Statute of Artificers 1562 facts for kids
| Act of Parliament | |
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| Long title | An Act containing divers Orders for Artificers, Labourers, Servants of Husbandry, and Apprentices. |
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| Citation | 5 Eliz. 1. c. 4 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act 1875 |
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Status: Repealed
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The Statute of Artificers 1562 was an important law in England during the time of Queen Elizabeth I. It was also known as the Artificers and Apprentices Act 1562. This law tried to control many parts of working life. It aimed to set prices for goods and services. It also set limits on how much workers could earn. The law also made it harder for workers to move freely between jobs. A big part of it was about how people learned a trade.
This law was created for several reasons. There was a shortage of workers because many people had died from diseases. Also, prices were going up, and there was a lot of poverty. The government wanted to bring more order to society. Local officials, called magistrates, were in charge of setting wages for farm workers. In towns, groups called Guilds controlled wages for skilled trades. This law basically gave the government new powers that had once belonged to these guilds. It also made farming a very important job for the country.
Contents
What the Law Did
This law had several key rules that changed how people worked and learned skills.
Learning a Trade: Apprenticeships
One major part of the law was about becoming a skilled worker. It said that anyone wanting to learn a trade had to complete a seven-year apprenticeship. This meant they would work for an experienced master to learn their craft. The law also made sure that the best trades were usually saved for the sons of wealthier families.
Controlling Wages and Jobs
The Statute of Artificers gave local magistrates the power to set wage rates. They could decide how much almost all types of workers should be paid. This included skilled workers, farm laborers, and apprentices. The law also said that if employers and workers agreed to wages higher than these set rates, they could be put in prison.
The law also made it difficult for workers to change jobs. It required a worker to get permission before moving from one employer to another. Another rule was that magistrates could force unemployed skilled workers, called artificers, to work in farming. This was to make sure that farming, or husbandry, was always a priority.
Limits of the Law
The Statute of Artificers listed all the specific trades it applied to. Because of this, the law did not cover new trades that appeared after 1562. If a new type of job or skill developed later, this old law did not apply to it.
Why the Law Ended
The Statute of Artificers was eventually removed. This happened in 1813, when the Wages, etc., of Artificers, etc. Act 1813 was passed. By this time, new ideas about freedom and the economy were becoming popular. People started to challenge old ideas about special privileges and controls.
This change was part of a bigger effort by the British Parliament. They wanted to update laws to fit the new economic world of the 1800s. After 1813, people could practice a trade without having to complete a seven-year apprenticeship.
See also
- UK labour law
- Labour law
- History of competition law
- Ordinance of Labourers 1349 and Statute of Labourers 1351, which after the Black Death fixed maximum wages of peasantry.
