RESTING O^ 
 o£ 
 
 v£m 
 
 IN THE | 
 
 SIXTEENTH AND 
 SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES. 
 
 SHEWING HOW THE PEOPLE LIVED & 
 DRESSED, FROM THE REICN OF 
 1 HENRY THE 7™ TO THE 
 DEATH OF WILLIAM THE 31° 
 
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 LONDON: 
 THOMAS DEAN AND SON, 
 
 THREADNEEDLE STREET. 
 
■mMirmn — 
 
 ENGLAND 
 
 AND ITS PEOPLE, 
 
 IN THE 
 
 SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH 
 
 CENTURIES. 
 
 HIS period of English His- 
 tory commences during 
 the reign of Henry the 
 Seventh, which began in 
 the year 1485, and it ends 
 with the death of Wil- 
 liam the Third, in 1702. 
 It has already been related in that part 
 of our history which is called " England 
 during the Middle Ages," how Henry 
 the Seventh became king, and put an end 
 to those dreadful civil wars, the Wars ol 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
ENGLAND IN THE 
 
 the Roses, by marrying the good princess 
 Elizabeth, daughter of Edward the Fourth. 
 
 It was in the reign of Henry the 7th 
 that America was discovered by Colum- 
 bus, and the first voyage made to India, 
 round the Cape of Good Hope. The merit 
 of these, and other great maritime disco- 
 veries, belongs to the Portuguese, who 
 were the best sailors of the age : but the 
 example set by them led the English to 
 improve their shipping, and make voyages 
 of discovery also, for the purpose of in- 
 creasing trade and commerce. 
 
 England had no navy at this period ; 
 for a shameful custom had long existed 
 of pressing, that is, seizing by force, mer- 
 chants' vessels for the service of the king, 
 whenever he wanted to raise a fleet. The 
 first ship of the present British navy was 
 built by order of Henry the Seventh, who 
 
SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES. 
 
 named it the Great Harry; but ship-build- 
 ing did not go on very rapidly, for there 
 were only thirteen ships of war in the time 
 of Queen Elizabeth, the government still 
 depending on the unjust system of seizing 
 merchants' vessels whenever ships were 
 required for warfare, 
 
 The next king, Henry the Eighth, made 
 a great revolution in this country, by 
 changing the established religion, which 
 till then had been Roman Catholic. Hav- 
 ing quarreled with the Pope, he chose 
 that the Protestant form of worship should 
 be adopted ; so he abolished all the Cath- 
 olic churches and monasteries throughout 
 the kingdom, seized all their treasures, 
 and sold the lands belonging to them. 
 
 The monks and nuns were turned out 
 of their homes, and their property seized 
 for the use of the state. Pensions were 
 
* ENGLAND IN THE 
 
 granted to a few, but thousands were left 
 destitute, and might be seen wandering 
 about the country, or sitting by the way- 
 sides, begging for their daily bread. 
 
 No people can be treated in so unjust 
 a manner now; but the sovereigns of Eng- 
 land were then despotic, that is, they could 
 do what they pleased, without regard to 
 the laws. It was to get rid of this arbi- 
 trary kind of government that Charles the 
 First was afterwards beheaded, and James 
 the Second deprived of the crown. 
 
 The change from the Catholic to the 
 Protestant religion, was called the Refor- 
 mation; but it caused great distress at the 
 time, especially among the poor, who had 
 been used to go to the monasteries and 
 convents for relief in all their wants, as 
 there were no poor laws at that time, nor 
 any hospitals for their benefit. 
 
A 
 

 
 f«***fi'*n »f CtnLrtct *e first. 
 
SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES. 
 
 During the whole of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury, there was also great distress among 
 the peasantry, owing to the decrease of 
 farm labour; for the large land-owners, 
 having now no serfs to cultivate their 
 lands, converted vast tracts into pastures 
 for sheep ; so that, instead of wanting a 
 great many people to work in the fields 
 at seed time and harvest time, they only 
 required a few shepherds to look after 
 their sheep ; and as the wool fetched a 
 great price in Flanders, they found it 
 more profitable than growing corn. 
 
 Many landowners, who had become 
 possessed of what were formerly church 
 lands, pulled down whole villages, and 
 enclosed the commons, where the rustics 
 used to feed a few sheep of their own ; so 
 that, what with this new system, and the 
 destruction of the monasteries, many thou- 
 
'..AVl.ct^.vviTijf,.:,,-,;,^;,,,^,!^.,^ ..;,,;,,,;; 
 
 ENGLAND IN THE 
 
 sands of the country people had no means 
 of living but by begging, or stealing; nor 
 was their condition improved till about 
 the middle of the reign of Queen Eliza- 
 beth, when laws were made for the relief 
 of the poor, and the lands again brought 
 
 under cultivation. 
 
 The landowners were not all noble, 
 
 now, as they were in the Feudal Times ; 
 as a law had been made by Henry the 
 Seventh, by which Commoners were ena- 
 bled to purchase landed estates, which, 
 formerly, they were not allowed to do ; 
 and thus arose a new class of people in 
 England, such as are now called country 
 gentlemen ; that is, great landed proprie- 
 tors who are not noblemen. 
 
 In the reign of Henry the Eighth, most 
 of the vegetables that are common now, 
 such as cabbages, turnips, carrots, and let- 
 
SIXTEENTH AND SEYETEENTH CENTURIES. 
 
 tuces, were first grown in this country, the 
 seeds and roots being brought from Hoi- 
 land ; but potatoes were not known in 
 England till the time of Queen Elizabeth, 
 and were then only seen at the tables of 
 very rich people. Market gardening be- 
 came a trade, towards the end of the reign 
 of Henry the Eighth ; but all the best 
 gardeners, at first, were Dutchmen. 
 
 Edward the Sixth, Queen Mary, and 
 Queen Elizabeth, were all children of this 
 monarch. Mary was a Roman Catholic, 
 and endeavoured to restore that religion. 
 Elizabeth was a Protestant, and a clever 
 but tyrannical woman. She is sometimes 
 called the good Queen Bess, from a mis- 
 taken notion that an old song, which ce- 
 lebrates one of our Queens by that title, 
 related to her. But the real good Queen 
 Bess, was the wife of Henry the Seventh. 
 
ENGLAND IN THE SIXTEENTH 
 
 In the time of Elizabeth were made severe 
 laws against those who still professed the 
 Catholic faith ; and great numbers were 
 fined and imprisoned, because they would 
 not attend the Protestant Churches. 
 
 Still the country prospered in her reign, 
 owing to the increase of trade and manu- 
 factures. Sir Francis Duke then made 
 his first voyage round the world ; colonies 
 were settled in America; and the East 
 India Company was formed. The Royal 
 Exchange was also built by Sir Thomas 
 Gresham, a rich merchant, of London. 
 
 The City of London was then very dif- 
 ferent to what it is now. The streets 
 were very narrow, and as they were nei- 
 ther paved nor lighted, nor well watched, 
 it was usual for all respectable people, 
 when they went out in the evening, to be 
 attended by their apprentices, who car- 
 
SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES. 
 
 ried clubs and lanterns, to protect them 
 from thieves and to light the way. The 
 citizens, at this period, usually had their 
 shops at their houses, which were all built 
 of wood; and as glass was then more gene- 
 rally used, most of their houses had small 
 casement windows. 
 
 Coaches were first known iu this reign* 
 but did not become general till the time 
 of Charles the Second ; and there were 
 no stage coaches till the reign of William 
 the Third ; so that the families of country 
 gentlemen scarcely ever came to London, 
 even once in their lives. They lived on 
 their own estates, in large mansions, built 
 of timber, with a great hall, where the 
 whole family, domestics included, took 
 their meals. The furniture was rough, 
 and most of the articles for domestic use 
 were made of wood or pewter ; for china- 
 
ENGLAND IN THE 
 
 ware, and glass for the tables, were luxu- 
 ries unknown at that period. 
 
 Children were brought up so strictly, 
 that even when grown to men and women, 
 they dared not sit down, or talk, in the 
 presence of their parents, without permis- 
 sion. The daughters of people of fortune 
 used to assist in all domestic duties, such 
 as washing, cooking, making butter and 
 cheese, and keeping the house in order. 
 These, with spinning, sewing, and em- 
 broidery, were the chief accomplishments 
 of young ladies, in the sixteenth and 
 seventeenth centuries ; for very few were 
 taught to read or write. 
 
 The want of education made the people 
 rough in their manners, so that the middle 
 and higher classes were fond of sports 
 that are now practised only by the worst 
 characters among the lowest orders, such 
 
1 
 SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES. 
 
 as bull baiting, dog fighting, cock fighting, 
 and many other such vulgar amusements. 
 Theatres were only just then coming into 
 fashion, and were very small and mean ; 
 yet it was in the reign of Queen Elizabeth 
 that Shakspere wrote his fine plays. 
 
 The merriest time in the whole year 
 was Christmas, which, in every house 
 throughout England, was then kept up for 
 twelve days, with feasting, and romping 
 games of all kinds. 
 
 The costume of this period was, for 
 men of the middle class, a jacket reach- 
 ing a little below the waist, fastened with 
 a belt ; stockings made of cloth, such as 
 men now wear for coats, and called hose ; 
 with boots, a short cloak, a high crowned 
 hat, and a sword. The women, in general, 
 wore gowns and petticoats of woollen 
 stuff, with cloth hose, and high heeled 
 
ENGLAND IN THE 
 
 shoes, The citizens' wives, who used to 
 wear large hoods over their heads out of 
 doors, now appeared in velvet bonnets ; 
 their gowns were open in front, with a 
 stiff" boddice, and a large ruff round the 
 neck, made yellow with starch. Rich 
 silks were much worn by rich people of 
 both sexes. Knitted stockings were in- 
 vented in this reign ; and a pair being 
 presented to the Queen, she would never 
 afterwards wear those made of cloth. 
 
 Queen Elizabeth was succeeded by her 
 cousin James, king of Scotland, whose fa- 
 mily name was Stuart; and thus England 
 and Scotland were united into one king- 
 dom, called Great Britain, but had separate 
 parliaments till the time of Queen Anne. 
 
 The next king was Charles the First, 
 who wanted to exercise too much power* 
 and to govern without a parliament, con- 
 
 L 
 
The Bill at Rlfhf* °l*-*3t<i 
 
I 
 
 
 
SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES. 
 
 trary to the laws ; so many of the people 
 thought it would be better to have no 
 king; and a civil war was commenced, 
 which lasted several years, when Charles 
 was made prisoner, tried, and beheaded, 
 January 30th, 1649, Then Oliver Crom- 
 well, the leader of the Republicans, that 
 is, of those who wished to have no kino- 
 took the head of the government, with 
 the title of Protector of the Common- 
 wealth. He was the son of a country 
 gentleman, and ruled with great ability 
 for six years; but it was not a very merry 
 time in England ; for the greater portion 
 of the republicans were of a religious sect, 
 called Puritans, who considered it sinful 
 to indulge in any kind of gaiety; there- 
 fore, all private entertainments, as well as 
 public amusements and festivals, were for- 
 bidden by law; so that even at Christmas, 
 
ENGLAND IN THE 
 
 if any body indulged in mirth and feasting, 
 it was in secret. Still the condition of 
 the people had become much better ; the 
 value of land had more than doubled ; and 
 the foreign trade of England was greatly 
 increased. Coffee was first brought from 
 Turkey during the Commonwealth; and 
 sugar from the West Indies; but tea was 
 not brought here till some time afterwards. 
 When Oliver Cromwell died, Charles 
 the Second, the son of the late king, was 
 restored to the throne. The great plague, 
 or fever, which in a few months destroyed 
 one-third of the inhabitants of London, 
 and the great fire, which laid the city in 
 ruins, both happened in this reign; after 
 which the city was rebuilt in a better 
 manner, the houses being constructed of 
 brick, instead of wood, and the streets 
 made wider, and paved. 
 
SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES. 
 
 About this period, but more especially 
 in the reign of the next king, James the 
 Second, many thousands of French arti- 
 zans, driven from France by religious per- 
 secution, came to settle in this country, 
 and greatly improved our useful arts and 
 manufactures, which, till then, were far 
 inferior to those of France. Glass, paper, 
 silks, cutlery, clocks, and watches, were 
 now made as well in England as abroad, 
 and these, with the woollen manufactures, 
 afforded plenty of employment for the 
 working people. The first charity schools 
 were founded in this reign. 
 
 The arbitrary conduct of James the 
 Second, who succeeded Charles, caused 
 a conspiracy of the nobility and landed 
 gentry to be formed against him, and he 
 was obliged to give up the crown, and 
 take refuge in France; while his son-in- 
 
ENGLAND in the 16th and 17th CENTURIES. 
 
 law, William, Prince of Orange, who had 
 married his daughter Mary, was invited 
 to come over from Holland, and take pos- 
 session of the throne. This had been 
 offered to him on account of his being a 
 Protestant, and on condition that he 
 would sign an act, called the Bill of 
 Rights, by which he, and all future so- 
 vereigns, were bound to govern entirely 
 according to the laws of the land, and 
 not by their own will. This event, which 
 is called the Revolution, took place in the 
 year 1688, and the people of England 
 have enjoyed more liberty ever since. 
 
 In this reign the Bank of England was 
 established ; and Greenwich Hospital, 
 which had been a palace, was made into 
 an asylum for old and disabled sailors. 
 William the Third died in 1702. 
 
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