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The Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601 as a Result of Socio-Political and Economic Conditions of the Sixteenth Century England

Year 2020, Volume: 3 Issue: 1, 88 - 99, 29.06.2020

Kenan Yerli

Abstract

Miscellaneous economic, political, military and social events that took place in England during the sixteenth century caused poverty and hard times in England. The dissolution of the Catholic Church, the emergence of mercantilism as the early stage of capitalism, plague epidemics, ongoing wars and migration of Protestants from the continental Europe to England changed the structure of social life profoundly in the sixteenth century and caused poverty. As a result of this, the number of people who vagabond and beg across England grew. King Henry VIII, King Edward VI and Queen Elizabeth I promulgated various laws to alleviate poverty and to finalize begging across the country. 1601 Act for the Relief of the Poor was the final and revised version of a series of poor law legislated in the sixteenth century. This study aims at understanding the reasons and functions of the Old Poor Law of 1601 in the light of former acts and socio-political developments of the sixteenth century. Therefore, the focus of this study is on the Poor Law of 1601 and the socio-political and economic developments of the sixteenth century.

Keywords

Elizabethan Poor Law The 1601 Act for the Relief of the Poor Henrician Poor Law Old Poor Law of England

References

  • Aydelotte, F. (1913). Oxford Historical and Literary Studies: Elizabethan Rogues and Vagabonds (Vol. 1). London, England: Clarendon Press.
  • Beier, A. L. (2004). The Problem of the Poor in Tudor and Early Stuart England. New York, The United States of America: Taylor & Francis e-Library.
  • Blanchard, I. (2005). International Capital Markets and Their Users, 1450-1750. In M. Prak, Early Modern Capitalism: Economic and Social Change in Europe, 1400-1800 (pp. 105-122). London: Routledge.
  • Bowes, P. (1682). The Journals of all the Parliaments During the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, Both of the House of Lords and House of Commons. (o. t. Paul Bowes, Ed.) London, England: Printed for John Starkey at the Mitre in Fleet Street near Temple-Bar.
  • Champion, T. C., Frassetto, M., & others. (2020, 02 04). History of Europe. (Encyclopædia Britannica, inc.) Retrieved 04 20, 2020, from Encyclopædia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Europe/The-emergence-of-modern-Europe-1500-1648
  • Charlesworth, L. (2010, Spring). Welfare's forgotten past: a socio-legal history of the poor law. Amicus Curiae(81), 16-20.
  • Davis, C. (1966). Slavery and Protector Somerset; The Vagrancy Act of 1547. The Economic History Review, 19(3), 533-549. doi:10.2307/2593162
  • Emmison, F. G. (1931, 01). Poor Relief Accounts of Two Rural Parishes in Bedfordshire, 1563-1598. The Economic History Review, 3(1), 102-116. Retrieved 05 11, 2020, from https://www.jstor.org/stable/2590627
  • Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. (2020, 01 31). United Kingdom. Retrieved 05 13, 2020, from https://0212k93il-y-https-academic-eb-com.proxy.sakarya.deep-knowledge.net/levels/collegiate/article/United-Kingdom/110750#44847.toc
  • Gómez Díaz, D. (2006). Mercantilism. In M. Odekon, Encyclopedia of World Poverty (Vol. 3, pp. 705-707). California, The USA: Sage Publications, Inc.
  • Grigg, D. (1980). Population Growth and Agrarian Change: An Historical Perspective. Cambridge, Great Britain: Cambridge University Press.
  • Kelly, M., & Gráda, C. Ó. (2011). The Poor Law of Old England: Institutional Innovation and Demographic Regimes. Journal of Interdisciplinary History, 41(3), 339-366.
  • Knight, C. (1868). Charles Knight's Popular History of England: From the Reign of Richard II. to the Reign of Edward VI. (Vol. 2). London, England : Bradbury, Evans, & Company.
  • Kunze, N. L. (1971, Spring). The Origins of Modern Social Legislation: The Henrician Poor Law of 1536. Albion: A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies, 3(1), 9-20. Retrieved 05 07, 2020, from https://www.jstor.org/stable/4048468
  • Mcintosh, M. K. (2014). Poor Relief in Elizabethan English communities: An Analysis of Collectors' Accounts. Economic History Review, 67(2), 331-357. Retrieved 05 13, 2020, from https://www.jstor.org/stable/42921736
  • Miles, A. P. (1949). An Introduction to Public Welfare. Boston, The USA: D.C. Heath and Company Boston.
  • Miskimin, H. A. (1977). The Economy of Later Renaissance Europe 1460-1600. Massachussets, USA: Cambridge University Press.
  • Museum of London. (2011). London Plagues 1348-1665. Retrieved 04 28, 2020, from Museum of London: https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/application/files/5014/5434/6066/london-plagues-1348-1665.pdf
  • Orsi, C. (2013). Poverty and Subsistence. The Mercantilist Point of View. History of Economic Ideas, 21(3), 11-42.
  • Quigley, W. P. (1996). Five Hundred Years of English Poor Laws, 1349-1834: Regulating the Working and Nonworking Poor. Akron Law Review, 30(1), 73-128.
  • Quigley, W. P. (1998). Backwards to the Future: How Welfare Changes in the Millenium Resemble English Poor Law of the Middle Ages. Legal Studies Research Paper Series, 9(1), 101-113.
  • Slack, P. (1995). The English Poor Law, 1531-1782. Cambridge, Great Britain: Cambridge University Press.
  • The House of Commons. (1597). An Act for the Relief of the Poor. An Assistance to the Justices of the Peace, for the easier performance of their duty, 1, Printed in 1682. London, England: Printed by W. Rawlins, S. Roycroft, H. Sawbridge, Assigns of Richard and Edward Atkins, Esquires.
  • The House of Commons of Great Britain. (1536). The Statutes of the Realm: from Original Records and Authentic Manuscripts. The Statutes of King Henry VIII, 3, Reprinted in 1965. England: Dawsons of Pall Mall.
  • The House of Commons of Great Britain. (1601). The General Highway Act, 5&6 W. IV. C. 50 With Notes and an Index. Printed in 1835. (J. B. Esq., Ed.) London, England: Law Booksellers & Publishers.
  • The National Archives. (n.d.). Dissolution of the monasteries 1536-1540. Retrieved 04 23, 2020, from The National Archives: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/dissolution-monasteries-1536-1540/
  • Webb, S., & Webb, B. (1963). English Local Government, English Poor Law History, Part I. The Old Poor Law (Vol. VII). London, Great Britain: Frank Cass and Co Ltd.
  • Woodward, D. (1980). The Background to the Statute of Artificers: The Genesis of Labour Policy, 1558–63. The Economic History Review, 33(1), 32-44. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0289.1980.tb01152.x

Year 2020, Volume: 3 Issue: 1, 88 - 99, 29.06.2020

Kenan Yerli

Abstract

On altıncı yüzyıl boyunca İngiltere’de yaşanan
çeşitli ekonomik, siyasi, askeri ve toplumsal olaylar halkın yoksullaşmasına ve
zor günler geçirmesine neden olmuştur. Katolik Kilisesi'nin dağılması,
kapitalizmin ilk aşaması olarak merkantilizmin ortaya çıkışı, veba salgınları,
devam eden savaşlar ve kıta Avrupa’sından İngiltere'ye gerçekleşen Protestan
göçü bu yüzyılda İngiltere’de sosyal yaşamın yapısının derinden değişmesine yol
açan olayların en önemlileriydi. Özellikle, Kral VIII. Henry’nin Katolik
Kilisesi ile ipleri koparması sonrasında yaşanan çözülme fakirlerin zaten zor
olan yaşamını dahada zor bir hale getirmiştir. Çünkü o döneme kadar İngiltere’de
hayırseverlik ve fakirlere yardım görevini ağırlıklı olarak Katolik Kilisesi
yerine getirmekteydi. Anglikan Kilisesi’ni kuran VIII. Henry, büyük bir
zenginliğe sahip olan bu manastırların malvarlığına da el koymuştu. Ortaya
çıkan bu boşluk nedeniyle yoksullar zarar görmüştür. İşte bu nedenle, Kral
VIII. Henry 1530, 1531 ve 1536 yıllarında çeşitli yasalar çıkararak yoksullukla
mücadele etmeye çalışmış ve bir taraftan da 1601 Elizabeth Yoksul Yasası’nın
temelini atmıştır. Artan yoksulluğa bağlı olarak sokaklarda dilenen insan
sayısında yaşanan artış, on altıncı yüzyıl boyunca ülke genelinde dilenmeyi
yasaklayan çeşitli yasaların çıkmasına neden olmuştur. Katolik Kilisesi’nin
dağılmasından sonra oluşan bu yeni ortamda, Henry yoksullara yardım etme işinde
kiliseleri etkin bir şekilde kullanmıştır. Parish adı verilen kiliseler en
küçük idari birim olarak yapılandırılmış ve yoksullara yardım etme işlerindeki
tüm organizasyonlar bu parish adı verilen kiliseler tarafından
yürütülmüştür. Halkın yaşadığı yoksulluğu gidermek için sırasıyla Kral VIII.
Henry, Kral VI. Edward ve Kraliçe I. Elizabeth tarafından çeşitli aralıklarla
yoksulluk ve dilencilikle mücadele kanunları yürürlüğe sokuldu. Bunlardan
bazıları dilencilikle ve başıboş gezmeyle mücadele etmek adı altında vücudu
kanlar içinde kalana kadar kırbaçlanma ve idam etmek gibi oldukça ağır cezalar
da içeriyordu. Öyle ki, bazı yasalar çıraklık eğitimi almayı reddeden 14 – 18
yaş arasındaki çocukların bile kanlar içinde kalana  kadar kırbaçlandırılarak cezalandırılmalarını
emrediyordu. Şüphesiz, bu kanunlar içinde en acımasızı, belki de, VI. Edward’ın
çıkarmış olduğu yasaydı. Çıkardığı 1552 tarihli yoksul yasasıyla İngiltere’de
yoksulların kayıtlarının tutulmasını ilk defa sağlayan kişi Kral VI. Edward
olmuştur. Ancak yine aynı kanunda başıboş gezen yoksulların köleleştirilebilmesine
dair acımasız hükümler de yürürlüğe girmişti. Edward’ın getirdiği sert
hükümleri kaldıran Elizabeth sırasıyla 1563, 1572, 1576, 1597, 1598 ve 1601
yıllarında değişik kanunları yürürlüğe koyarak, İngiltere’nin sosyal refah
seviyesinin yükselmesine çok önemli katkı sağlamıştır. 1601 Tarihli Yoksullara
Yardım Yasası, aslında, on altıncı yüzyılda yasalaşan bir dizi yasanın nihai ve
gözden geçirilmiş en son versiyonuydu. Bu çalışmada bugün bile çok önemli
olduğu kabul edilen 1601 Yoksul Yasası ve bu yasanın bir ihtiyaç olarak ortaya
çıkmasına vesile olan sosyo-politik ve ekonomik olaylar ele alınmıştır.

Keywords

Elizabeth Yoksul Yasası 1601 Yoksul Yasası Henry VIII Yoksul Yasası Elizabeth Yoksul Yasası

References

  • Aydelotte, F. (1913). Oxford Historical and Literary Studies: Elizabethan Rogues and Vagabonds (Vol. 1). London, England: Clarendon Press.
  • Beier, A. L. (2004). The Problem of the Poor in Tudor and Early Stuart England. New York, The United States of America: Taylor & Francis e-Library.
  • Blanchard, I. (2005). International Capital Markets and Their Users, 1450-1750. In M. Prak, Early Modern Capitalism: Economic and Social Change in Europe, 1400-1800 (pp. 105-122). London: Routledge.
  • Bowes, P. (1682). The Journals of all the Parliaments During the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, Both of the House of Lords and House of Commons. (o. t. Paul Bowes, Ed.) London, England: Printed for John Starkey at the Mitre in Fleet Street near Temple-Bar.
  • Champion, T. C., Frassetto, M., & others. (2020, 02 04). History of Europe. (Encyclopædia Britannica, inc.) Retrieved 04 20, 2020, from Encyclopædia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Europe/The-emergence-of-modern-Europe-1500-1648
  • Charlesworth, L. (2010, Spring). Welfare's forgotten past: a socio-legal history of the poor law. Amicus Curiae(81), 16-20.
  • Davis, C. (1966). Slavery and Protector Somerset; The Vagrancy Act of 1547. The Economic History Review, 19(3), 533-549. doi:10.2307/2593162
  • Emmison, F. G. (1931, 01). Poor Relief Accounts of Two Rural Parishes in Bedfordshire, 1563-1598. The Economic History Review, 3(1), 102-116. Retrieved 05 11, 2020, from https://www.jstor.org/stable/2590627
  • Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. (2020, 01 31). United Kingdom. Retrieved 05 13, 2020, from https://0212k93il-y-https-academic-eb-com.proxy.sakarya.deep-knowledge.net/levels/collegiate/article/United-Kingdom/110750#44847.toc
  • Gómez Díaz, D. (2006). Mercantilism. In M. Odekon, Encyclopedia of World Poverty (Vol. 3, pp. 705-707). California, The USA: Sage Publications, Inc.
  • Grigg, D. (1980). Population Growth and Agrarian Change: An Historical Perspective. Cambridge, Great Britain: Cambridge University Press.
  • Kelly, M., & Gráda, C. Ó. (2011). The Poor Law of Old England: Institutional Innovation and Demographic Regimes. Journal of Interdisciplinary History, 41(3), 339-366.
  • Knight, C. (1868). Charles Knight's Popular History of England: From the Reign of Richard II. to the Reign of Edward VI. (Vol. 2). London, England : Bradbury, Evans, & Company.
  • Kunze, N. L. (1971, Spring). The Origins of Modern Social Legislation: The Henrician Poor Law of 1536. Albion: A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies, 3(1), 9-20. Retrieved 05 07, 2020, from https://www.jstor.org/stable/4048468
  • Mcintosh, M. K. (2014). Poor Relief in Elizabethan English communities: An Analysis of Collectors' Accounts. Economic History Review, 67(2), 331-357. Retrieved 05 13, 2020, from https://www.jstor.org/stable/42921736
  • Miles, A. P. (1949). An Introduction to Public Welfare. Boston, The USA: D.C. Heath and Company Boston.
  • Miskimin, H. A. (1977). The Economy of Later Renaissance Europe 1460-1600. Massachussets, USA: Cambridge University Press.
  • Museum of London. (2011). London Plagues 1348-1665. Retrieved 04 28, 2020, from Museum of London: https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/application/files/5014/5434/6066/london-plagues-1348-1665.pdf
  • Orsi, C. (2013). Poverty and Subsistence. The Mercantilist Point of View. History of Economic Ideas, 21(3), 11-42.
  • Quigley, W. P. (1996). Five Hundred Years of English Poor Laws, 1349-1834: Regulating the Working and Nonworking Poor. Akron Law Review, 30(1), 73-128.
  • Quigley, W. P. (1998). Backwards to the Future: How Welfare Changes in the Millenium Resemble English Poor Law of the Middle Ages. Legal Studies Research Paper Series, 9(1), 101-113.
  • Slack, P. (1995). The English Poor Law, 1531-1782. Cambridge, Great Britain: Cambridge University Press.
  • The House of Commons. (1597). An Act for the Relief of the Poor. An Assistance to the Justices of the Peace, for the easier performance of their duty, 1, Printed in 1682. London, England: Printed by W. Rawlins, S. Roycroft, H. Sawbridge, Assigns of Richard and Edward Atkins, Esquires.
  • The House of Commons of Great Britain. (1536). The Statutes of the Realm: from Original Records and Authentic Manuscripts. The Statutes of King Henry VIII, 3, Reprinted in 1965. England: Dawsons of Pall Mall.
  • The House of Commons of Great Britain. (1601). The General Highway Act, 5&6 W. IV. C. 50 With Notes and an Index. Printed in 1835. (J. B. Esq., Ed.) London, England: Law Booksellers & Publishers.
  • The National Archives. (n.d.). Dissolution of the monasteries 1536-1540. Retrieved 04 23, 2020, from The National Archives: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/dissolution-monasteries-1536-1540/
  • Webb, S., & Webb, B. (1963). English Local Government, English Poor Law History, Part I. The Old Poor Law (Vol. VII). London, Great Britain: Frank Cass and Co Ltd.
  • Woodward, D. (1980). The Background to the Statute of Artificers: The Genesis of Labour Policy, 1558–63. The Economic History Review, 33(1), 32-44. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0289.1980.tb01152.x
There are 28 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Sociology (Other)
Journal Section Research Articles
Authors

Kenan Yerli 0000-0001-6114-6167

Publication Date June 29, 2020
Acceptance Date June 15, 2020
Published in Issue Year 2020 Volume: 3 Issue: 1

Cite

APA Yerli, K. (2020). The Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601 as a Result of Socio-Political and Economic Conditions of the Sixteenth Century England. Turkish Journal of Applied Social Work, 3(1), 88-99.
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