KS3 · History

Life in Tudor England: rich and poor

Shakespeare and grand houses on one side; starvation and harsh laws on the other. A Golden Age, but golden for who?

History · Tudor poverty

Build the web of Tudor poverty

Poverty sits in the middle. Draw an arrow from each cause to whatever it pushed on. Watch out: one cause pushes on more than one thing, and one cause helps to create another cause. Then compare your web with the lesson's.

Monasteries closed
Population rise
Retinues reduced
Sheep farming and enclosure
Rack renting
Debased coinage
Poverty (outcome)

Add a link

This factor……made this happen or worse

No links yet.

One strand of effects

Reason it through

Why did begging grow in Tudor towns?

Link 1 of 4

First link · your turn

A series of poor harvests hits England in the 1590s, a period known as the Little Ice Age. What happens to the crops, and to the price of food?

Locked — reveal the link above first

History · The move to the towns

How big was London getting?

London had roughly 50,000 people in 1500. How many do you think it had by 1603?

Your estimate

200000 people

London had roughly 50,000 people in 1500. How many do you think it had by 1603? Estimate between 0 people and 400000 people.

0 people400000 people

Predict, then check

The ruling class knew the poor greatly outnumbered the rich, and they could see begging growing.

Begging was growing and the ruling class was worried. What did the authorities do at first?

History · Who helped?

Who was meant to look after the poor?

A classmate is writing about what Tudor England did for people who could not feed themselves.

Which is closest to what you think?

The government looked after the poor, a bit like a modern welfare system.The monasteries carried on feeding and housing the poor after Henry VIII's changes.For much of the period, the government thought it was the job of the local church or local rich people.Nobody helped the poor at all.

How sure are you?

I'm sureI think soI'm guessing

The government looked after the poor, a bit like a modern welfare system.

This is a common misconception

That's the modern picture, and it doesn't fit most of the Tudor period. For much of it, the government believed looking after poor people was not its job.

The monasteries carried on feeding and housing the poor after Henry VIII's changes.

This is a common misconception

Henry VIII ordered the closure of all the monasteries. They had provided work, food and accommodation and acted as hospitals, so when they closed, a safety net for the poorest was lost.

For much of the period, the government thought it was the job of the local church or local rich people.

This matches the evidence

Yes. The government believed local people should look after their own local poor. England did introduce some laws to help the most vulnerable, but the emphasis was on local councils helping local people.

Nobody helped the poor at all.

This is a common misconception

Not quite. England introduced some laws to help the most vulnerable, with the emphasis on local councils helping local people. The help was limited, which is why the problem kept growing.

Help existed but was mostly local. By the end, the ruling class finally acknowledged that poverty was a problem too big for many people to resolve themselves.

History · Your verdict

Was Elizabeth's reign a Golden Age?

The claim

Elizabeth's reign was a Golden Age.

Place each piece of evidence to load the balance. Mark the strong ones — they count double.

Literacy rates increased.
Evidence 1: does it support or challenge the claim?SupportsChallenges
Strong evidence
The plays and poems of William Shakespeare were written.
Evidence 2: does it support or challenge the claim?SupportsChallenges
Strong evidence
Grand prodigy houses, large country houses, were built by the elite.
Evidence 3: does it support or challenge the claim?SupportsChallenges
Strong evidence
Many people at the time and today regard her reign as a Golden Age.
Evidence 4: does it support or challenge the claim?SupportsChallenges
Strong evidence
High levels of poverty were also a feature of the Tudor period.
Evidence 5: does it support or challenge the claim?SupportsChallenges
Strong evidence
The poor harvests of the 1590s led to starvation on quite a large scale.
Evidence 6: does it support or challenge the claim?SupportsChallenges
Strong evidence
Begging grew, and harsh laws severely punished those caught begging.
Evidence 7: does it support or challenge the claim?SupportsChallenges
Strong evidence
The elite feared that poverty-fuelled riots and rebellions might spring up in England.
Evidence 8: does it support or challenge the claim?SupportsChallenges
Strong evidence

WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED

A quick recap of today's lesson.

Shakespeare and grand houses on one side. Starvation and harsh laws on the other.

What you need to know

A Golden Age is a time of peace, prosperity and happiness, and many people then and now call Elizabeth's reign one.
Its signs: more people reading, Shakespeare's plays and poems, and prodigy houses, which are large country houses built by the elite.
Have a goDev is sure a 'prodigy house' is a house for gifted children. Is he right? Say what it really is.
No. It's a large country house built by the elite.
In this topic 'prodigy house' is the name for a kind of building, and it's one of the signs of the Elizabethan Golden Age.
But the advances weren't enjoyed equally by rich and poor, and poverty became a bigger political issue in the late 16th century.
Henry VIII closed all the monasteries, which had given work, food, accommodation and hospital care, so a safety net for the poorest was lost.
More people meant more competition for jobs, and lords cut their retinues, while sheep farming and enclosure needed fewer workers.
A rising population also meant more demand for housing, so landlords raised rents to unaffordable prices (rack renting) and some people became homeless.
Have a goFinish the chain: more people → more demand for housing → landlords ______ → people who couldn't pay became ______.
raised rents (rack renting); homeless
Rising demand for housing is why landlords pushed rents up to levels many people couldn't afford.
To pay for his expensive foreign wars, Henry VIII debased the coinage; people then required more coins, which is inflation.
Poor harvests in the 1590s made food unaffordable, caused starvation on quite a large scale, and pushed people towards the towns and begging.
Have a goA friend's notes say the terrible harvests came in 'the 1690s'. Fix the decade and say what the poor harvests did to food.
The 1590s. Food prices rose to unaffordable levels.
The poor harvests were in the 1590s, and very poor crop yields pushed the price of food out of reach for many people.
The ruling class saw begging as a sign of a lawless society, feared rebellion, and brought in harsh laws that severely punished it.
For much of the period, helping the poor was left to the local church and rich locals, until the ruling class admitted the problem was too big.

The big picture

Under the Tudors, literacy, Shakespeare and grand houses all flourished, but so did poverty, and it had many linked causes rather than one. The ruling class responded with harsh laws and fear of rebellion, and finally admitted that the problem was too big for many people to resolve themselves. That's why calling Elizabeth's reign a Golden Age needs careful judging.

Key points

1Tudor poverty had many causes acting together, not just the closure of the monasteries.

2The population rise fed two problems at once: competition for jobs and demand for housing, which led to rack renting and homelessness.

3Debased coins led to inflation, and foreign traders put their prices up too.

4Poor harvests in the 1590s led to starvation, a move to the towns and more begging.

5The ruling class punished begging harshly because it saw begging as a sign of a lawless society and feared poverty-fuelled rebellion.

6The Elizabethan age was golden for some, but the great advances were not equally enjoyed by rich and poor.

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Worked example

Problem

A friend asks: 'How can changing the metal in a coin make everything more expensive?' Explain how debasing the coinage led to higher prices, one step at a time.

⚠ Watch out

Blaming Tudor poverty on one thing, usually the closure of the monasteries. The closure mattered, but poverty had many causes acting together.

🧠

Memory hook

Gold on top, hunger underneath: ask who the Golden Age was golden for.

✓

Check yourself

Close the lesson and try this from memory. Name three causes of Tudor poverty, and say which cause pushed on two other problems at the same time.

Flashcards

(12)

What is a Golden Age?

A time of peace, prosperity and happiness. Many people at the time and today regard Elizabeth's reign as one.

What is a prodigy house?

A large country house built by the elite. Grand prodigy houses are a feature of the Elizabethan Golden Age.

What is poverty?

The state of being extremely poor. It became a greater political issue in the late 16th century.

What is a monastery?

A building occupied by a community of monks living under religious vows.

What did the monasteries provide before they closed?

Work, food and accommodation for religious and non-religious people, and hospitals for the sick in their local areas.

What was a retinue?

A lord's private army. Lords were made to disband or significantly reduce them, which left many soldiers unemployed.

What was enclosure, and why did it cost jobs?

Enclosure went with sheep farming as the wool trade picked up. Both needed fewer workers than farming crops.

What is rack renting?

Landlords raising rents to unaffordable prices because more people meant more demand for housing. People who couldn't pay became homeless.

Why did Henry VIII debase the coinage?

To pay for his expensive foreign wars.

What is inflation?

When more coins are needed to buy things, so prices rise.

What is a rebellion?

An act of armed resistance against a government or leader. The elite feared rebellions fuelled by poverty.

Why were the laws against begging so harsh?

Begging was seen as a symptom of a lawless society, and the ruling class feared riots and rebellions by the poor, who outnumbered the rich.

Tap any card to flip it, or use Study as deck to go through them one at a time. In the full lesson these run as a spaced-repetition deck — you rate each card Hard, Good or Easy and the tricky ones keep coming back until they stick.

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Build the web of Tudor poverty

How big was London getting?

Who was meant to look after the poor?

Was Elizabeth's reign a Golden Age?

More KS3 History topics