From the rise in population and bad harvests to the closing of the monasteries and harsh Poor Laws, we’ll explore the causes of poverty, the categories of the poor, and how Elizabethan England created one of the earliest welfare systems in Europe.

Learn about:

- The 1601 Elizabethan Poor Law

- Almshouses, houses of correction, and the “poor rate”

- The impact of enclosure and inflation

- Tudor views on charity and vagrancy

Plus examples of real local initiatives to support the poor.

For further reading, see:

 – Poor Relief in Tudor England by Edith Burrows - https://scholarship.richmond.edu/honors-theses/1075/

 – Rich and Poor in Tudor Times by Peter D. Riley - Borrow at https://archive.org/details/richpoorintudort0000rile

 And my article on Anne Boleyn’s charitable giving at: https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/anne-boleyn-and-charity/

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