Early Modern Challenges: 1500–1700 · 1500 – 1700
The Vagrancy Crisis
The criminalisation of the "unworthy poor" and the 1547 Vagrancy Act.
Key Questions
- 1Why did the Elizabethans fear "sturdy beggars"?
- 2How did economic change lead to new definitions of crime?
- 3Was the treatment of vagrants based on fear or morality?
National Curriculum Attainment Targets
GCSE: History - Crime and Punishment Through TimeGCSE: History - Early Modern England
Year: Year 10
Subject: History
Unit: Early Modern Challenges: 1500–1700
Period: 1500 – 1700
Suggested Methodologies
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