Peasant's Revolt Flashcards
1
Q
Trouble at Brentwood
A
- 30th May, 1381
- John Bampton (tax collector for Essex) arrived with 2 sergeants to collect unpaid poll taxes
- 1st June - neighbouring villages ordered to appear before him to explain why they hadn’t paid
- Thomas Baker said they already had
- resisted arrest
- tax collectors forced to flee
- Male villagers fled to forest
2
Q
Describe the result of Brentwood
A
- more villages refused
- armed men banded together for protection and safety
- set off for London
- 13th June- reached Aldgate
3
Q
Describe the initial actions of the Kentish rebels
A
- serf escaped
- headed to Maidstone prison, freed prisoners (John Ball); went to Rochester Castle
- 7th June - Wat Tyler leader
- marched to Canterbury, killed officials, marched to London
- 12th June - several thousand men reached Blackheath
4
Q
Describe the Kentish rebels at London
A
- many Londoners supported and let them in
- prisons attacked and prisoners released
- Savoy Palace (home of John of Gaunt) attacked and burned to ground
- targeted royal officials, wealthy churchmen
- burnt records of land ownership and debt (Sheriff of Kent at Sittingbourne)
- 14th June - entered Tower of London, got Robert Hales (treasurer) and Archbishop Sudbury (of Canterbury) and beheaded them; their heads were put on top of long poles and paraded round London
5
Q
Describe negotiations with the Kentish rebels
A
- Richard II at Mile End
- rebels said that he had to hand over corrupt officials, abolish serfdom (and unfree tenure), amnesty for rebels and a return to the law of Winchester
6
Q
Describe Smithfield
A
- 15th June
- Wat Tyler made further demands
- Lord Mayor of London stabbed Tyler
- one of the king’s bodyguards killed him
- Richard II calmed rebels
- told them to go home and that their demands would be met
7
Q
Earlier disputes about tax
A
- 1278- tenants of Priory of Harmondsworth claimed exemption from labour services using Domesday book at court
- lost, broke into manor and stole charters and burnt records, threatened arson and murder of the Prior
8
Q
Describe the agriculture in the 14th century and it’s effect of the economy
A
- halved between 1315 and 1317
- 1319 and 1320- nearly half the sheep in the country died
- oxen struck by rinderpest
- flood, droughts and famine
- food and rent prices went up- gap between rich and poor increased
9
Q
Describe the Black Death in the 14th century
A
- 1348- arrived in Dorset
- killed up to 50% of population
- some villages wiped out, others did not have enough men to work the land
- rents lowered and wages raised
- Rudheath villages refused to work unless rents were decreased by 33%
- landlords enclosed land
10
Q
Describe the Statute of Labourers
A
- 1351
- said that everyone under the age of 60 had to work
- wages were no higher than in 1347
11
Q
Describe sumptuary laws
A
tried to regulate clothes people wore and foods they ate
12
Q
Describe the game laws and poaching
A
- laws strengthened and punishment toughened
- 1356- Duke of Arundel lost over 100 swans in one night
- 1376- over 100 villages requested a copy of the Domesday book
13
Q
Describe the war with France
A
- 1377- Rye burnt down by French fleet of over 120 ships
- Isle of Wight invaded - Carisbrooke Castle sieged
- many others raids
14
Q
Describe the Poll Tax of the 14th century
A
- needed to fund war with France
- 1377- ‘Good’ parliament impeached several royal officials and other members of the ‘Bad Parliament’ who granted tax on the grounds that they were incompetent and corrupt
- flat rate of 4d per person
- 1379- sliding scale; 7 grades established- humble sorts paid 4d, earls paid £4 - 1/3 tax-payers disappeared from the list
- 1381 - 1s 4d per person (to raise £160,000)
15
Q
Who joined the Peasant’s Revolt
A
- Londoners and South-Easterners
- artisans and skilled workers
- middle-aged, literate
