DOCSLIB.ORG

West Country Workers

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
West Country Workers Changing the world of work for good WEST COUNTRY WORKERS ISSUE 8 2019 ISSUE NEWS THE FROM SOUTH WEST TUC ON THE EDGE A glorious coast doesn’t pay the bills Angela Rayner Student Emily Capell Working class girl sets a climate strike Why cultural richness radical vision for a new “We need to be relentless” doesn’t always bring material wealth education service Page 9 Pages 6 & 7 Page 11 2 Coastal workers need a new deal he South West has a seen real-terms wages fall by around as adults in terms of jobs, income spectacular coastline, but 25% since 2010. and housing. behind the beautiful beaches, T And when the BBC interviewed Philip Marfleet, organiser of cliffs and bays lie some hard truths 18-year-old Danny Hammond, Weymouth and Portland Action about poverty pay and hardship. who works as a waiter in a Cornish on Wages (WeyPAW), said: “We restaurant, he said: “I love Penzance held a series of workshops at the A recent BBC report found seaside but I’m also sick of it. I earn £6.30 an local college to help young people residents earn £1,600 less than hour, which isn’t great, and people understand their rights at work. people inland. older than me really struggle to pay There were some alarming stories The figures hit the South West the rent or the mortgage.” from the students – like Kiernan from particularly hard, as Plymouth’s Sutton Portland, who is 18-years-old and was Weymouth and Portland in Dorset is and Devonport MP Luke Pollard noted: being paid £2.90 an hour to work in a one of the most deprived parts of the “This research reveals the scale of the local shop. UK, with average weekly wages the Phillip Marfleet, Organiser of Weymouth and deprivation and inequality imposed on Portland Action on Wages lowest in the country according to people in our coastal communities by ONS statistics. almost a decade of austerity under the Conservatives. More than four out of ten children New deal for working people there are living in poverty. Young “Our coast is one of Britain’s greatest people have few opportunities assets but the people who live here beyond the leisure sector with its We need a new deal for working people, says South have been let down by a lack of seasonal jobs. West TUC Regional Secretary Nigel Costley. investment and poor infrastructure. In October the House of Commons Everyone deserves to be paid and treated fairly at “Labour will invest in better rail and Library published new research on work. But in many workplaces the balance of power has bus links, faster and more reliable opportunities for children across shifted too far in favour of employers. broadband, and we will tax holiday England. This showed that South homes that sit empty for months on When workers join together, they win better wages, Dorset ranks bottom among 533 end to pay for public services that safer workplaces and a more powerful voice at work. Parliamentary constituencies for locals rely on all year round.” social mobility – the likelihood that The TUC is calling for: The research showed, for example, children from disadvantaged socio- » New rights so that workers can access the protection of a union in workers in Weston-super-Mare have economic backgrounds will do well every workplace so that nobody has to face their employer alone. » Support for the self-employed – ban bogus self-employment » Ban zero-hours contracts » New investment so our schools, hospitals, councils and civil service Workers in Weston-super-Mare can deliver the services we need have seen real-terms wages fall by » Bring back into public hands our railways, water and mail around 25% since 2010 » Allow councils to make sure contractors provide decent working conditions or return to direct employment Coastal workers need a new deal 3 and to provide employment Torbay continues to be the poor relation of surgeries at which workers facing problems with wages and the South West with the lowest weekly wages conditions can get legal advice. of £360 compared to the regional average of Philip Marfleet said: “We have an £438, according to the latest figures from the urgent problem. Young people Office of National Statistics leave South Dorset because the future looks bleak, with low wages and high living costs, especially for “We have a serious problem with WeyPAW has called on the council housing. Things must change – one rogue employers – bosses who won’t to organise sessions on rights at reason why WeyPAW is launching a pay the National Minimum Wage, who work in local schools and colleges, new campaign together with Dorset don’t provide contracts or holiday pay, Trades Council. Poverty Pay – No or who simply withhold the full wages Way! will take the issue of low pay – that’s wage theft. In a depressed to every union branch and into economy with low incomes they think workplaces across the county.” they can get away with it.” The South West TUC recently met in WeyPAW recently held a well- Plymouth, where Luke Pollard said: attended conference on the wages crisis, child poverty and ill-health. It “The city saw significant regeneration believes action can make a difference under the last Labour government and is pressing Dorset Council to take but under the current government a lead. WeyPAW wants the council to the region doesn’t get its fair share ensure all its employees and all those of funding. We have Tory MPs who Portland and the spectacular Chesil Beach Photo: Nigel Costley on contracts issued by the council are vote for cuts rather than pressing for Luke was passionate about the “I met a woman here the other day paid the Minimum Wage. Luke Pollard MP in front of Devonport Guildhall greater investment.” communities’ determination to get with three jobs and still has to use a things done even in the face of cuts food bank to make ends meet”, he Weymouth and Portland Action on Wages conference and government indifference. He said. It’s examples like this that prove highlighted the social enterprise that the need for the TUC’s New Deal for runs the Guildhall as an example. But Working People. n life for many in Devonport is tough. “I met a woman here the other day with three jobs and still has to use a food bank to make ends meet” – Unite helps bus drivers Universal Credit must go take healthy living in 4 their stride by Keith Hatch for union members with Mike for pension. When the opportunity attempts to move her into the new Unite members at First Somerset a while after reading his story in a arose, she successfully applied to fill bungled benefits system, Universal and Avon in Weston-super-Mare local paper. She has been one of the cottages when it became Credit. Dee suddenly suffered a are being encouraged to take a busy building up a partnership vacant a few years ago. Since sequence of cuts to the assistance lunchtime stroll along the seafront between the union, Strollers and moving in, she has transformed she was previously receiving, and thanks to a new partnership North Somerset Council’s Public the garden into a blaze of colour, even a disputed claim that she organised by the union. Health Walks. bursting with fruit and veg. owed over £1000 to the council! Unite Regional Learning Organiser Mike set up the group after his wife Dee’s health deteriorated and Tazim Ladhu has linked up with passed away and he began to re- As a charitable landlord, the rent at after heart attacks and rushes to Strollers, a walking group run by evaluate his own health. He was 27 Tolpuddle remains in line with the hospital she has had to give up community volunteer Mike Jones, stone and found walking to the local local housing allowance which has hopes of working. been frozen since 2010. Unlike many to offer drivers the chance to stretch health centre or shops a struggle. private landlords who refuse to The TUC has found that transferring their legs and improve their health. The health benefits of walking are accept benefit claimants, the Trust from the old system to Universal The new initiative was launched in well known, and Mike was soon provide affordable accommodation Credit is complex with many October as part of a packed Health shedding the pounds – he has lost for retired trade unionists like Dee. claimants facing huge problems and Wellbeing day at the First offices seven stone since he started. Mike getting it right. A lot of people have in Weston. felt that walking not only improved Despite having a complex range also fallen into debt and hardship his physical health but also being of medical conditions that limit The union has negotiated with as the transition can leave claimants outside and active also improved his her ability to work, Dee took on a managers the use of a meeting waiting weeks before receiving the mental health. few trial shifts at the Puddletown room once a week to be turned Dee Whittington (left) with singer Eddi Reader money they are owed. general store to see if she was able into a union learning centre. Every Mike is really happy about the olpuddle resident to get back into work and give her Dee’s struggles continued. Wednesday new Unite Union partnership with Tazim and Unite. “I Dee Whittington shares something to do. She checked with Her multiple health conditions Learning Rep Kath Williams uses do this as a volunteer, and get a lot Ther experience of the the council who said it was okay as meant she received Personal the office to promote workplace of satisfaction talking to people and government’s brutal welfare the £90 per month wage would not Independence Payment, but a new learning and encourage courses seeing them improve their health system.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Final Copy 2020 02 17 Baker
    This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from Explore Bristol Research, http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk Author: Baker, Leonard Title: Spaces, Places, Custom and Protest in Rural Somerset and Dorset, c. 1780-1867. General rights Access to the thesis is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International Public License. A copy of this may be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode This license sets out your rights and the restrictions that apply to your access to the thesis so it is important you read this before proceeding. Take down policy Some pages of this thesis may have been removed for copyright restrictions prior to having it been deposited in Explore Bristol Research. However, if you have discovered material within the thesis that you consider to be unlawful e.g. breaches of copyright (either yours or that of a third party) or any other law, including but not limited to those relating to patent, trademark, confidentiality, data protection, obscenity, defamation, libel, then please contact [email protected] and include the following information in your message: •Your contact details •Bibliographic details for the item, including a URL •An outline nature of the complaint Your claim will be investigated and, where appropriate, the item in question will be removed from public view as soon as possible. Spaces, Places, Custom and Protest in Rural Somerset and Dorset, c. 1780-1867 Leonard John Baker A dissertation submitted to the University of Bristol in accordance with the requirements for award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts School of Humanities September 2019 Word Count: 79,998 Abstract This thesis examines how material space, meaningful place and custom shaped the forms and functions of protest in rural Somerset and Dorset between 1780 and 1867.
    [Show full text]
  • What Moved the Martyrs?
    “ Where the Spirit The story of the ‘Martyrs’ of the Lord is... of Tolpuddle in Dorset there is freedom!” is one of courage and 2 Corinthians, chapter 3 verse 17 strength, shaped by faith. What was the secret What moved of their resilience? The Martyrs? The Tolpuddle Martyrs believed in the justice of their cause because they could see the oppression around them and knew it themselves. As Christians, they believed in the freedom and dignity of working men and women. As followers, they were fired up by the freedom that comes from believing in Jesus. Their Bible study and preaching in the chapel taught them that willingness to suffer in a good cause (as Jesus did) is the true way of service and that, as John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, said: ‘ The best of all is – God is with us’ For more information about visiting the Tolpuddle Methodist Chapel, and links to Tolpuddle Old Chapel and the annual Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival, visit: www.dsw.church © 2019 0791 Tolpuddle DL leaf1 v03.indd 1 04/02/2019 10:44 Where did their Christian conscience take the Tolpuddle Martyrs? The word ‘martyr’ means In the early nineteenth century, Acts of Parliament put The union they formed was perfectly legal, but downward pressure on the living conditions of the members had to swear a secret oath of loyalty ‘witness’ – a person who countryside poor. The Enclosures Acts took away their and this proved to be their downfall. The local use of community common land for growing their own magistrates used laws intended to prevent mutiny in is willing to stand up for vegetables, as field hedges and walls were extended by the Navy to catch them out.
    [Show full text]
  • The Tolpuddle Martyrs Tree
    The ANCIENT TREEANCIENT TREE COLUMN column Each month we feature an ancient British tree. This month the Ancient Tree Forum introduces us to the... The Tolpuddle Martyrs Tree It was under this sycamore tree in Dorset that six agricultural labourers, who later became known as the Tolpuddle Martyrs, met in 1834 to form the first trade union in The iconic Britain. It was very common at that time for meetings to take place under village trees sycamore and and the sycamore on the green in Tolpuddle would already have been a good size. little village of The struggle of the Tolpuddle six to improve the conditions and thatched cottages wages of their fellow farmworkers led to their arrest and the men are a place of were charged under the Mutiny Act and transported to Australia. pilgrimage for Three years later, after many petitions and protest meetings the trade unionists government allowed the men to be returned to Britain and they and socialists were able to spend the rest of their lives in their home village. The iconic sycamore and this little village of thatched cottages are still associated with the trade union movement and are a place of pilgrimage for trade unionists and socialists. Every July at the Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival, thousands take part in a march and rally. The National Trust manages this special heritage tree to try to increase its longevity. It is pollarded on a regular cycle to reduce weight on the branches and as a result, growth in the crown is vigorous and healthy. Metal cable bracing was put through the hollow trunk in the twentieth century to hold together the thin shell of living sapwood and a former split in the trunk has now grown over.
    [Show full text]
  • Year 8 History Home Learning Booklet Name
    Year 8 History Home learning Booklet Would you have survived the Industrial Revolution? Name:____________________ Teacher: __________________ How to use your home learning booklet. There are ten lessons in your home learning booklet. The work is the same as your fellow pupils will be doing in class. Pick up from where you left off when you went off school. The booklet is made up of information in blue boxes, which you need to read through and tasks in orange boxes which you need to complete either on paper or on a word document. Information Task If a box looks like this, you need to If a box looks like this, you need to read it carefully. do the task either on paper or in a word document Lesson 1 The growth of the empire: Local study – Industrial St Helens Task This lesson looks at the effect the industrial revolution had on St. Helens, to investigate the effect you will research one of the following 4 areas of St Helens: Coal Mining Glass Making The Sankey Canal The Rainhill Trials You must make a fact file about one of the above, explaining the impact that it had one the development of St. Helens. Use the internet to research an area. What was the Industrial Revolution? The industrial Revolution was when the country changed from being focussed on farming and agriculture to big factories and industrial cities. Britain was where the industrial revolution began, it soon spread across the world! Please see the below videos for more information: The Industrial Revolution | History - Andrew Marr's History of the World - YouTube The Industrial Revolution (18-19th Century) - YouTube Lesson 2 How did the industrial revolution change Britain? Inventions Information- READ ME The Watt steam In 1809, Nicolas Appert, a engine was one of French confectioner and the first steam brewer, observed that food engines created.
    [Show full text]
  • Dorchester Labourers and Swing Aftermath in Dorset
    The Dorchester Labourers and Swing's aftermath in Dorset, 1830-1838 Tom Scriven The arrest and transportation of the Dorchester Labourers (also known as the Tolpuddle Martyrs) in 1834 has become a key moment in British labour history and the popular memory of trade unionism. The six Labourers, led by George Loveless, a prominent Methodist lay preacher, were arrested on the initiative of the local landowner and magistrate, James Frampton, for having formed the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers (FSAL) in the village of Tolpuddle in east Dorset in autumn 1833. The resulting national solidarity campaign became an extensive and assertive defence of the rights of labour and of working-class political radicalism, which succeeded in securing the men pardons in 1836. The case of the Labourers has subsequently appeared in a book-length popular history, been analysed in terms of the nature and aims of the broader trade union movement, and situated within long-term changes within agrarian labour and social relations across the south.1 However, consistently missing from these studies has been their situation within the context of labour and political disputes within Dorset itself during the entirety of the 1830s. Almost totally overlooked, other than brief discussion of its Chartist dimension, has been the fact that the FSAL was re-established in 1838, becoming far larger than in 1834.2 The Swing riots began in Dorset on 22nd November 1830, with the most concentrated and th violent events ending on December 9 .3 As with the other affected areas, Swing in Dorset consisted mainly of localised and fragmented rioting, assemblies to demand higher wages, strikes, incendiarism, and machine breaking.
    [Show full text]
  • CO-OPERATIVE UNION LTD. Correspondence of Robert Owen
    AUSTRALIAN JOINT COPYING PROJECT CO-OPERATIVE UNION LTD. Correspondence of Robert Owen and George Holyoake, 1830-1905 Reel M865 Co-operative Union Ltd Holyoake House Hanover Street Manchester M60 0AS National Library of Australia State Library of New South Wales Filmed: 1980 HISTORICAL NOTE The Co-operative Union, originally known as the Co-operative Central Board, was founded in 1869 with the aim of creating and organising cooperative societies and providing advice and education on cooperative principles. It was originally concerned with both worker cooperatives and consumer cooperatives, but after about 1880 it predominantly dealt with retail cooperative societies. Following the death of George Holyoake in 1906, the cooperative movement decided to commemorate him by building a permanent headquarters for the Co-operative Union. Holyoake House in Manchester was opened in 1911. Since 1919 the building has also housed the Co-operative College. As well as organising the annual Co-operative Congress, the Co-operative Union has been closely linked with the Co-operative Party, which was founded in 1917. The Co-operative Union was re-named Co-operatives UK in 2003. Robert Owen (1771-1858) was born in Newtown, Wales, and was apprenticed to a cloth merchant at the age of ten. Within ten years he was managing a mill with 500 employees and in 1800 he became manager of the New Lanark cotton mills near Glasgow. They soon became a model of philanthropic management, with reduced working hours, communal housing and educational facilities. Attempts were made to create communities based on Owen’s socialist ideals and in the 1820s hundreds of cooperative societies were formed throughout Britain.
    [Show full text]
  • Recorder 5 O Oo □33
    m •a Recorder 5 o oo □33 MELBOURNE BRANCH AUSTRALIAN SOCIETy FOR THE STUDY OF LABOUR HISTORY Registered bv AUSTRALIA POST ISSN 0155-8722 Number 1 2A Publication No.VBH 1331 Sentember.1983 Price; 20 cent; Editorials October General Meetin.*^ Fred Farrall, one of our oldest members both in years and in leng membership, has been overseas. He made a pilgrimage to Tolpuddle in Dorchester and visited the home of George Loveless which is now a permanent memento of the episode. He met representatives of the Far Workers Union. He also visited the battle fields in France in whic fought in 1917-1918. ^ At the next meeting of the Labour History Society on Tuesday. 18th 0 at 7.-t5Pin Fred will tell us in his inimitable style his overseas exp iences. Merters will not. the address, 3i0 queen Street! the office of the Australian Insurance Employees' Union. We will also discuss the program for the commemoration of 150 years - Trade Unionism In Victoria during the next twelve months. Commemorative Provram - 150 Years of Trade Unionism The Oommemoratlve committee has drawn up an Interesting program to e honour to the history of the Trade Union and Labour Kovement of the 150 years. ^ j j 4. Firstly, a broadsheet was produced and full marks must be awarded tc Chairman John Arrowsmith for this excellent production. The first run of 80CX)copies was jointly financed by four Trade Unior The Vehicle Builders. The Furnishing Trades, the Meat Employees' Uni and the Metal. Foundry and Shipwrights' Union. It was ready in tim. for John and George Seelaf to distribute them to the delegates at tl ACTU Congress.
    [Show full text]
  • PRESS RELEASE: Embargoed Thursday 15Th August 2019 - 08:00
    PRESS RELEASE: Embargoed Thursday 15th August 2019 - 08:00 Legacy of Tolpuddle Martyrs saved thanks to National Lottery The National Lottery Heritage Fund today confirmed a grant of £329,300 to help save Tolpuddle Old Chapel, the meeting place of the Dorsetshire Labourers before the events that saw them help spark the Trade Union movement and become known as the Tolpuddle Martyrs. The Grade II* Listed building is of international importance but it is in a poor state of repair and on Historic England’s ‘At Risk Register’. The National Lottery funding will secure its future. After four years of dedicated hard work by trustees, volunteers, project managers, consultants, architects, Friends of Tolpuddle Old Chapel and financial sponsors, TOCT has raised over £290,000 for the project, with £36,000 left to raise for the project which will cost £655,000 in total. The National Lottery funding success finally puts The Trust in a strong position to realise its vision of renovating and extending Tolpuddle Old Chapel. Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, the project will renovate and extend the former chapel to provide the potential for the appropriate re- use of the building as a 'quiet place in the heart of this historic Dorset village', as well as creating interpretation and community engagement activities to tell the history of the building and its connection to the Dorsetshire Labourers later known as The Tolpuddle Martyrs. Stuart Hobley, Area Director London & South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Over two centuries old, Tolpuddle Old Chapel represents a fascinating chapter of the story of Dorset, the Tolpuddle Martyrs and social justice.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction. the Tolpuddle Martyrs: Injustice Within The
    Introduction Herbert Vere Evatt was a chief architect of the world’s most important institution. His genius is present in the UN Charter, and in that post- war human rights triptych – the Genocide and Geneva Conventions and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He was the progeni- tor of the European Court of Human Rights and the International Criminal Court, both of which he proposed at the Paris Peace Confer- ence. His international renown led to his election as the third President of the General Assembly of the United Nations. Why did this intellectual giant concern himself with the sad story of six Dorsetshire labourers, convicted in 1834 of administering an unlawful oath and sentenced to transportation to Australia? Evatt wrote this work in 1937 while he was a judge of the High Court of Australia. He had earned Sydney University’s highest acco- lades: his doctoral thesis, on the subject of the Royal Prerogative, prophetically pointed the way by which “dominions” like Australia and even colonies could attain full sovereignty.1 He speedily acquired a practice at the Bar representing trade unions and his conspicuous brilliance enabled a Labor government to appoint him to the High Court in 1930, at the astonishingly young age of thirty-six. By then, the case of the Dorsetshire labourers was already celebrated: Sidney and Beatrice Webb had canonised them in their History of trade union- ism published in 1894, and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) had recently published The Martyrs of Tolpuddle. Left-wing lawyers like Walter Citrine and Stafford Cripps QC roundly declared that they had vii been wrongly convicted.
    [Show full text]
  • Horrors of Convict Life.Pdf
    Reid, K. M. (Accepted/In press). The horrors of convict life: British radical visions of the Australian penal colonies. http://hdl.handle.net/1983/989 Early version, also known as pre-print Link to publication record in Explore Bristol Research PDF-document University of Bristol - Explore Bristol Research General rights This document is made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the reference above. Full terms of use are available: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/red/research-policy/pure/user-guides/ebr-terms/ The Horrors of Convict Life: British radical visions of the Australian penal colonies On September the 15th 1856, a huge demonstration took place in London during which, if The People’s Paper is to be believed, up to a million people assembled.1 Their purpose was to march from the centre past the city’s financial districts, St Paul’s, Fleet Street, the West End and Regent’s Park to a final destination point at Primrose Hill. They had come to welcome Chartist leader John Frost - transported for his role in the 1839 rising at Newport - home from nearly two decades of exile in Van Diemen’s Land. ‘Mighty multitudes lin[ed] the streets’, The People’s Paper recorded, ‘vast numbers [formed] the cortege … men march[ed] in great part twenty-six abreast’ and an ‘almost ceaseless storm of applause and cheers … rose from all around’.2 Travelling in ‘a splendid open carriage’ drawn by ‘four greys with postilions in gala dress’ and ‘decorated with laurels’ Frost himself was showered in flowers and surrounded by the crowds as many of those who had assembled tried to shake his hand.
    [Show full text]
  • The Culture of Combination: Solidarities and Collective Action Before Tolpuddle
    The culture of combination: solidarities and collective action before tolpuddle Article (Accepted Version) Griffin, Carl (2015) The culture of combination: solidarities and collective action before tolpuddle. Historical Journal, 58 (2). pp. 443-480. ISSN 0018-246X This version is available from Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/53473/ This document is made available in accordance with publisher policies and may differ from the published version or from the version of record. If you wish to cite this item you are advised to consult the publisher’s version. Please see the URL above for details on accessing the published version. Copyright and reuse: Sussex Research Online is a digital repository of the research output of the University. Copyright and all moral rights to the version of the paper presented here belong to the individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners. To the extent reasonable and practicable, the material made available in SRO has been checked for eligibility before being made available. Copies of full text items generally can be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided that the authors, title and full bibliographic details are credited, a hyperlink and/or URL is given for the original metadata page and the content is not changed in any way. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk THE CULTURE OF COMBINATION THE CULTURE OF COMBINATION: SOLIDARITIES AND COLLECTIVE ACTION BEFORE TOLPUDDLE* Forthcoming: Historical Journal, 58, 2 (2015) CARL J.
    [Show full text]
  • Crime and Punishment
    Crime and Punishment: Some overview ideas... Crime, 1500-1750: Early Modern Prisons – It was not until 1576 that local judges were required to build houses of correction in which beggars could be kept. Early Modern prisons were mostly for holding people awaiting trial. Prevention of crimes: - Making a group of 10 people (a tithing) responsible for each other’s actions. If a crime was committed they had to hunt for the criminal (Hue and Cry) - Deterring people by threat of punishment - Church teachings about right and wrong Causes of Early Modern Crime... Rising unemployment, rising prices, weak government and corrupt judges There was no police force. By 1400, landowners were appointed as Justices of the Peace to hold local courts at least four times a year to deal with less serious offences 1500-1750 BEFORE: Changes in the economy in the late 14th and 15th century had increased the numbers of people wandering and looking for work. SO: Changes in society led to a moral panic with beggars (often healthy) being thought of as criminals – and punished. Reasons why the numbers Reasons why begging was of beggars increased treated harshly and as a during the 16th century: crime: - Closure of monasteries -The cost of supporting took away support for the beggars was resented by poor communities they ended it -Population increase put up in pressure on jobs and food - Poor people were more - Landowners kept sheep likely to turn to other instead of growing crops. crimes such as theft This needed fewer workers - Large numbers of travelling beggars seemed to be a threat to people who felt they should know their place within a community.
    [Show full text]