Voices from the Far North
Pauper Letters and the Provision of Welfare in Sutherland, 1845–1900
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10066099 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Peter Jones (0000-0001-5089-4143, corresponding author), Steven A King (0000-0002-9152-9190), Steven King (0000-0003-3526-7242) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 55 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 76-98 |
| Publication date | 2016-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of British Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-9371 • E-ISSN: 1545-6986 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/jbr.2015.177 |
| OpenAlex | W2565062280 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 19 |
This article explores the changing relationship between paupers and the parish authorities in Tongue, in the far north of Scotland, between the passing of the Scottish New Poor Law in 1845 and the end of the nineteenth century. It does so by focusing on Scottish pauper letters and petitions for relief. Such sources, though relatively abundant in the archives, have so far been ignored by welfare historians. The article begins with a discussion of the trials of Tongue's poor crofting community in the early years of the century, the impact of widespread land clearance, and the dislocation of long-established communities. Following on from this, through a close reading of pauper appeals alongside other official sources the authors demonstrate that, despite persistent hardship and inadequate resources, the relationship between paupers and the parish authorities changed markedly over the period. An attitude of supplication and entreaty, rooted in Highland traditions of deference and reflective of a rigid social hierarchy, gave way to a clear sense of entitlement and an expectation that paupers' appeals would—indeed, must—be heard toward the end of the century. This fundamental shift mirrored, and was profoundly influenced by, wider agitation among crofting communities for change
Economics · Entitlement (fair division · Hierarchy · Political science · Poor relief · Poverty · Sociology · Welfare · Historical Economic and Social Studies · Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes · History · Law · Scottish History and National Identity
Welfare Regimes and Welfare Regions in Britain and Europe, c.1750s to 1860s
A Stubborn, Intractable Body’
Pauper Letters as a Source
Death in Llantrisant
After the Clearances
It is impossible for our Vestry to judge his case into perfection from here’
I cannot keep my place without being deascent’
Pauper protests
They sow the wind, they reap the whirlwind’
Nuclear hardship or variant dependency? Households and the Scottish Poor Law
Boarding-Out and the Scottish Poor Law, 1845–1914
Actual pinching and suffering’
A Different Kind of Speenhamland
Negotiating a Living
Negotiating the Law of Poor Relief in England, 1800–1840
Toiling in the Vale of Tears
Regional patterns in the experiences and treatment of the sick poor, 1800-40
A New History from Below
Belonging and community
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,71 |
| Citation span | 2019 - 2023 (5) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |