Societal changes in Britain throughout the 17th century

Societal changes in Britain throughout the 17th century

1. Population

   • Between 1520 and 1680 the population went up from 2.5 million to 5 million.
     • Factor- Mortality and fertility
       • People became better at isolating and dealing with the sick
       • During the great plague (1665), the death of a father would result in the son succeeding, marrying and having kids.
       • However, a higher average marriage age in 1650 meant people were having less kids.
     • Factor- Migration
       • The religious toleration, established by Cromwell in 1651 was the start of mass migration.
       • Migrants generally went to towns, to set up businesses.
       • To find work and feed families, many migrants would travel around the country.
       • Kent, the centre of the cloth trade, became very popular due to many migrants being specialised.
   • Certain towns and cities shot up in population during this time.
     • Factor- London
       • In 1650, London was home to 7% of the population- around 400,000 people.
       • The demand for grain shot up to 400% to meet this population- this was easily met due to London being the hub of trade- This Greatly boosted the economy.
     • Factor's- Other towns
       • Between 1600 and 1700, the number of towns with a population of over 5,00 went up from 8, to 30.
         • Many, such as Norwich (30,000) welcomed migrant workers.
       • Bristol and Liverpool, costal towns, saw a huge growth- Bristol would become the second largest town with 20,000 people.
       • Smaller market towns saw little change, with the north's only surge being in it's coal industry, such as what is seen in newcastle.

2. Social standings/ hierarchy changes

   • Nobility
     • They inherited their place in the house of lords and made up only 2% of the population.
     • Their high, expected speedier of luxury items, inflation and the declining income from land proved to slowly degrade the wealth and relevance of the nobility.
     • Their decline had started at Elizabeth I and continued through the 17th century.
   • Gemtry
     • Despite their small numbers, they became incredibly important and powerful during the Stuart period- they held 50% of the country's wealth.
     • During the Stuart period, the population grew by 30%. Despite this, they still only totalled 15,000 people.
     • There power dominated parliament, with the title of Gentleman carrying an incredible amount of weight.
   • Merchant class
     • London and major cities contributed, heavily, to the growth of the merchant class- Between 1580 and 1688, the number grew from 30,000 to 64,000.
     • Improved trading conditions in the 1650s led to a consumer boom, leading to a higher demand of shops and traders.
     • Despite their wealth, they were looked down on by the landed elite.
   • Women
     • Women were generally viewed with suspicion, given little power, with an education at the very basiscs- only enough to do the housekeeping and educate children.
     • Unmarried women were property of their father, married women were property of their wives.
     • Women part of the gentry were expected to do wife things, direct staff and servants and be a symbol of fashion.
     • Puritan advocated a wider education and values for women, the restoration led Charles II to lift the ban of women in plays.
     • Despite diggers advocating for women's suffrage in the 1650's, little changed for women.

3. The poor

   • Poor laws
     • Elizabeth the I's poor relief act, 1601
       • Overseers were put in place to collect taxes and allocate money to anyone they saw fit .
       • Those who were able to work would be punished if they didn't, with provisions given to the disabled.
       • The overseers had the ability to send people to the poor house- Begging was permitted, however, but only in the persons home parish and only for food.
     • The growth of poverty was evident by the funds needed to help poverty growing from 250,000 a year in 1650, to 700,000 a year in 1700
     • Book of order- 1631
       • The book created no new policies, simply reinforced and was made out of Chrales's fear of rioting.
       • It did, however, highlight the generosity of the gentry, for many donated large amounts.
       • Despite Charles's general disinterest in helping the poor, the laws were well enforced, war or not.
     • Poor relief act- 1662- Made out of complaints, settlement certificates were given out.
   • Causes and effects for poverty
     • Population growth and the competition for work led to a consistently increasing poor population
     • Rising prices, shortages of foods and goods and the high price and time to complete apprenticeships made it difficult for the poor to get into work.
     • Inflation was a huge cause for poverty- Prices increased by 800%, while wages only increased by 300%.
     • Most people worked in agriculture, meaning they did not have a constant source of employment. As a result, many became vargarbts or beggars, looking for work.
       • In Salisbury, it was recorded that around 22% of vagrants that passed through had already travelled 100 miles.
       • The settlement law in 1662 were passed to limit movement.

4. Intellectual and general social developments.

   • Philosophy
     • John Locke's writing on political theories and his empiricist approach to thinking gained traction in the philosophical community and has remained integral to modern philosophy.
     • John Hobbes's Leviathan affirmed with the monarchical structure of Government and was also very popular in the philosophical community.
   • Science
     • Isaac Newton revolutionised maths and science, with his work completely changing astronomy. His work with Maths has also become integral today.
     • Francis Bacon, a historian, philosopher and scientist, developed the modern scientific method, known as the Beconian method
   • Religious radicalism
     • The Diggers developed a very primitive form of socialism, wherein they forcefully re allocated the land equally between peasants.
     • Radicalism, however, was very isolated with the Quakers becoming the most popular form. However, they were still very contained and posed no threat to the state church.