... a micro level, death of the wage earner, old age and illness to name few, were causes of poverty. This time period also witnessed a change in perception towards the poor and in the means of dealing with poverty. From 1531 to 1598 there was no fewer than eleven Acts of Parliament passed in relation to the poor. The purpose of this essay is to examine these laws and explain why some are considered to be controversial, as well as looking at the implications and reasoning behind the Statutes. Most of which sought the relief of the impotent or 'deserving poor' (people unable to find work because of illness, old age etc.) and the harsh punishment of the 'undeserving poor', such as vagrants (who most often were unemployed men or women unable to find work and migrating in order to do so) and vagabonds, as well as able bodied (idle) beggars. ...

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