Studies On British Charity System In The 17^th-19^th Century

As the most typical country of the charity,British has a long history and tradition in charity.Britain had a tradition of mutual help since ancient times,and the mutual help between the neighborhood was a British custom.In the history of the British charity,the 17th to 19th centuries were the major development and transition period of the British charity.There were many changes happening in the late Middle Ages.The outbreak of the Black Death brought a substantial reduction of the British population and the Enclosure Movement made farmers lose their land and force to migrate.After the Middle Ages,the British society was extremely turbulent.Christian charity and folk charity played an important role for the social stability at that time.They continuously relieved the poor,which moderated the social contradiction and prevented the conflicts.In addition,after the Religious Reformation,although the church cannot fully assume the social responsibility like before,it remained an important force of charity in Britain.The ideas of giving and love and the demand of saving the poor in the Bible inspired the charitable activities.The essence of Christian charity was giving.Folk charity also thrived during this period,and the charitable organizations made a great contribution to the British charity.However,these charitable activities were spontaneous.Until the "Poor Law" was enacted in 1601,the British charity activities were initially legally guaranteed.Since then,the government has assumed the main activities of relieving the poor.After more than 400 years' development,the charity has become the third force of the British society besides the government and the private enterprises.The spirit of charity permeates the national character and becomes a national trait.The experience and lessons learned from the British charity have great reference to the Chinese charity and our social security system.