using threats or by begging as an opportunity arises
What were vagabonds?
A vagrant who turned to crime to support themselves
What is a vagrant?
No home or settled employment so they’re forced to beg
What were the idle poor, able bodied poor and impotent poor?
Idle poor- vagabonds, beggars and people who were able to work but chose to avoid doing so
Able bodied poor- wanted to work but had become unemployed
Impotent poor- ‘helpless poor’- too old, too young or too sick to work
What was Henry VIII’s attitude towards the poor?
Harsh punishment
Focus on punishing the beggars/ vagabonds, not the cause of the poverty
What was Edward VI’s attitude towards the poor?
Harsh punishment- branding and 2 years hard labour
Whipping is kept
What was Elizabeth’s attitude towards the poor?
Punish!
First time caught- whipping
Second time caught- branding
Third time caught- hanging (death)
What was the reason Elizabeth introduces poor relief?
Fear of the poor- middle class knew that poor rates were increasing, and so were crime rates
Statute of Artificers- when was it, what did it do and how did it impact upon vagrancy?
It was in 1563
It made it compulsory for boys to serve a seven year apprenticeship in a craft or trade. A maximum wage limit was set
It attempted to create employment and reduce vagrancy. It tied men down to one area
The Vagabonds Act- when was it, what did it do and how did it impact vagrancy?
It was passed in 1572
It had severe penalties to be used against vagrants
JP’s to keep a register of the poor of their parish
Local people must pay a poor rate and provide shelter for the elderly and sick
Overseers of the Poor were to be appointed to help the JP’s
The punishments were harsh to deter vagrancy- e.g. whipping, boring through the ear with a hot iron, death penalty for third offence
Government accepted that some people genuinely needed help, but the Act did nothing to remove the causes of poverty
Act for the Relief of the Poor (no.1)- when was it passed, what did it do and how did it impact vagrancy?
It was passed in 1598
Four Overseers were appointed to each parish to collect and supervise the administration of Poor Relief
Work was able to be found for able bodied men and women
Poor children were to learn a trade or craft
Introduction to a compulsory poor rate that needed to be paid by all inhabitants
The Act helped those who did need support, and it did attempt to provide jobs, and was meant to remain in place until 1834- but it stayed in place for 200+ years
The Act for the Punishment of Rogues- when was it, what did it do and how did it impact vagrancy?
Establish the Houses of Correction for rogues and vagabonds
Begging was forbidden and anyone found doing so would be whipped and sent to their place of birth- if they don’t have one, they’ll be sent to a House of Correction
The Act helped contain poverty and vagrancy
Reduced risk of social unrest
Act for the Relief of the Poor (no.1)- when was it passed, what did it do and how did it impact vagrancy?
JP’s were to build two Houses of Correction in each county
JP’s were to keep materials in every town to provide for those unable to find a job
Those who refused were to be sent to House of Correction
Help was given to provide work for able bodied vagrants
Those who refused to work would be punished
Act didn’t do anything to remove the causes of poverty
Act for the Relief of the Poor (no.3)- When was it passed, what did it do and how did it impact vagrancy?
It made the 1598 Poor Law permanent, and it was called the Elizabethan Poor Law
It was a realisation that government had to be responsible for the poor, and it set up a legal framework to tackle poverty
