Poverty

• The 1547 Vagrancy Act


  • a vagrant was defined as someone who was masterless, able bodied and unemployed for 3 days minimum
• Pre-1563 Poverty attitudes 


  • Impossible to enforce poor laws due to how strict they wee
  • 1531- A poor law was passed ordering vagrants to be whipped
  • a first offence would lead to a v branding and 2 years of slavery
  • Impotent poor are registered, pressure on alms contributions in parishes
• Cromwell Poor laws


  • 1536
  • Local officials must find work for beggars and organise collections for impotent poor - not renewed due to radicalism
• 1495 laws


  beggars and idle poor are to be put in the stocks for 3 days and whipped and then returned to their original parish
• When was the Statue of Artficiers?

  1563
• What did the statue of artificers do?


  • all unmarried people under the age of 30 are compelled to work and accept their first job offer
  • Jp’s can force all able-bodied poor to collect crops during harvest or be put in the stocks for 2 days and 1 night
  • all people between the ages of 12 and 60 must be working the land
  • Apprenticeships were set at 7 years and mandatory for skilled craftsmen
  • Hours of work were fixed - Summer 5am- 8pm with no more than 2 1/2 hours for meal breaks
  • All Wages were assessed and set by JP’s annually
• Who wasn’t impacted by the statue of Artificers?

  • Already employed people,
  • members of the gentry
  • those in full-time education eg; University
  • skilled craftsmen.
  • heirs with lands worth more than £10 a year
• Why was the Act for the Relief of the Poor 1698 introduced?

  • Cold weather had caused a series of crop failiures in Northern England
  • Shortfall in Wages against rising prices
  • In 1596, Food riots in London lead to attacks on risings against an Oxfordshire Lord Lieutenant
  • CAME FROM PRIVATE BILLS (Individual Mp’s) rather than the council as a whole.
• The 1598 Act for the Relief of the Poor

  • Introduces the Post of Overseer of the Poor for each Parish, asses how much Poor relief is needed and distribute relief
  • Unpaid Overseer supervised by Jp’s, Balances power
  • Combined with 1598 Vagabonds act, most dangerous vagrants will be banished or sent to Galleys
  • Imposes a national system of relief for the poor
  • Although, it had already been independently used by many parishes