Essay Question:

To what extent did the authorities' responses to vagabondage reflect wider social and economic issues in early modern England?

Introduction thesis:

In your introduction, outline how the rise in vagabondage was linked to social and economic changes, and briefly state how authorities responded to these problems.

Point: Economic hardship and social change led to increased vagabondage.

Evidence: The dissolution of monasteries reduced charity support, and land enclosure displaced peasants, forcing many into vagrancy.

Question: Explain how economic changes in early modern England contributed to the rise of vagabondage. (4 marks)

Point: Authorities implemented harsh laws to control vagrants.

Evidence: The Vagabonds Act (1572) and the Poor Law (1601) aimed to punish and manage vagrants, often through transportation or workhouses.

Question: Analyse how effective the Poor Law of 1601 was in controlling vagrancy. (5 marks)

Counter-argument: Some historians argue that social and economic issues were the root causes of vagabondage, and harsh laws merely punished symptoms.

Evidence: Economic depression and land dispossession created a large impoverished class that laws could not fully control.

Question: Outline a counter-argument to the view that laws alone solved vagabondage. (3 marks)

Summary:

Summarise the main points about the causes and responses to vagabondage, and evaluate how well authorities managed the problem.

Question: Evaluate whether the responses to vagabondage in early modern England were effective in reducing the problem. (4 marks)