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The Poor Dbq

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Poverty in Europe from 1450 to 1700 was a huge issue that stuck around for centuries. The wars that took place during this time always seemed to negatively affect the poor the most. The poor, consisting of the majority of the European population, was never taken into consideration during these wars which is ironic considering these wars were caused in the name of religion. This situation, combined with weak leadership and in many countries a heavy taxation system, such as those found in England under the leadership of James I and his son Charles I, or under the leadership of absolute monarchs like Louis XIV, prevented the poor from rising in social status. The way people regarded “the poor” in Europe from 1450-1700 differed significantly based …show more content…

Juan Luis Vives, a Spanish humanist, demonstrates a perfect example of an individual who has faith in humanity and believes that we as a whole can do better. Juan believes that no one knows what the ideas of a the poor are or under what circumstances they are living, but people don’t help because,”others withdraw because their good intention is embarrassed by the great number” (Doc 1). Since Luis was a Humanist and he wrote this in a book, he must have meant it and wanted to spread the word to others that it is not a sin to help the poor. Another person who witnessed the poor would have to be Rembrandt van Rijn, in his painting Beggars Receiving Alms at the Door (Doc 6). In Rembrandt’s painting, he shows how the poor would bring along their family to show the suffering that they would go through, even while having young children. This gave the person giving the alms no option but to give them money because who would refuse a family with children (Doc 6). He drew privately to later show to the world and bring awareness that those who were poor also had a family to look after. Although Juan Luis Vives and Rembrandt van Rijn had worked hard to get the little wealth they had, they viewed the poor as people in need or lazy beggars and had witnessed the poor’s struggle and felt as if they needed to help them

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