In Europe, from 1450 to 1700 about half of the population were labeled as poor. To be considered poor one must have the bare minimum to be able to maintain life. The amount of people living in poverty increased, during times of war, famine, and plagues, up to eighty percent of a region’s population. In Europe between 1450 to 1700, the poor were approached in many different ways, based on other’s sympathy or disdains; these included compassion, intolerance, and appealing for disciplinary actions upon the poor.
Most people who were compassionate towards the poor were part of the Catholic Church clergy, but not always. A Catholic priest in France during the fifteenth century stated in a sermon, “Whoever gives a penny to the poor… in good health, …show more content…
In 1531 for an imperial decree for the Netherlands, Emperor Charles V announced, “that if begging for alms is permitted…. many error and abuses will result, for they will fall into idleness, which is the beginning of all evils” (Document 3). This shows that the emperor does not want to help the poor because they will become lazy due to the fact the they are given what they need. This follows Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain whom were intolerant to people who had a different religion than them. This powerful royal couple worked together to create the 1492 Reconquista and the 1480 Spanish Inquisition. Both of these events allowed the couple to eliminate many people who had different faiths by murdering and banishing other religions. To add on to political leaders refusing to help the poor, in 1542 during a town council meeting in Rouen, France the speaker argued that, “idleness is harmful to the public good and should not be tolerated” (document 4). This shows intolerance of lazy poor people and how others became suspicious towards the poor. In addition to political leaders having suspicion against the poor, even wealthy merchants such as Jean Maillefer in a letter to his children in 1674 in Reims France saw a pattern in the poors’ way of life. Maillefer indicated that the poor, “have no cares, pay no rents or taxes, have no losses to fear. They
Most people who were compassionate towards the poor were part of the Catholic Church clergy, but not always. A Catholic priest in France during the fifteenth century stated in a sermon, “Whoever gives a penny to the poor… in good health, …show more content…
In 1531 for an imperial decree for the Netherlands, Emperor Charles V announced, “that if begging for alms is permitted…. many error and abuses will result, for they will fall into idleness, which is the beginning of all evils” (Document 3). This shows that the emperor does not want to help the poor because they will become lazy due to the fact the they are given what they need. This follows Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain whom were intolerant to people who had a different religion than them. This powerful royal couple worked together to create the 1492 Reconquista and the 1480 Spanish Inquisition. Both of these events allowed the couple to eliminate many people who had different faiths by murdering and banishing other religions. To add on to political leaders refusing to help the poor, in 1542 during a town council meeting in Rouen, France the speaker argued that, “idleness is harmful to the public good and should not be tolerated” (document 4). This shows intolerance of lazy poor people and how others became suspicious towards the poor. In addition to political leaders having suspicion against the poor, even wealthy merchants such as Jean Maillefer in a letter to his children in 1674 in Reims France saw a pattern in the poors’ way of life. Maillefer indicated that the poor, “have no cares, pay no rents or taxes, have no losses to fear. They