Until the mid-18th century, charity spread mainly through religious buildings (e.g., the English Poor Law of 1601), almshouses, and bequests from the wealthy. Christianity, Judaism and Islam included important elements of charity from the beginning, and dana (giving alms) has a long tradition in Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. Charities provided education, health care, housing, and even prisons. Charities were established everywhere in Europe in the early Middle Ages to provide a place of residence for the poor, elderly, and needy; the King of England (reigned 924-939) established the first registered almshouse in York in the 10th century.
Charity and philanthropy among public associations and wealthy benefactors became a widespread cultural practice during the Enlightenment. Societies, gentlemen’s clubs, and mutual associations began to flourish in England, and the upper classes increasingly showed a charitable attitude toward the destitute. In England, this new social activism was directed toward the creation of charitable organizations; they spread from the mid-18th century.
This nascent fashion for upper-class benevolence led to the emergence of the first charitable organizations. Captain Thomas Coram, appalled by the number of abandoned children living on the streets of London, founded the Foundling Hospital in 1741 to take care of these unwanted orphans in Lamb’s Pole, Bloomsbury. It was the first such charity in the world and served as a precedent for united association charities in general.
Jonas Hanway, another famous Enlightenment-era philanthropist, founded the Maritime Society in 1756. as the first sailor’s charity to help recruit men into the navy. By 1763 the Society had recruited more than 10,000 men; the Act of Parliament incorporated it in 1772. Hanway was also instrumental in establishing the Magdalene Hospital for the rehabilitation of prostitutes. These organizations were funded by subscriptions and operated as community associations. They raised public awareness of their activities through an emerging popular press and tended to be highly respected in the community – some charities received state recognition in the form of a royal charter.
Charities also began to take on campaigning roles where they could champion a cause and lobby the government for legislative change. This included organized campaigns against the abuse of animals and children, as well as the campaign that eventually succeeded at the turn of the 19th century in ending the slave trade throughout the British Empire and in large parts of it. (The process was lengthy, however, and finally ended when Saudi Arabia abolished slavery in 1962.)
The Enlightenment era also saw a growing philosophical debate between those who favored state intervention and those who believed it should provide welfare. The Reverend Thomas Malthus (1766-1834), a political economist, criticized poor relief for the poor on economic and moral grounds and suggested that charity be transferred entirely to the private sector. His views became very influential and influenced Victorian non-interventionist attitudes toward state intervention on behalf of the poor.