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The dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII had left many of the poorest people with nowhere to go. Under Elizabeth's
rule many laws were passed to try to help the poor but there still remained many poor people. In 1601 Elizabeth introduced a Poor Law to try to sort out this
problem. The law said that each parish had a responsibility to care for its poor. It defined 3 types of poor.
Firstly there were the impotent poor. These were people who could
not work because of an illness or disability. This included the blind, the lame and the old (I'm still working, thank you) These people were to be cared for in
almshouses, hospitals or in their own homes if they owned one. An almshouse is a home provided by a charity or a wealthy individual and were usually run by the
local parish.
Secondly there were the able-bodied poor who could work but could not find a job. For these people the parish had to set up a House of Industry and
materials provided so these people could work.
Finally there were the lazy or idle poor. They were sent to a House of Correction to show them the error of their ways or even sent to prison.
Sometimes they were publicly whipped and dragged through the streets.
Poor children, and those of poor parents, were set to become apprentices in a trade.
But while the poor struggled, the rich became richer. In this year
Elizabeth granted a royal charter to the East India Company to begin trade in that sub-continent and challenge the dominance of the Portuguese and Dutch. It is
interesting that during the last century the four great sea faring nations had gone slightly different ways. Spain had conquered and killed off most of South
America; Portugal had taken over Brazil giving them the benefits of western civilization such as influenza over which they had no immunity. The Dutch had gone
east and luckily found the Dutch East Indies where the Portuguese had joined them. Actually the Dutch were the first foreigners to sight and land on Australia
in 1606AD but they ignored it. Meanwhile the British, at this early stage, concentrated more on North America but were now moving on to the very profitable trade
in silk and spices in and around India.
