5.4.1

Social Distress in the 1590s

Test yourself

Social Distress in the 1590s

The 1590s was characterised by social distress. Elizabethan society was hit by famine and disease.

Illustrative background for Harvest failureIllustrative background for Harvest failure ?? "content

Harvest failure

  • For four years running (1594-1598), there was crop failure in Elizabethan England.
  • This led to severe shortages, inflation and high mortality rates.
  • Over the 1590s, the price of crops increased by around one third.
  • Rappaport (1983): From 1593-1597, flour prices in London rose by 190%.
  • Rural workers were also hit by low real wages.
  • Phelps-Brown and Hopkins (1981): 1597 was the lowest level of real wages for building workers between 1264-1954.
Illustrative background for DiseaseIllustrative background for Disease ?? "content

Disease

  • Alongside harvest failure and famine, England was struck by outbreaks of the plague.
  • From 1592 to 1593, 17,000 died in London.
  • Historians have used parish records of burials and baptisms to analyse the impact this (alongside harvest failure) had on the population.
Illustrative background for PovertyIllustrative background for Poverty ?? "content

Poverty

  • Those at the bottom end of society suffered the most from the crisis in the 1590s.
  • Power (1985): "The food crisis of autumn 1594 to spring 1598 intensified an already existing concern for the poor and for the regulation of vagrants and public order".
Illustrative background for Local government responseIllustrative background for Local government response ?? "content

Local government response

  • Power (1985): "It was the city court of aldermen which paid most attention to the problems in London during the crisis, issuing approximately three times as many orders as the national government".
Illustrative background for National government responseIllustrative background for National government response ?? "content

National government response

  • Power (1985): "The privy council was active in the role of ordering corn to be released from counties to London...The imposition of martial law stemmed from the government. And parliament took over the initiative for providing for the poor".
  • In response to this decade of hardship, the government introduced Poor Laws. One was passed in 1598, the other in 1601.
  • Historians note that the Privy Council feared a repeat of Kett’s Rebellion in 1549.
  • Strikingly, there was no popular rebellion in the 1590s.
Illustrative background for Domestic and foreign agendasIllustrative background for Domestic and foreign agendas ?? "content

Domestic and foreign agendas

  • Social distress was exacerbated by the government increasing taxes to pay for their costly campaigns in Ireland and Spain.

Jump to other topics

1Monarch & Government

1.1Tudor Monarchs

1.1.1Henry VII

1.1.2Henry VIII

1.1.3Edward VI

1.1.4Mary I

1.1.5Elizabeth I

1.1.6Succession Disputes

1.2Changing Role of Parliament

1.2.1Parliament & Henry VII

1.2.2Parliament & Henry VIII

1.2.3Parliament After the Reformation

1.3Principal Servants to the Crown

1.3.1Principal Servants to the Crown

2Religious Changes

2.1Tudor Monarchs & Religious Change

2.1.1The Henrician Reformation

2.1.2Impact of Religious Change Under Henry VIII

2.1.3Religious Change Under Edward VI

2.1.4Religious Change Under Mary I

2.1.5Elizabethan Settlement

2.2Catholicism & Survival

2.2.1Popular Attitudes to Catholicism

2.2.2Catholicism Under Henry VIII

2.2.3Catholicism Under Elizabeth I

2.2.4Catholic Nobility

2.3Protestantism & Puritanism

2.3.1Protestant Influences

2.3.2Protestantism Under Edward VI

2.3.3Protestantism Under Elizabeth I

3State Control & Popular Resistance

3.1Tudor Control of the Country

3.1.1Councils

3.1.2Role of Nobility

3.1.3Justices of the Peace

3.1.4Lord Lieutenant

3.2The State & the Poor

3.2.1Reasons for Growth of Poverty

3.2.2Punishments for Paupers

3.2.3Role of Charities

3.3Resistance to Tudor Rule

3.3.1Resistance to Tax & Subsidies

3.3.2Uprisings Against Henry VIII

3.3.3Uprisings Against Edward VI

3.3.4Uprisings Against Elizabeth I

3.3.5Decline of Popular Resistance

4Economic, Social & Cultural Change

4.1Patterns of Domestic & Foreign Trade

4.1.1Wool & Cloth

4.1.2Exploration & Trade

4.2Changing Structure of Society

4.2.1Population

4.2.2Dissolution of Monasteries

4.2.3Enclosure

4.3Cultural Change

4.3.1Education & Literature

4.3.2Impact of Religious Change

4.3.3Patronage

4.3.4The Arts

4.3.5Cult of Gloriana

5Historical Interpretations

5.1Significance of Threats to National Security

5.1.1Spain

5.1.2The Spanish Armada

5.1.3Ireland

5.2Court Politics

5.2.1Court Factions

5.2.2Essex's Rebellion

5.3Elizabeth & Parliament

5.3.1Conflict with Parliament

5.4Social Distress in the 1590s

5.4.1Social Distress in the 1590s

Go student ad image

Unlock your full potential with GoStudent tutoring

  • Affordable 1:1 tutoring from the comfort of your home

  • Tutors are matched to your specific learning needs

  • 30+ school subjects covered

Book a free trial lesson

Conflict with Parliament