The First Century of Welfare

The first major regional study of poverty and its relief in the seventeenth century: the first century of welfare. The English 'Old Poor Law' was the first national system of tax-funded social welfare in the world. It provided a safety net for hundreds of thousands of paupers at a time of very limited national wealth and productivity. The First Century of Welfare , which focusses on the poor, but developing, county of Lancashire, provides the first major regional study of poverty and its relief