Ordinance of Labourers

Ordinance of Labourers

The Ordinance of Labourers was a piece of legislation consisting of regulations and price controls issued by King Edward III of England in June 18, 1349. The ordinance was issued in response to the 1348-1350 outbreak of the Black Death in England. During this outbreak, an estimated 30-40% of the population died. [http://www.cf.ac.uk/hisar/teach/history/projects/plague/economy.html] The decline in population left surviving workers in great demand in the agricultural economy of Britain. Landowners had to face the choice of raising wages to compete for workers or letting their lands go unused. Wages for labourers rose and translated into inflation across the economy as goods became more expensive to produce.

The wealthy elites suffered under the sudden economic shift. Difficulties in hiring labour created frustration. John Gower commented on post-plague labourers: "they are sluggish, they are scarce, and they are grasping. For the very little they do they demand the highest pay." [http://www.cf.ac.uk/hisar/teach/history/projects/plague/economy.html]

The ordinance which required several things including:

* Everyone under 60 must work.
* Employers must not hire excess workers
* Employers may not pay and workers may not receive wages higher than pre-plague levels
* Food must be priced reasonably with no excess profit

The ordinance has largely been seen as ineffective. Despite the English parliament's attempt of reinforcing the ordinance with the Statute of Labourers of 1351, workers continued to command higher wages and the majority of England (those in the labouring class) enjoyed a century of relative prosperity before the ratio of labor to land restored the pre-plague levels of wages and prices. While the economic situation eventually reverted, the plague radically altered the social structure of English society.

References

* [http://www.cf.ac.uk/hisar/teach/history/projects/plague/economy.html The Plague and England]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/middle_ages/blacksocial_01.shtml BBC History, social effects of the plague]

External links

* [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/seth/ordinance-labourers.html Text of the Ordinance of Laborers, 1349]
* [http://www.britannia.com/history/docs/laborer1.html another source for the text]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ordinance of Labourers 1349 — The Ordinance of Labourers 1349 is often considered to be the start of English labour law[1]. Along with the Statute of Labourers (1351), it made the employment contract different from other contracts and made illegal any attempt on the part of… …   Wikipedia

  • Labourers, Statute of — 1351. This statute s purpose was to give oversight of the Ordinance of Labourers of 1349. It began, Because a great part of the people and especially of the workmen and servants has now died in that pestilence, some, seeing the straits of the… …   Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases

  • Labourers, Ordinance of — 1349. The king issued this ordinance to set maximum wages. It required labourers to finish their contracts before looking for another job. It failed largely because of economic pressures after the *Black Death of 1348: the problem of a shortage… …   Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases

  • Statute of Labourers 1351 — The Statute of labourers was a law enacted by the English parliament under King Edward III in 1351 in response to a labour shortage. It was introduced by Sir John Halles.The Black Death, which killed approximately one third of the population of… …   Wikipedia

  • Statute of Labourers — Das Statute of Labourers war ein Arbeitsmarktgesetz, das 1351 im englischen Parliament als Reaktion auf die Lohn und Preisentwicklung beschlossen wurde. Damit wurde in der Regierungszeit König Edwards III. erstmals eine Art Arbeitsgesetzgebung… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • English Poor Laws — Poor Law redirects here. For the Poor Law systems of Scotland and Ireland, see Scottish Poor Laws and Irish Poor Laws. Although many deterrent workhouses developed in the period after the New Poor Law, some had already been built under the… …   Wikipedia

  • Edward III of England — This article is about the King of England. For other uses, see Edward III (disambiguation). Edward III …   Wikipedia

  • Portal:Organized Labour — Wikipedia portals: Culture Geography Health History Mathematics Natural sciences People Philosophy Religion Society Technology Main page   …   Wikipedia

  • Trade union — Unions redirects here. For the defunct Australian rules football club, see Unions Football Club. Labour union redirects here. For the Polish political party, see Labour Union (Poland). For the Canadian political party, see Union Labour. Labor… …   Wikipedia

  • Black Death — ), [ [http://www.pasteur.fr/actu/presse/press/07pesteTIGR E.htm Researchers sound the alarm: the multidrug resistance of the plague bacillus could spread] ] but recently attributed by some to other diseases.The pandemic is thought to have begun… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”