The problem of the poor grew in the early modern period as populations rose dramatically and created many extra pressures on the state. In Northern Europe, cities went through a period of rapid growth and central and local administrations saw considerable expansion. Health Care and Poor Relief in Protestant Europe, 1500-1700 provides an outline of the developments in health care and poor relief in the economically important regions of Northern Europe in this period when urban poverty became a generally recognized problem for both magistracies and governments. With contributions from international and leading scholars in the field, this volume draws on research into local conditions; maps general patterns of development and explores the similarities and differences between the local and national approaches to health care provision and poverty.