elizabethan - chapter 2.2

Question 1

how did elizabethans think of society

Answer 1

in four social classes

Question 2

what was the name of the lower level of society

Answer 2

the ‘fourth sort’ or labouring poor

Question 3

how many people were in the ‘fourth sort’

Answer 3

it was made up of about half of all families in tudor england

Question 4

what were people in the ‘fourth sort’/labouring poor like

Answer 4

• they were illiterate
• did not own their own land
• spent about 80% of their income on food and drink

Question 5

what was the poorest part of england

Answer 5

the north-west

Question 6

what was there a growing awareness of

Answer 6

there was a national poverty crisis

Question 7

what was the population like for 2 centuries after the black death and how did this change during elizabeth’s reign

Answer 7

the size of englands population had remained fairly stable for the two centuries since the Black Death
but there was a dramatic population growth during elizabeth’s reign

Question 8

how much did the population rise by between 1550 and 1600

Answer 8

by about 43%

Question 9

what did the population growth lead to

Answer 9

• it placed huge pressure on resources, particularly food
• jobs were hard to come by
• with lots of workers available, wages stayed the same, but as the demand for food rose, so did the prices
• inflation was a huge problem throughout europe at this time, not just england

Question 10

what were the causes of inflation

Answer 10

• growing population
• Spanish exploration of the ‘New World’ in central and south america had meant that there was more silver in circulation throughout europe, which reduced the value of all the currencies and pushed prices up
• Henry VIII had made inflation worse by significantly reducing the value of the coinage in the 1540s in order to pay for his wars against france and scotland
• war

Question 11

why were wars an economical problem

Answer 11

• whenever wars were fought, taxes were increased, hitting the poor the hardest
• once the wars were over, england was left with large numbers of out of work soldiers and sailors who needed to find new employment
• wars with foreign countries had a harmful effect on englands international trade

Question 12

what was englands most important trading partner

Answer 12

the city of Antwerp, with the trade of woollen cloth

Question 13

what did the collapse in the woollen cloth (from Antwerp) market mean

Answer 13

the collapse of this market in the 1550s and later official bans on trade with the spanish-ruled netherlands in the 1560s, 1570s and 1580s deprived england of much needed revenue from its usual export markets

Question 14

what did elizabeth and her gov encourage to make the rich richer

Answer 14

trade monopolies
they also made the poor poorer

Question 15

where did most elizabethan’s live

Answer 15

rural areas

Question 16

what put even more pressure on the poor

Answer 16

agricultural crisis and innovations

Question 17

what changes in farming caused problems

Answer 17

• tenants became the victims of greedy landlords through unfair rack-renting which led to spiralling rents and lots of evictions
• the growth of enclosure was bad news for the poor
  -> the traditional open fields were combined and enclosed with hedges to allow former arable land to be turned over to more profitable sheep farming
  -> it was good for the rich landowners, but sheep farming was not as labour intensive, meaning farm labourers lost their jobs
• enclosure also removed the common land
  -> for the landless poor, the common was essential in that it provided them with a place for their animals to graze
  -> for the poorest, a vital means of feeding their families had been taken away

Question 18

in the past, what did the monasteries for

Answer 18

• they had been a source of charity for the poor
• they had provided food, shelter and medical care to the needy

Question 19

when did henry VIII dissolve the monasteries

Answer 19

in the 1530s

Question 20

what did it mean when henry VIII dissolved the monasteries

Answer 20

it meant help was removed
-> no more food, shelter and medical care for the poor

Question 21

facing considerable hardship and no monasteries, what did a lot of poor people do and what did this mean

Answer 21

• they flocked in ever greater numbers to the towns looking for a better life
• the towns could not cope with such numbers
• the migration of so many brought the issue of poverty to public attention
• this forced authorities to respond and take responsibility for the welfare of the people for the first time

Question 22

what did elizabethan’s believe

Answer 22

believed that the poor could be put into the groups and only some of them deserve help

Question 23

what was the ‘idle poor’

Answer 23

• they were seen as a major threat to social order
• there was a belief that there was enough work for everyone
• they were dishonest and vagabonds, and often referred to as ‘sturdy beggars’
• these homeless people were considered to be an immoral and criminal class, perfectly fit but too lazy to find work and happy to live off begging and petty crime

Question 24

why were people worried about the ‘idle poor’

Answer 24

• they seemed to be getting out of hand
• townspeople hated the vagrants and beggars
• many were attacked in the streets

Question 25

in 1567 what did Thomas Hartman write a book about

Answer 25

- he wrote a book giving advice to readers about the various tricks played by different types of beggars to cheat people out of money - he also described their use of coded language called ‘canting’

Question 26

how could ‘anglers’ be spotted and what did they do

Answer 26

could be spotted by the long stick they carried, which would be used to steal clothes from peoples washing lines at night

Question 27

what was a ‘ruffler’

Answer 27

looked like an army officer, but actually robbed people at sword point

Question 28

what did ‘clapperdundgeons’ do

Answer 28

pretended to be badly wounded by using arsenic to make their skin bleed or wrapping their arms and legs in bloody rags

Question 29

how could a ‘doxy’ be spotted and what did they do

Answer 29

- could be spotted by always wearing a needle in her hat and the large pack carried on her back in which she kept all her stolen goods

Question 30

what did lots of vagabonds do

Answer 30

- many pretended to be ill in an attempt to attract sympathy - many carried sticks, pretending to be lame

Question 31

what did ‘counterfeit cranks’ do

Answer 31

dressed in old, dirty clothes and they pretended to have epileptic fits, using soap to make themselves foam at the mouth

Question 32

what did ‘abraham men’ do

Answer 32

pretended to be mad, walking around half naked and making strange wailing noises

Question 33

what was the vagabond lifestyle seen as

Answer 33

sinful, particularly by puritan officials who strongly disapproved of such lazy and dishonest ways

Question 34

what did vagabonds tend to do

Answer 34

they did not travel alone, instead moved around in intimidating groups, robbing and terrorising villages as they went

Question 35

what always concerned the gov (in relation to lower class)

Answer 35

- gov and those in power locally were always wary of possible breakdowns of the existing social hierarchy - the possibility of a rebellion involving the lower class always concerned them

Question 36

what proves how afraid the authorities were of vagabonds and possible rebellions

Answer 36

the amount written by local officials about the ‘idle poor’

Question 37

when were the major outbreaks of the plague

Answer 37

1563 1583 to 1586 1590 to 1593

Question 38

what were illnesses that were widespread

Answer 38

plague smallpox influenza

Question 39

who was seen as a large part of the disease problem

Answer 39

the wandering poor they were seen to as helping the disease spread around the country

Question 40

what was elizabeth and he gov opinion on poverty

Answer 40

- elizabeth believed she had more important issues to focus on - she and her gov were reluctant to accept that poverty was a national problem and that the gov was responsible for dealing with it

Question 41

what did the gov do in an effort to solve the problem of poverty indirectly

Answer 41

- introduced various measures - early in her reign, elizabeth carried out a full recoinage, which had been planned by her sister mary -> this helped for a time, slowing down the rate of inflation caused by her fathers previous debasement of the coinage - a law in 1563 called the Statute of Artificers also placed wage limits on skilled workers, in an effort to slow down the rate of inflation - the gov tried to slow down the trend for enclosure to protect rural jobs through a law called the Act on Husbandry and Tillage in 1598

Question 42

what experimental measures did town councils, such as Norwich, introduce locally to try deal with poverty

Answer 42

- alms (money/food) were collected for the poor - censuses were carried out to make registers of the poor - work was provided for the unemployed in a workhouse - efforts were made to control begging by making rules

Question 43

what hospitals were set up in london to help with poverty

Answer 43

- St Bartholomew’s for the sick - St Thomas for the elderly - Christ’s hospital for orphans - Bethlehem hospital (‘Bedlam’) for the insane

Question 44

how did the gov react to local measures in dealing with poverty

Answer 44

the gov was impressed and gradually realised that a national system was needed to tackle the problem across the country until now, the gov measures had been haphazard and confused

Question 45

under elizabeth, when was legislation passed regarding the poor

Answer 45

1563, 1572, 1576

Question 46

by the 1590s what was the country’s economy like and why

Answer 46

- economy was weak and poverty was still a problem - years of war with spain had been expensive - harvest failed repeatedly - as a result, food prices were at an all-time high and people were starving to death

Question 47

when was the poor law passed

Answer 47

1597

Question 48

when was the poor law amended and what was it known as

Answer 48

1601 know in full as the Act for the Relief of the Poor

Question 49

what did the poor law state

Answer 49

stated that everyone had to pay towards a local poor rate -> people who refuse to pay could be fined or imprisoned the local tax would pay towards parish officials, the setting up of workhouses, and the payment of relief to the ‘deserving poor’

Question 50

what did the poor law compel each parish to do

Answer 50

appoint four ‘overseers of the poor’ -> the overseers would have a range of responsibilities in bringing in the new legislation -> they were to ensure that orphans had apprenticeships, paid for by the parish, so they learned a trade

Question 51

what did the poor law state had to be provided for the old and ill to live in

Answer 51

almshouses they could receive handouts of money, food and clothing this was called ‘outdoor relief’

Question 52

what did the 1576 poor law state

Answer 52

that there was a third class of poor: those who were able bodied and genuinely unable to find work the 1601 law continued to recognise this category

Question 53

what did overseers have to do for the people who were able bodied but couldn’t find work

Answer 53

had to provide tools and stocks of raw materials such as hemp, wool, wood and iron, paid for from the poor rate these materials could then be used in a ‘House of Industry’ or workhouse to provide the able-bodied poor with employment, with their wages paid out of the poor rate until they were able to find alternative employment

Question 54

what was the strong belief to do with the poor and how did the poor law try to fix this

Answer 54

- there was still a strong belief that many of those in poverty were lazy and much of the legislation focused on preventing laziness by punishing those who were able, but unwilling, to work - begging was strictly forbidden -> the laws stated that beggars should be punished through whipping, after which they would be sent home to their place of birth -> alternatively, they could be imprisoned and put to wok in a ‘House of Correction’ -> some were sent away to work on galley warships -> persistent beggars, as had been outlined by early legislation, would be hanged

Question 55

why was the poor law and important milestone

Answer 55

it was the first time in england that the gov took direct responsibility for the welfare of the people -> this filled the gap that had been left by the dissolution of the monasteries

Question 56

how long did the 1601 poor law remain in use

Answer 56

for over 200 years until 1834

Question 57

were the poor laws successful

Answer 57

- yes - there was np rebellion caused by poverty during elizabeth’s reign - achieved their main aim: social order was preserved

Question 58

what are the contrasting modern opinions on the poor laws

Answer 58

- some argue that the extent of the poverty problem was exaggerated, so giving the poor law more credit than it deserves - on the other hand, some argue that the poor law did not go far enough -> poverty continued to increase after the poor law was introduced - some argue that it was unnecessarily harsh, focusing too much on punishment rather than supporting those in need