The Relief of Poverty 1750-1914

In the following essay the causes of poverty in Britain between 1750 and 1834 shall be discussed. Britain in the late eighteenth century was going through many changes, which caused poverty to increase in Britain. Whether that was the Industrial Revolution, Agricultural Revolution, mobility of labour, population growth or even the Poor Law; they all played a part in British poverty. Between 1750 and 1834 there was a large increase in the population, combined with migration from the countryside …

…in Britain between 1750 and 1834, it is evidential that, changes which are beneficial for one are not always favourable for the other. Employment, Revolution and even the Law have all been a reason in the growth of poverty. Also, despite the growing wealth due to trade and commerce, prosperity lay in the hands of very few. The working people, who actually produced the wealth, lived and died in conditions of the most desperate poverty and degradation.