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Question: Homeless in Amsterdam!?!?!?!? please answer!?
What was it like to be homeless in 17th century Amsterdam!?!?!?

Give me all the information you can

and what was Amsterdam like in generalWww@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
Dear Jamie,

While I do not know specifically about Amsterdam, I can tell you some things about being homeless during the 1600s!.

First, this was not considered a social problem then!. There were many people who begged for a living!. In some countries, they were licensed by the Church!. Most had no dwelling!.

Homes were rather poorer than today!. Most individual houses were a single room in which all of the activities of the family occurred!. Heat came from a fireplace (a stove in Russia)!. Other than protection from the wind, the houses were little help against the cold!. People wore many more clothes than we do today, mostly because of the cold, even in spring and fall!.

Back to beggars in the city; when they could, they found unused buildings as shelter!. If they could not, some would huddle together and, if they could find anything to burn, they built a fire!. Combustibles were much more rare in cities four hundred years ago!.

All the poor had to deal with violence against them, from the town watch (constables), from those who were richer and more cruel and from each other!. They were basically at the bottom of the human food chain!. That made them suspicious and sometimes violent!. So they had a reputation of untrustworthiness that prejudiced even those who might have helped them!.

In good weather, the homeless would camp out, much the same as those unfortunates found in modern cities!. Again, they had to deal with predators!. One of the problems encountered was the scarcity of any excess clothing!. The poor usually wore their entire wardrobe no matter what the weather!. Their chief source of clothes was the Church and its charitable orders!. Sometimes, but rarely, a rich house would gift a poor man with clothes or food they did not want!.

If this sounds grim and sad, it undoubtedly was!. Amsterdam is a moist city!. Rains are frequent during all seasons!. Getting wet is one of the best ways to suffer exposure!. The water acts as both a heat sink and conductor, making even a light breeze dangerous in mild weather!. Most of the problems from exposure these days occur on breezy, drizzly or foggy days when the temperature is around 60F (15C)!. Hikers simply do not realize they are in trouble until quite late in the process!. Imagine then, what it was like for folk who had no place to warm up or get out of the wind and wet!.

Food was always a problem!. People threw less away and what was pitched was usually spoiled!. Penalties for stealing were considerably fiercer than they are today!. A man could be hanged for stealing a loaf of bread!. The lives of the poor were considered expendable!. But again, begging was an accepted way to get fed!. Presentable poor could beg from door to door, but most set up a spot in a moderately high traffic area (high traffic areas were dangerous due to vehicles and careless horsemen) and beg from there!.

Hope this helps a little!.


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