Early Elizabethan England, 1558-88: Elizabethan Society and the Problem of the Poor
Elizabethan society was organised as a strict social hierarchy, with the monarch and nobility at the top, the gentry and yeomen below them, and labourers and the poor at the bottom, and poverty increased noticeably during Elizabeth's reign.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Learn the social hierarchy in order: monarch, nobility, gentry, yeomen/tenant farmers and craftsmen, labourers and the poor, and learn what is meant by the 'rise of the gentry' in this period.
- Learn at least three causes of rising poverty: population growth, enclosure of land for sheep farming reducing demand for labour, poor harvests, and inflation eroding the value of wages.
- Learn the deserving/undeserving distinction precisely: the deserving poor (old, sick, orphaned) were seen as unable to work and treated with more sympathy; the undeserving poor or vagabonds (able-bodied but without work) were feared and often punished, for example by whipping.
- Learn the Poor Law Act of 1601 in detail: a compulsory local poor rate collected by parish Overseers of the Poor, providing relief for the deserving poor, work for the able-bodied poor, and punishment for persistent vagrants.
- For 'describe two features of' questions, choose two specific features (e.g. the poor rate, and the role of Overseers of the Poor) rather than a general description of 'help for the poor'.
- For 'explain why' and 16-mark judgement questions on the causes of poverty or the reasons for the 1601 Poor Law, keep economic causes (enclosure, inflation, harvests) distinct from social/administrative causes (fear of disorder, growing scale of the problem) and support each with a specific fact.
Worked example
Explain why poverty increased in England during Elizabeth's reign. You may use the following in your answer: enclosure, and inflation. You must also use information of your own.
- Plan the two given factors plus one of your own: enclosure, inflation, and a third point such as rapid population growth or poor harvests.
- Develop the enclosure point: landowners converted more of their land from arable farming, which needed many workers, to sheep farming for the profitable wool trade, which needed far fewer, so labourers lost work and had to seek it elsewhere.
- Develop the inflation point: prices rose faster than wages across the period, meaning that even people in work could struggle to afford food and rent, pushing some families into poverty.
- Add the own-knowledge point: England's population grew significantly in the sixteenth century, increasing competition for land and jobs and putting further pressure on wages and food prices.
- Conclude by linking the points: enclosure reduced the demand for labour at the same time as a growing population increased the supply of workers, while inflation reduced what wages could buy, together producing a marked rise in poverty.
Practice questions
Type your answer and press Check to be marked straight away, or reveal the answer and mark yourself.
Q1Which social group is often described as having 'risen' during Elizabeth's reign, gaining wealth and local influence?Show answer
Answer: The gentry.
Q2Give one cause of rising poverty connected to farming.Show answer
Answer: Enclosure - landowners converting arable land, which needed many workers, into sheep pasture, which needed far fewer.
Q3What is meant by the 'deserving poor'?Show answer
Answer: People such as the old, sick or orphaned, who were seen as unable to work through no fault of their own and so treated more sympathetically.
Q4What is a 'vagabond'?Show answer
Answer: An able-bodied poor person without settled work, often travelling to find work or beg, who was feared by many Elizabethans as a threat to social order.
Q5What was the Poor Law Act of 1601?Show answer
Answer: A national law that made poor relief compulsory in every parish, funded by a local poor rate and administered by Overseers of the Poor.
Q6Who collected and distributed the poor rate at parish level under the 1601 Poor Law?Show answer
Answer: The Overseers of the Poor.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE History exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Describe two features of the Poor Law Act of 1601.
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Explain why poverty increased in England during Elizabeth's reign. You may use the following in your answer: enclosure, and inflation. You must also use information of your own.
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Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
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'The government's response to poverty was more about controlling disorder than genuinely helping the poor.' How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer. You may use the following in your answer: the treatment of vagabonds, and the Poor Law Act of 1601. You must also use information of your own.
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See real GCSE History past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
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