Poverty

Question 1

Undeserving poor

Answer 1

• they were treated harshly
• under the poor laws, they were forcibly whipped and then forced to return to their home parish
• repeat offenders could be sent to prison

Question 2

Poor laws

Answer 2

• from 1560s onwards the gov. brought in a series of poor laws to deal with the poverty
• tax introduced to pay for the poor (known as the poor rate)
• further poor laws were passed in 1597 and 1601 in response to the poverty crisis of the 1590s

Question 3

The poor

Answer 3

• the helpless poor:
  
  • those unable to support themselves including young orphans and the elderly sick or disabled
• the deserving poor:
  
  • people who wanted to work but weren’t blessed to find a job in their home town or village
• the undeserving poor:
  
  • beggars, criminals etc who refused to wok

Question 4

Government in poor relief

Answer 4

• they feared that rising poverty was a serious threat to law and order (as covert rose, so did crime rates- feared the poor might rebel)
• traditionally the main source if support for the poor was charity- rich people made donations to hospitals moisturise and other organisations that helped the poor
• however the problem became so bad that these charitable donations by individuals were no longer enough
• people began to realise that society as a whole would have to be responsible for helping the poor and so the gov. began to take action

Question 5

Agriculture

Answer 5

• instead of sharing open fields among many farmers, they enclosed these fields to create large farms
• these new enclosed farms required fewer labourers so farmers who rented land were evicted leaving them unemployed and homeless
• exporting wool to Europe was more profitable than selling grain so many landowners stopped growing grain- this led to rising food prices
  
  • wooden market collapse
  • trade monopolies encouraged by Elizabeth and her government to make the rich richer by increasing prices

Question 6

Coinage

Answer 6

• Henry VIII reduced value of coinage to pay for his wars
• silver in circulation reduced the value of coinage

Question 7

Gets worse

Answer 7

• poverty reached a crisis point towards the end of Elizabeths reign
• in the late 1580s, and 90s there were many bad harvests which led to food shortages and even higher food prices
• this punished even mroepeople into extreme poverty

Question 8

Population growth

Answer 8

• in the 16th century, the birth rate increased and the death rate fell
• this led to pop. growth
• during elizabeths reign, the English pop. grew from around 3 million to 4
• food production didn’t keep pace meaning that food prices rose and sometimes sometimes there were food shortages
• pries for food and other goods rose much more quickly than wages- standards of living fell for many workers as they struggled to afford the necessities
• because of the rapid pop. growth there was growing competition for land meaning rents increased

Question 9

who did the poor laws help

Answer 9

• gave help to the helpless and the deserving poor

Question 10

what did the poor law do

Answer 10

• under these laws the poor rate became a national system of compulsory taxation
  
  • it was collected locally by an official called the overseer of the poor
• used to provide hospitals and housing for the elderly, sick and disabled
• poor children were given apprenticeships which usually lasted at least seven years
• ‘overseers of the poor’ who had a range of responsibilities
• outdoor relief (money food and clothing) provided for deserving poor

Question 11

why were the poor laws bad

Answer 11

• inconsistently used and many areas didn’t fill the requirements
• arguments for where the poor belonged
• without a home, some paupers were simply sent from one area to another
• poverty seemed to increase even after the poor law

Question 12

why were the poor laws good

Answer 12

• important milestone (first time gov. took responsibility for the welfare of the people)
• they remained in place until 1834
• no rebellion was caused by poverty during elizabeths reign

Question 13

how treatment from Elizabeth changed from the start of her reign to the end

Answer 13

• start:
• local government response
• vagabonds act
• end:
• poor law
• more central gov. response
• deserving vs idle