'A restraint of their debauchery': Poverty, power, and social policy in Augustan England, 1688-1723

Abstract

"'A Restraint of Their Debauchery': Poverty, Power, and Social Policy in Augustan England, 1688-1723" examines the connections between ideas and definitions of poverty created by both elites and the poor, and social policy legislation and disbursement of relief. Specifically, Mackworth's failed 1704 omnibus reform bill, and Knatchbull's successful 1723 Workhouse Test Act are considered. Successive chapters are dedicated to historiography and methodology, the contemporary pamphlet debates over poverty, pauper self-definition in petitions to the state, and politics and policy during the early eighteenth century. Often this analysis focuses on individuals. Notable subjects include: John Locke, Matthew Hale, Bernard Mandeville, John Bellers, Daniel Defoe, Richard Cocks, Humphrey Mackworth, and Edward Knatchbull. Several observations about the character of contemporary perceptions of poverty are made, and their connection to the resulting legislative and published efforts is explained.