Historians of early-modern poverty have emphasized the ways in which the poor ‘made shift’, reducing or even preventing their dependence on formal poor relief. This article looks at one aspect of that ‘economy of makeshifts’: the casual support of the poor by their neighbours. It uses evidence from a uniquely extensive archive of pauper petitions from Lancashire (1626–1710), many of which contain incidental information about strategies of making shift. The petitions suggest that neighbourly support for the needy was common in Lancashire, both through localized begging and in more stable supportive relationships. Nonetheless, the charity of neighbours could easily be exhausted, leaving those in poverty forced to call upon the more formalized support of the Poor Law.

中文翻译：

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“由好人的慈善事业”：十七世纪兰开夏郡的贫困和邻里支持

早期现代贫困的历史学家强调了穷人“转变”的方式，减少甚至阻止了他们对正式贫困救济的依赖。本文着眼于“临时工经济”的一个方面：邻居对穷人的临时支持。它使用了来自兰开夏郡（1626-1710 年）的独特广泛的贫民请愿档案中的证据，其中许多包含有关转变策略的附带信息。请愿书表明，在兰开夏郡，通过局部乞讨和更稳定的支持关系，对有需要的人的邻里支持很常见。尽管如此，邻居的慈善事业很容易耗尽，贫困者被迫求助于更为正式的济贫法支持。