gaining the co-operation of the localities
1485-1603
crown and country
patronage inc
royal progresses
involving the localities in governance
increasing borough representation in the commons
impact of increasing literacy in yeomen classes
changing roles of Justices of the peace
relations with localities
⭐ 1537 re-establishment of the Council of the North
⭐ 1535 Law in Wales
⭐ 1542 Law in Wales
⭐ 1513 tax subsidy
⭐ 1563 Statue of Artificers
⭐ 1598 Act for the Relief of the Poor
growth bc it benefitted townspeople, gentry and monarch
🚩 need of the monarch to counter growing power of parliament (#6a63d5)
allowed extension of royal patronage #
pressure from towns
✏ borough= town with the right to send 2 MPs to sit in parliament (not a shire)
296 members of House of Commons -> 462 by end of Liz's reign
important bc House of Lords decreasing in size bc no abbots summoned
more democratic practice
mostly reps of boroughs
✏ rotten borough= borough created in middle ages which has since decreased in size (so as not to rly deserve it)
provided political opportunity for ambitious gentry
🚩 expense of MPs' travel to London more easily covered by already wealthy gentry
🚩 most MP's not actually local townsmen but gentry (despite 15th cent law saying MPs must live in their represented region)
eg. York prevented woodland being chopped down within 25km of the city
1559 23% townsmen -> 14% 1601
undemocratic
✏ patronage = the development of a network of personal relationships by favour of/ proximity to the monarch
monarch controlled nobility
controlled borough elections
eg Robert Dudley 1584 ensured the election of his own (& Liz's) candidates in Poole, Tamworth and Denbigh
a nobleman's power was measured by the extent of the patronage he himself could offer
crowns ability to adjust borough borders allowed influence over patronage & borough rep
eg. Sir Christopher Hatton, Liz's trused courtier, elected as MP for Higham Ferrers 1571
more humanists (#22ac01)
increased role of yeomen in government
🚩 humanism spread by printed propaganda
more grammar schools #
illiteracy 1550 i80% men, 98% women -> 72% men, 92% women 1600
regional variation (North more illiterate, even in gentry)
pre-1530s
✏ justice of the peace = chief local officer resposible for maintenance of public order & execution legilslation
formed under Henry VII
all unmarried under 30s compelled to accept any employment
12- 60 year olds required to work land (conditionally)
annual assessment of wages by JPs
fixed hours of work and penalty for absence
compulsory apprenticeships for skilled work
1601 Poor Law
protected status of skilled craftsmen
everyone involved in food protection
vulnerable to unreasonable cuts / corruption
1495 justices of the peace able to arrest suspects and replace corrupt jurors
reduce corruption
local involvement in "policework"
1572 Act for the Relief of the Poor
first compulsory poor law tax
each parish responsible for the care of its own sick and poor
distinction between 'deserving' and 'undeserving' poor
JPs as tax collectors
1598 Act for the Punishment of Rogues, Vagabonds and Sturdy Vagabonds #
4 'Overseers of the Poor' per parish
increased power of JPs
allowed them to raise compulsory payments and better enforce systems put in place by the Statute of Artificers
one of a cluster of acts including the Vagabonds Act and the Act for the Relief of Soldiers and Mariners
empowered parishes to build more hospitals and houses of correction
houses of correction were essentially the prison-like work houses of the victorian era
no longer centralised
population and inflation
1525 2.26 million to 1551 3.01 million to 1603 4.1 million
increased poverty due to rising grain prices
1519-1521, 1549-1551, 1586-1587
JPs supervise collection of poor relief donations
didn't have to be local to be a regional JP #
attempts to fix wages not adaptive to changing social/economic crises
not enough to overcome poor harvests and plague
work not always available