Embedded Files
Charles Booth was recognised as one of the first individuals to study poverty and its causes, employed a unique methodology focused on comparing household income and its impact on the standard of living. As a highly successful businessman in the leather industry and a steam shipping line company, he used his wealth and resources to employ numerous individuals to investigate households. The culmination of his extensive research resulted in the publication of seventeen comprehensive volumes titled 'Life and Labour of the People in London.'
Booth's inquiry delved into three main sections: poverty and its causes, industry, and religion. In a society where many believed, much like today, that poverty was often self-imposed through idleness and alcohol consumption, Booth initially did not disagree with this perspective. His work laid a foundation for understanding the complexities of poverty and contributed significantly to social research during his time.
He defined the ‘poor’ whose means may be sufficient, but barely sufficient as ‘living under a struggle to obtain the necessities of life and make both ends meet and ‘very poor’ whose means are insufficient for the usual standard of life and ‘live in a state of chronic want’.
Booth presented his findings to the Royal Statistical Society, his house to house visits of 3400 streets or districts produced 46 books of notes and argued that poverty could not be blamed on individual failings. He concluded the minimum income necessary to meet his poverty line was between 18s and 21s per week.
"By the word poor I mean to describe those who have a fairly regular though bare income, such as 18s to 21s per week for a moderate family, and by ‘very poor’ those who fall below this standard, whether from chronic irregularity of work, sickness, or a large number of young children. East London lay hidden behind a curtain on which were painted terrible pictures: starving children, suffering women, overworked men; monsters and demons of inhumanity; giants of disease and despair."
Booth’s account of his methods given at a meeting of the Royal Statistical Society, May 1887, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, June 1887; Simey and Simey, 1960, p. 184
Booth's groundbreaking work included the creation of a poverty map, where he used colours to represent the social class and position of inhabitants in each street. This method became widely recognized for visualising societal conditions. Inspired by Booth's approach and after reading both Booth's and Rowntree's 'Study of Town Life’ works, a thought occurred to me: What if I could apply a similar methodology to my own family ancestry? The idea was to use the available data to understand the standard of living for families street by street. However, before embarking on my thesis, further research was essential.
Charles Booth
Google Sites
Report abuse