Many turned to small crime, such as begging, picking pockets, and prostitution, simply to avoid starvation. There was little help for the sick, elderly, and orphans. The life expectancy, or average life span, of an Elizabethan was only 42 years, but it was much lower among the urban poor.
What were the living conditions like in the Elizabethan Era?
Away from the luxury of the monarchy in the Elizabethan era, life for ordinary people was often hard and the number of poor people increased during Elizabeth’s reign. Unlike now, there was no welfare system or support for anyone who fell on hard times.
What was life like in the Elizabethan Era for the poor?
Life for the poor in Elizabethan England was very harsh. The poor did not share the wealth and luxurious lifestyle associated with famous Tudors such as Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and non-monarchs such as Sir Francis Drake. Unlike today, there was no Welfare State to help out those who had fallen on hard times.
What was life like in London in the Elizabethan Shakespearean era?
Shakespeare’s London was home to a cross-section of early modern English culture. Its populace of roughly 100,000 people included royalty, nobility, merchants, artisans, laborers, actors, beggars, thieves, and spies, as well as refugees from political and religious persecution on the continent.
What sort of housing did the rich live in in the Elizabethan times?
The rich were keen to show off their wealth and social status. As a result of this wealth and the fact that times were more peaceful, they began to build and live in grand stately homes. The dissolution of the monasteries had freed up large areas of land for the rich.
How were females treated in the Elizabethan Era?
Elizabethan society was patriarchal, meaning that men were considered to be the leaders and women their inferiors. Women were regarded as “the weaker sex”, not just in terms of physical strength, but emotionally too. It was believed that women always needed someone to look after them.
How were the poor treated in Elizabethan times?
Poor Laws were key pieces of legislation: they brought in a compulsory nationwide Poor Rate system. everyone had to contribute and those who refused would go to jail. begging was banned and anyone caught was whipped and sent back to their place of birth.
Why did Elizabethans fear the poor?
The Elizabethan government was very worried about the problem of the poor, as were ordinary people. Disease – there were many outbreaks of plague and other infectious diseases in the 16th century. Many people believed that wandering groups of beggars spread diseases. Crime – beggars often turned to crime.
What is the dark side of the Elizabethan Era?
The declining buying power of real wages pushed many into acute misery. As a result, the Elizabethan period witnessed the emergence of poverty on a new scale. By the 1590s, the lot of the poor and the labouring classes was bad enough at the best of times.
How did the rich live in Elizabethan times?
Land – the Elizabethan gentry gained their wealth from their land. About two percent of the population were gentlemen and they owned over half the land in England at the time. The rents from their estates meant that the gentry did not have to work and they were free to enjoy leisure pursuits such as hunting.
How often did Elizabethans bathe?
The bathtubs they used were made from wood and often placed by fireplaces in order to warm the water. Lower class citizens (the vast majority of people back then) would bathe about three times a year. The upper class bathed around twice a month. Mostly, they just washed their hands and face and combed their hair.
What was it like to live in London in the 16th century?
London was a big city even back in the 1660s. A lot of people lived and worked there, but it wasn’t very clean so it was easy to get sick. Overcrowding was a huge problem in London – when people did get sick diseases spread very quickly, and thousands of people died during the Great Plague in 1665-1666.
What was it like to live in London in the early 19th century?
While the city grew wealthy as Britain’s holdings expanded, 19th century London was also a city of poverty, where millions lived in overcrowded and unsanitary slums. Life for the poor was immortalized by Charles Dickens in such novels as Oliver Twist.
What did Elizabethans eat?
They enjoyed all kinds of meat, including beef, pork, lamb, mutton, bacon, veal, and deer, and fancy fowl such as peacock, swan, and goose. Their diet also included freshwater and sea fish, such as salmon, trout, eel, pike, and sturgeon, and shellfish such as crabs, lobsters, oysters, cockels and mussels.
What were poor people called by Elizabethans?
The first was the impotent or deserving poor. These poor were people who were unable to work due to being ill, disabled or simply being too old. Elizabethan society was often sympathetic to this type of being poor. On the other hand those who chose to not work but were able to were called able bodied or idle poor.
What did rich Elizabethans do for fun?
Entertainment at court in Elizabethan times included jousting, dancing, poetry-reading, dramatic performances, hunting, riding, banqueting and concerts.
How did Elizabethans go to the toilet?
Toilets were called ‘privies’. Towns had a few public ones, often built over rivers to carry the waste away. Unfortunately, the water people used to wash and cook with usually came from the same river. ‘Gong fermors’ emptied the privies at night.
How did fathers treat their daughters in the Elizabethan era?
A Girl during this era was always dependent on a male figure; it was most likely her father until she was married then it became her husband. Everything was based on the male line and girls were treated as inferior beings within the household because they were essentially being raised to be good future wives.
What was the average age of a girl to get married in Elizabethan times?
Usually, men would be married between the ages of 20 and 30 years old. Alternatively, women were married at an average of 24 years old, while the preferred ages were either 17 or 21.
How did Elizabeth tackle poverty?
The Poor Laws passed during the reign of Elizabeth I played a critical role in the country’s welfare. They signalled an important progression from private charity to welfare state, where the care and supervision of the poor was embodied in law and integral to the management of each town.
What was the biggest problem Elizabeth faced?
Religious conflict was a major issue. Elizabeth’s father, Henry VIII, had broken away from the Roman Catholic Church and started his own Church of England .