Social and Intellectual challenge

What was the population of England in 1680?

5 million

What percentage of the population lived in the south-east in the 1600s? What characterised the population of the north during the 1600s?

75% lived in SE

Much was uninhabited, lower population than south

How did the Commonwealth impact migration levels? Why? Where did migrants immigrate to? Why?

Caused a major influx of foreign migrants because of greater religious toleration under Cromwell

Immigrated to towns - greater job opportunities and increasing poverty elsewhere, led to greater birth rates so increased population

How did the influx of skilled workers cause an increase in employment rates?

Dutch skilled workers took on apprentices, so work for English migrants as well

Why was there a lower rate of epidemics during the 17th century? What specific practice demonstrates this change?

Better isolation techniques and knowledge of population, not better medical techniques - theatres in London were shut for months following plague outbreaks

What was the link between mortality and birth rates in this period?

As mortality increased, birth rates did too - when older relatives died, younger members of the family often had the opportunity to marry (because they were not caring for their family), when children died, they were often replaced

When did London become the largest city in Europe? Which two cities did it overtake?

1650 - Paris and Naples

How large was London during the 17th century? How large was it in comparison with the next two largest cities in England? What percentage of the English population lived in London in 1520, 1650 and 1700?

Population of 400,000-500,000 - was 10x bigger than next two largest cities

1520 - 2.25%
1650 - 7%
1700 - 9%

How much more grain was needed to feed London in 1680 in comparison to 1600? What does this show about the impact of the growth of London on the rural economy?

400% more grain - as London grew, as did the rural economy to accommodate for this growth

Why was London well positioned as an economic epicentre?

Was at the heart of the road and shipping network, so could accommodate the increasing demand for goods

What were the 4 largest cities in England by 1625? What were their populations? How had these changed in comparison to 1500?

Norwich - 30,000 (increase of 20,000)
Bristol - 20,000 (increase of 10,500), traded with New World and India, symbolised growth of industrialisation
York - 12,000 (increase of 2,000), historic centre of England
Newcastle - 12,000 (increase of 2,000), centre of NE trade (demonstrated by coal shortage in England during Scottish occupation)

Why was Norwich a significant city?

It was the centre of the cloth trade and welcomed Dutch migrants

Why was Bristol a significant city?

It traded with New World and India, symbolised growth of industrialisation

Why was York a significant city?

It was the historic centre of England

Why was Newcastle a significant city?

It was the centre of NE trade (demonstrated by coal shortage in England during Scottish occupation)

Why did small market towns fail to grow during the 17th century? Where were most market towns located? Why?

Had little to offer compared to London

Most were in the Midlands - crops could be traded there

Why did the growth in population lead to an increase in poverty?

Led to a shortage of well-paid work in town and countryside, shortage didn't correlate to lowered job security once permanent work had been found

How did the cloth industry change after 1600? Why?

Moved to the countryside - to avoid regulations and taxes introduced by city administrators

What percentage of the urban population lived near the poverty line? What happened to the number and proportion of poor people in England by the 1600s?

66% lived near poverty line

Number of poor people increased, but proportion didn't - was in line with overall population growth

How did changing population growth impact the success of farmers? What impact did this have on the poverty rate and agriculture?

Short term - high population growth meant high demand, was easier to make profits
Long term - inflation and slowed growth made it harder to make profits which forced small farmers out of business, couldn't afford to invest meaning many fell into poverty

What percentage of the country lived in towns by 1701 compared to 1600? What impact did this have on rural communities? How were these connections improved? By who?

15% lived in towns in 1701, an increase of 3% from 1600 - meant agriculture had to grow to support new cities and new transport markets had to be created

Investment into making rivers and roads navigable - done by landowners and town councils

What was the difference between the settled poor and the vagrants, as well as the differences in how they were treated? How many vagrants were there? How many settled poor were there?

Settled poor - those who were established in one parish and didn't move around to find work or beg, were entitled to some support, 25% of population
Vagrants - those who travelled, seen as criminals, 0.5% of population

What did social elites believe about the poor? How credible was this belief?

The poor, especially vagrants, posed a threat to social stability - was exaggerated but the government needed to put support in place to stop it from happening

When was the Old Poor Law put in place? What were its two guiding principles? What measures were introduced by it? How much of a change did it make?

1601 - provisions should be put in place for those who couldn't work, punishments for those who chose not to
Overseers of poor to collect poor relief taxes, appointed in all parishes and decided who received relief, poor could be sent to poorhouse if parishioners would pay, begging only allowed in a person's home parish and only for food

Not a major change - standardised local practices, formalised older laws

How much poor relief was collected in 1614? How much was collected in 1650? How was the gap between the amount of poor relief raised and the amount needed bridged?

1614 - £30,000
1650 - £188,000

Gap filled in by actions of the church and charity by local wealthy people - Hugh Cholomondley from Yorkshire gave gifts to the poor twice a week from the gates of his manor house

How did attitudes towards the poor rates change after the Restoration?

Resentment - claims that vagrants were squatting on common land and claiming poor relief

When was the Settlement Act passed? What measures were put in place by the act? How could it be exploited by local officials? When and how was this problem changed? What impact did it have on the poor? Why were large landowners able to benefit from the act?

1662 - settlement certificates proved that a person lived in a parish, entitling them to poor relief there, if they moved and stayed for 40 days in another parish they could get poor relief there, defined what poor was for the first time (someone who's property was worth less than £10)

Poor people could be sent to another parish, avoid detection and then collect relief there, modified 1688 to close loophole - new entries into a parish had to be publicly declared

Their freedoms of migration were massively limited, could be easily sent back to original parish

Large landowners were able to demolish houses so those who left wouldn't return, allowed for short-term labourers for under 40 days who could then be sent back, avoiding having to pay for their relief

What is the nobility? How could they exert influence on Stuart society? Why were they in decline?

Landowners closest in status to the king, typically had a familial link to the land they owned - owned large swathes of land, entitled to sit in the House of Lords and took up many political positions

Inflation - had to maintain and uphold significant expenses to do with patronage and reputation that the gentry were often spared from

What is the gentry? What political figures were members of the gentry? By how much did they increase between the start of the Tudor period and the mid 1600s? How many gentry were there in Stuart England?

Landowners without the titles of the nobility but were still engage in politics and sustain themselves from their landed income
Included John Pym, Oliver Cromwell, John Hampden
Gentry increased by 300% between the start of the Tudor era and mid 1600s - 15,000 gentry in Stuart England

How could the gentry exert social or political power? Why did their participation in politics increase during the Stuart era? Why else did their fortunes change?

Owned land, served as JPs, constables or judges, became advisors or MPs on a national level

Second or third sons of gentry increasingly entered the law, a pathway into politics - civil war increased power of gentry as most MPs were gentlemen

Increased dominance of larger farms due to cost of investment, declining fortunes of nobility

How many merchants were there in England in 1580? How many were there in England in 1688? Why did the merchant classes become so successful during the 17th century? Why was there a steadily increasing demand for merchants during the 17th century?

1580 - 30,000
1688 - 64,000
Growth of London - city centre of trade in Britain, led to established community of merchants in London, growth of urbanisation, government support of English merchants through mercantile policy of Navigation Acts

Many merchants were keen to retire as soon as possible due to occupation's danger and risk

How could merchants exert social or political influence? How was their status different to that of the landed classes?

Could buy land, titles or become alderman or mayor for their town - however, many merchants were only concerned with commerce, not traditional notions of status

Merchants often lacked education and didn't have the prestige of their landed counterparts, second sons of gentry families made their way into commercial practice, could become as powerful as gentry

Why was there increasing demand for professionals during the 17th century?

Rising living standards meant more demand for lawyers, doctors, architects, etc.

What was the role and status of women during most of the 17th century? How were unmarried women viewed during the 17th century? How was the inferior status of women justified?

Role was to run household and bring up children, had few rights and were subservient to husband

Unmarried women viewed with suspicion, many were accused of witchcraft against married women

Justified biblically - moral teachings showed women as irrational and threatening if not controlled, some ministers questioned if women had souls

Why were some women educated? What were the limits of this education?

Some richer women were expected to teach their children and keep records for the household - further education was off limits

Why did the civil war lead to greater progress for women? Which women are evidence of this progress? What did they do? How significant was this progress?

Women often took on roles of men who had gone off to fight
Lucy Hutchinson - defended estate of parliamentarian colonel husband John
Mary Banks - commanded detachment of Royalist troops to defend Corfe Castle

Of limited significance - was not spread to all social classes, was soon reversed after fighting finished

How did the Puritans promote educational reform, both for women and the lower classes in society? What were the limits to the impact that Puritanism had on the education of women?

Women - Puritans saw family at the heart of worship, so women would have to read and write
Lower classes - promoted grassroots schooling, influenced this with moral values

Still a prevailing belief that it was dangerous to educate women

Which religious group were supportive of female education? What is evidence of this support? How extensive was this support?

Quakers - founded four schools accepting girls, only 15 girls had been educated by 1671

How did women engage themselves in political debate? How does parliament's response demonstrate that this had little impact?

Aug 1643 - 6,000 women petitioned parliament for peace
1649 - 10,000 Leveller women signed petition for release of John Lilliburne (leader), claimed women were created in image of God as much as men so should enjoy equal rights

Parliament claimed women should return to housework - Lilliburne not released, women in politics were dismissed

How widespread were demands for female suffrage during the mid 17th century?

Limited to Puritan groups - Diggers embraced it, Levellers made no mention of it (only wanted universal male suffrage)

How were Quakers impacted by legal changes? (1650 Toleration Act, Quaker Act, 1689 Toleration Act) How would these changes have impacted the status of women?

1650 Toleration Act - were allowed to flourish
1662 Quaker Act - limited, restrictions slowly and unevenly loosened culminating in 1689 Toleration Act

Quakers were group most supportive of progress for women - bettering fortunes for Quakers would have allowed women to find space to advance

What belief justified the progressive treatment of women in Quakerism? What evidence is there to suggest this progressive treatment?

Idea that God's light was in every person - women could speak up in church, preach and give opinion

Women were allowed to hold separate meetings and speak in mixed meetings

What was the Marriage Act? When was it passed and by which body? How significant was it?

1653 by Barebones parliament - allowed for civil marriages performed by a JP which gave the husband less power over his wife than a religious ceremony

Could have been revolutionary - mostly ignored by men because of its egalitarian principles

What was the Adultery Act? When was it passed and by which body? What impact did it have on women?

1650 by Rump parliament - said that both men and women's sexual impurities could be punished by death but strictly more enforced on women

Women more heavily targeted - e.g. Devon in 1650s, men only made 10% of suspects under the law

Why did the execution of Charles I lead to a growth in radical sects?

Led to end of censorship - many radicals saw it as divine provenance for the start of the end times

What is millenarianism? What did the Fifth Monarchists believe? How much of a threat did they pose?

Millenarianism - belief that the second coming of Christ is imminent, which would lead to 1000 years of Godly rule on earth

Fifth Monarchists - believed there had been 4 great empires and the collapse of the fifth (ending with the execution of Charles I) would bring about a Godly kingdom on earth
Had some political power in the Nominated Assembly but were not numerous enough to pose a real threat to the political order

Who were the leaders of the Levellers? What were their main political principles? How did they spread their political beliefs? What were their main social principles? Why could it be argued that the Levellers weren't revolutionary? What were the short and long term impacts of the Levellers? Why were they limited in their impact?

Leaders - John Lilliburne, William Walwyn, William Overton

Political principles - Believed in HoC as central body in political system, abolition of House of Lords, universal male suffrage, new constitution, equality before the law for all men, religious freedom for all
Social principles - judges should be locally elected with courts staffed by other local officials, reform of legal system, end of imprisonment for debt

Spread beliefs through pamphlets and public debates

Didn't support suffrage for women, some believed that those who received poor relief should not be able to vote

Short term impacts - helped trigger the conservative reaction and delayed progressive change, long term - inspired radical movements of following centuries
Were limited in impact because of a lack of organisation and cohesion (different pamphlets said different things), lacked national support as ideas didn't appeal to rural poor

When and where did the Ranters emerge? What was their main idea? What practices did they engage in? Why did they decline? What was their main political significance?

1650 in London - those predestined to be saved by God were incapable of sinning so immoral activity was ok

Drinking, swearing, crime, immoral sexual activities, drunken orgies

1650 Blasphemy Act banned the movement, leaders imprisoned in 1651

The fear around them was used to trigger a conservative reaction with limits on religious toleration

What principle was at the centre of Digger ideology? When and where was the first Digger community established? When and why did it come to an end? What sign of social subversion did they undertake that made them seem like a serious threat? What were their main social and political principles? Why did they have limited support?

Execution of Charles I meant that manmade laws around land ownership had been invalidated, allowing for creation of communes
Believed in common ownership of land and means of production, compulsory education for boys and girls, abolition of Lords and monarchy

First community established in Weybridge, Surrey in Apr 1649 - evicted Aug 1649 following loss in a local court case to landowners

Refused to remove their hats in the presence of NMA leaders - seen as sign of disrespect

Were more revolutionary than other groups so struggled to gain support, had significant backlash from local landowners, message was only properly relevant to rural communities, radical ideas would inspire future socialist movements

When were the Seekers established? What was their primary belief? Why were they seen as particularly threatening in comparison to other non-conformist and radical groups?

1620s - believed that because God and heaven could be found within the individual there was no need for churches or clergymen

Were attacked on the basis on which all traditional religious authority was based - although they were a fairly minor group, their claims seemed popular
Congregationalists and Baptists - only advocated for end to predestination or toleration, Levellers and Diggers - dealt with on purely social basis and didn't appeal to masses

When and where did the Quaker movement emerge? Where they did they flourish the most? Why? How many Quakers were there by the 1660s? What challenge did they face?

1650-2 in North England
Flourished the most in remote and rural areas - confessional church didn't provide adequate services there, significant missionary work by Quakers, needed no external support or organisation to function
By 1660s - 35,000 in England

Their wandering preachers could be arrested, imprisoned or executed under vagrancy laws

Why did all radical religious, political and social groups struggle to thrive?

Conservative reaction under the Protectorate and Restoration - meant many were fearful of radical groups and many legal restrictions on them were put in place

What defined the confessional state in 1625? Why did non-conformists typically oppose the Church of England at this time? At what point did a serious threat to the divine right monarchy and confessional state emerge? How? How significant was this challenge?

No-one challenged the principle, total uniformity was not rigidly enforced in practice, understanding that Church of England was national church

Non-conformists - usually didn't disagree with confessionalism, disagreed with specific practices performed by Church

1640s and civil war - increasing freedom of speech and press, rejection of all authority of state, was somewhat significant (most radicals didn't gain widespread support but began the process of social and political revolution)

What idea was at the centre of opposition to the confessional state? How did this idea lead to greater challenge to it? How had the confessional state been defeated by the end of the 17th century?

Secularism - more and more began to believe you could be loyal to the state without following a particular religion
Glorious Revolution - many opposed James II for secular and political reasons, rather than over his religion

How did the Glorious Revolution help end the idea of a divine right monarchy? To what extent had such a principle been totally ended by 1688?

Meant that the monarch was below the law - still political debate between Whigs and Tories over this issue

When was Thomas Hobbes born? What was his background? What did he believe about the state of society either before or without government? How did this inform his political beliefs? What was his overall philosophy of government advocated by him?

Born 1588 - attended Oxford, tutored sons of landed elite, fled to Paris before 1642 due to fears he would be targeted for his royalist sympathies, tutored young Charles II in Paris

Before government, human existence was defined by perpetual war - without government, such a state would return

Believed absolute power was a necessary consequence of the human condition to protect individual liberty from anarchy and tyranny - justifying Stuart absolutism

When was Leviathan published? By who? Which two political philosophies did it help inspire? What ideas were presented by it?

1651 by Hobbes - inspired conservatism and liberalism

Said everyone is guided by a lust for power or a fear of the struggle for power, compels them to agree to a social contract that confers their power onto a single body, happy to give up some of their freedom to protect against anarchy

When was John Locke born? What was his background? How might his background have influenced his political beliefs? When did he flee to exile? Why? When did he permanently return?

Born 1632 - was born to a Puritan father who fought for parliament in the civil war (may have led him to support religious toleration and equality), worked for Shaftesbury (Locke supported Whiggish political ideas, opposed a Catholic monarchy)

What political ideology did Locke inspire? What philosophical theory did he pioneer? What did this theory suggest?

Liberalism

Empiricism - conclusions could only be made through experience and observation or the observations and experiences of others

What works did Locke publish? When? When did his work become widely published and consumed? What was his short and long term significance?

Two Treaties on Government - 1689
Essay on Human Understanding - 1690

After the Glorious Revolution - much of his work provided the justification for this action

Short term significance - contributed to the Whig-Tory debate on the side of the Whigs, helped justify the Glorious Revolution, widely read at the time of his death
Long term significance - influenced French and American revolutionaries

What did Locke believe?

Rejected absolutism - believed all men were free before God and no one could have divine right
Rejected confessionalism - preferred religious toleration
Role of government was to protect the rights of life, liberty and property, and couldn't infringe on these rights and if they did, they could be overthrown by the people (i.e. Glorious Revolution)

When did the Scientific Revolution take place? What was it? Who were its major figures?

Between 1550 and early 18th century
Period of great discovery in physical and natural sciences, as well as development of scientific method

Newton, Bacon, Galileo (discovered role of tides in relation to rotation of earth), Kepler (laws of planetary motion)

What were the three principles of the Baconian method? At what point did this method become more widely accepted? What demonstrates his contribution to the scientific method in the long term?

1. Scientific discovery must be aided by collection of as much data as possible
2. Rejection of preconceived theories about subject unless they can be backed up by evidence
3. Methodical and meticulous observation was the best way to understand natural phenomena

Became more accepted during civil war - great upheaval and lack of censorship allowed for new ideas to emerge

Royal Society was founded on Baconian principles - ideas were often cited in early meetings

In what areas of physics did Newton make major discoveries? In the long term, how significant were they? Why was he able to make more progress than earlier thinkers on whose work he had built?

Classical mechanics, gravity, laws of motion, calculus - have remained largely unchanged since his death

Didn't have to contend with a large degree of censorship, especially after Glorious Revolution - unlike thinkers like Galileo, whose ideas were banned by Italian Catholic Church

When did Newton first begin to share his discoveries? In what form and to whom? What discoveries were they? What was his most famous work? When was this published? What idea did this work contain?

1672 - letters to Royal Society, research on spectrum of light, invited by Royal Society to showcase his invention of reflective telescope

Philosophia (1687) - idea of universal gravitation

What did Newton's discoveries represent in the context represent in the context of the Scientific Revolution as a whole? What limitations did his work have at first? How was this changed over time?

Culmination of centuries of discoveries and break from medieval thought

Was not accessible to most at first - thinkers like Voltaire published simplified version for the masses

When was the Royal Society formally proposed? By whom? When was it officially established? What were the two principle aims of the Royal Society that made it so well-respected? Give two ways in which Charles II contributed to the growth of the Royal Society? Initially, what fields was the Royal Society involved in other than science? When did it become solely focused on scientific study? How was it funded?

Formally proposed in 1660 by Christopher Wren, established officially 1662

Baconian desire to collect all knowledge about nature to come to conclusions about laws of science, desire to use science for public good rather than personal pride and fame

Was interested in science and promoted it in court, gave it a royal charter in 1662

Varied initially - including improvements for English language, literature, history, philosophy, changed in 1684

Funded with endowments from wealthy supporters, gifts from wealthy men and amateur scientists all over Europe

What major discovery was made by the Royal Society outside of traditional science? What major scientific discoveries were made by the Royal Society?

1663 - John Aubrey investigated Neolithic stone circles in Avebury, was founding of modern archaeology

1677 - investigations into micro-organisms, led to creation of field of microbiology
1661 - capillary action in frog lungs by Marcello Malpighi, missing link in William Harvey's blood circulation theory

Why was the scientific influence of the Royal Society in the Restoration greater than that of Oxford or Cambridge? How did it make science part of the public consciousness by 1688?

Non-conformist scholars were banned from the universities, many attended universities attended for status rather than learning, unlike at the Society

Public demonstrations and anatomy lessons with dissections on the bodies of criminals

What was the name of the journal of the Royal Society? When was it first published? Why was it significant? Other than the journal, what the Royal Society's international impact?

Philosophical Transactions, 1665 - was first professional journal, published in many foreign languages (highly accessible for many different scientists), encouraged sharing of knowledge allowing for more discoveries to be made

Provided model for scientific societies across Europe - French Royal Academy of Sciences (1666). Prussian Academy of Sciences, Berlin (1700)

What were the long term contributions of the Royal Society to science and society? Why could it be seen as limited in its significance?

The scientific discoveries it facilitated, how it positively changed the public perception of science into something that was no longer feared by the masses, contribution to belief that progress could be made without divine assistance

Was merely a channel for scientists, didn't give them significant assistance, few discoveries were actually made by the society, promoted them instead