Causes of Poverty and Vagrancy Flashcards

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In Elizabethan England, what was a 'vagrant'?

A vagrant was a person with no steady job or home who moved from place to place looking for work or begging.

How did population growth in the 1500s cause poverty?

England’s population rose quickly, so there were more people competing for land, food and jobs, which pushed many into poverty.

Why did rising prices and low wages make more people poor?

Food and rent prices went up, but wages did not rise as fast, so many workers could no longer afford their basic needs.

How did enclosure of common land lead to poverty and vagrancy?

Landowners fenced off common land for their own use. Poor people lost grazing and farming rights and were forced off the land, sometimes becoming vagrants.

How did the move from arable farming to sheep farming cause unemployment?

Sheep farming needed fewer workers than growing crops, so many farm labourers lost their jobs and had to travel to look for work.

Why did the decline of the cloth trade increase poverty?

When demand for English wool and cloth fell, many spinners, weavers and cloth-workers lost their jobs and some became beggars or vagrants.

How did bad harvests in the 1590s add to poverty?

Several poor harvests meant less grain and higher food prices, so many people could not afford bread and slipped into deep poverty.

Why did the closure of monasteries leave more people poor in Elizabeth’s reign?

Monasteries had given food, shelter and charity to the poor. After Henry VIII closed them, the loss of this help was still felt in Elizabeth’s time, leaving more people in poverty.

How did war create more vagrants in Elizabethan England?

After wars, many soldiers and sailors were released from service. They had no pay or land, so they wandered in search of work.

Why did migration from countryside to towns lead to more vagrancy?

Landless people moved to towns hoping for work, but towns could not give jobs to everyone, so some ended up begging or roaming as vagrants.

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