Beggars

What were they like ????
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Why were there so many of them ???
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Were the poor really poor ?

Vagrants were people who ...................................................................................
Other poor people did have homes but and worked on .................. or in .............. but the wages were very low and sometimes they could not ..................................
If the crops failed they .........................................................................
The deserving poor were truly poor.
They might have
1 lost...........................................................
2 children...................................................
3 injured.....................................................
4 had a .......................................................

They were allowed to beg for money and workhouses and ................ were set up to help them.
Rogues were lazy and ............................................................................. If they were found begging they were p........................................
The punishments were terrible
1 they could be ............................................
2 or put ........................................................
3 holes...........................................................
4 the letter V..................................................
5 some were even killed by h.........................

Beggars
Some beggars had been injured and could not do proper work. These were (honest/dishonest) beggars. Some people were very lazy and (did/did not) want to work. These were (honest/dishonest) beggars. They were called (rogues/tramps).
The Doxy was a (honest/dishonest) (man/woman) and used food and thread to steal (cats/chickens).
The Abraham Man was (mad/clever) and went around in (fancy clothes/a dirty sheet) pretending to see God. Many people believed him.
The Clapper Dudgeon went about with (bloody/clean) bandages to make people feel sorry for him.
The Upright Man was (weak/tough) and threatened other people that he would hurt them if they (gave/did not give) him money.
The Bawdy Basket woman (cleaned/stole) washing left out to dry and (sold/gave) it to other people.
The Counterfeit Crank (had/pretended to have) very bad injuries so he (could/could not) walk and work. He (used/did not use) walking sticks to make himself look (better/worse).

The times were hard. If the harvest failed people (lived well/went hungry). Some people even (got fat/died of starvation). Begging laws were strict. If beggars broke the laws they were (put in prison/sent on holiday) and could be (whipped/given clothes). King Henry VIII closed the monasteries. In the past the monks at the monasteries (helped/killed) the beggars. Now the beggars (did not have/had extra) help. Because the population was growing there were (less/more) people to feed. There was (not enough/plenty) of food. Some farmers realised they could make more money from (elephants/sheep) farming. There was (more/less) work and this meant the poor had (more/less)money. If the poor could not pay the rent for their cottages they were (killed/thrown out) and made (mad/homeless). If they were thrown out they lost their land and they (could/could not) grow food crops and so had to buy food. If the food in the shops was expensive the poor (could/could not) afford to buy it and so they (went hungry/were well fed). People making cloth found it hard to sell so they needed (more/less) workers and this meant (more jobs/unemployment) for some. The taxes demanded by the King were rising and if people (could/could not) pay they were sent to prison and lost their homes while in prison because they did not pay the rent.