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Vagabonds Act 1547

Act of Parliament
Parliament of England
Long title	An Act for the punishment of Vagabonds, and for the Relief of the poor and impotent Persons.
Citation	1 Edw. 6. c. 3
Territorial extent	Kingdom of England
Dates
Royal assent	24 December 1547
Repealed	1549
Other legislation
Repealed by	Vagabonds Act 1549
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Vagabonds Act 1547 (1 Edw. 6. c. 3), also known as the Vagrancy Act 1547, was a statute passed in England by King Edward VI and his Lord Protector, Edward Seymour. It provided that vagabonds could be enslaved for two years and continued weekly parish collections for the poor. The enslaved vagabonds were to be fed bread and water or small drink and were allowed to be worked by beating, chaining, or other methods the master may choose. Vagabond slaves were allowed to be bought and sold just as other slaves. Also, should no private man want the vagabond slave, the slave was to be sent to their town of birth and be forced to work as a slave for that community. Vagabond children could be claimed as "apprentices" and be held as such until the age of 24 if a boy, or the age of 20 if a girl. Should they attempt to escape this apprenticeship, they were subject to enslavement for the remainder of the apprenticeship.

According to historian Mark Rathbone, "there is no evidence that the Act was enforced." The Vagabonds Act 1549 makes a reference to the limited enforcement of the punishments established by the Vagabonds Act 1547 by stating "the extremity of some have been occasion that they have not been put into use."

The Vagabond Act 1547 proved to be impractical to implement. The Tudor Vagabond Acts had an emphasis on punishments for the impotent poor. The English Poor Laws, that followed, built on the Tudor acts to provide a comprehensive system for poor relief, that was paid for by a system of compulsory taxation.

Footnotes

1. Trueman 2015.
2. Slack 1990, pp. 59–60.
3. ^ Davies 1966, pp. 533–549.
4. ^ Rathbone 2005, pp. 8–13.
5. Slack 1990, pp. 18–19.

References

• Davies, C.S.L. (1966). "Slavery and Protector Somerset: The Vagrancy Act of 1547". The Economic History Review. 19 (3). doi:10.2307/2593162. JSTOR 2593162.
• Rathbone, Mark (2005). "Vagabond!". History Review. History Today: 8–13.
• Slack, Paul (1990). The English Poor Law 1531–1782. London: Mackmillan. ISBN 0-333-34869-9.
• Trueman, C.N. (2015). "Edward Seymour And Government". The History Learning Site. Retrieved 31 March 2024.

See also

• Vagabonds Act

External links

• Vagabonds, etc. Act 1547 at vLex United Kingdom

v t e Poor laws of the British Isles
Poor laws by territory	England and Wales Scotland Ireland Isle of Man	Nantwich workhouse
Old Poor Law	Vagabonds and Beggars Act 1494 Tudor poor laws Poor Relief Act 1597 Poor Relief Act 1601 Poor Relief Act 1662 Relief of the Poor Act 1696 Poor Relief Act 1722 Relief of the Poor Act 1782 House of correction Overseer of the poor Poor rate Poor relief Buttock mail
Relief systems	Outdoor relief Speenhamland Labour Rate Roundsman Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor
New Poor Law	Royal commission (1832) Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 Poor Law (Scotland) Act 1845 Less eligibility Workhouse Workhouse test Board of guardians Outdoor Labour Test Order Outdoor Relief Prohibitory Order Poor law unions Opposition Book of Murder Scottish poorhouse
Changes after 1834	Poor Law Commission Poor Law Board Local Government Board Andover workhouse scandal Huddersfield workhouse scandal Union Chargeability Act
Decline and abolition	Liberal welfare reforms Royal Commission (1905–09) Majority Report Minority Report Interwar poverty National Assistance Act 1948
Other	Christmas Day in the Workhouse Historiography of the Poor Laws Timeline of the English poor law system Poor Relief Act List of poor law unions in England List of poor law unions in Wales List of Irish poor law unions

• 1547 in England
• English Poor Laws
• 1547 in law
• Acts of the Parliament of England (1485–1603)
• 16th century in slavery