The Pursuit of Stability
Social Relations in Elizabethan London

A holistic approach to interpreting early modern London society.

Ian W. Archer (Author)

9780521522168, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 30 October 2003

328 pages
22.9 x 15.3 x 2 cm, 0.512 kg

This work engages in the historical debate about the reasons for London's freedom from serious unrest in the later sixteenth century, when the city's rulers faced mounting problems caused by rapid population growth, spiralling prices, impoverishment and crime. One key to the city's stability was that Londoners were locked into a matrix of overlapping communities, the livery companies, wards and parishes, all of which created claims on their loyalties and gave them a framework within which redress of grievances could be pursued. The highly developed structures of government in the capital also enjoyed considerable success in mobilising resources for poor relief, while the authorities so impotent against it, as the traditional accounts would suggest. This is the first effort at a holistic approach to interpreting early modern London society, based on the full range of London sources.

List of figures
List of tables
Acknowledgements
List of abbreviations
1. Introduction: the problem of order
2. The framework of social relations: the city elite
3. The framework of social relations: local government, neighbourhood, and community
4. The framework of social relations: the livery companies
5. Social policy
6. Crime and society
7. Conclusion
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH], British & Irish history [HBJD1]