Peasants Revolt - 1381 Flashcards
Causes
The Black Death 1348 killed around half the population of Europe, in England a third. This radically reduced the workforce in England. Surviving peasants could demand higher wages, better conditions, and because they were in demand, they could threaten to leave to other villages for better wages.
This worried the Lords, who thought the feudal system would break down. 1351 King Edward III passed the Statute of Labourer’s: peasants had to work for wages at the level they were before the Black Death; peasants would be branded if they travelled looking for better wages; peasants who had left their villages were captured and forced to work for their Lord again.
Many ignored the law, 70% of people brought before the Justices of the Peace were peasants who had broken the Statute.
The Hundred Years War 1337-1453 between England and France was expensive. English kings made more and more demands for taxation. Poll taxes were introduced. By 1380 every person over the age of 15 had to pay 1 shilling and 4 pence, over two weeks wages for a labourer, peasants on low wages could not afford this higher tax.
Priests like John Ball preached that the Church had been exploiting the peasants. They argued that pardons that the Church sold to the poor were wrong and that the Church should not have so much wealth when others were starving. John Ball claimed that everyone was equal in the eyes of God and so there should be no rich or poor. The King locked Ball in prison.
Methods
May 1381, Peasants refuse to pay poll tax and threaten to kill local tax collector
On 7 June 1381, the Kentish rebels asked an ex-soldier named Wat Tyler to be their leader. The rebels were joined by others – e.g. the poor people of London. They were led by people who would have been important in their villages – reeves, priests and even local landowners. They freed John Ball too.
On 13 June, someone opened the gates of London to the rebels. The rebels entered the city and attacked the houses of Richard’s advisers, including John of Gaunt (Richard’s uncle) and Simon Sudbury (the Archbishop of Canterbury).
On 14 June, Richard (who was only 14 years old) bravely went to Mile End and met a group of rebels led by Richard Wallingford. They demanded that he dismiss some of his advisers and abolish serfdom (peasant has no rights, is literally bound to the land, can not move from his plot of land without his landlord’s permission, close to slavery).
Richard agreed. Some of the rebels went home. While this was happening, a group of rebels broke into the Tower of London and beheaded Simon Sudbury, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
On 15 June, Richard went to Smithfield to meet Wat Tyler, who had refused to accept the deal with Wallingford. Tyler demanded that the law should be less harsh, the Church’s wealth be given to the poor, there should be no lords and all men should be free and equal.
William Walworth, the Lord Mayor of London, attacked Tyler. Richard promised to abolish serfdom. The peasants trusted him and went home.
Outcomes
Long Term: No government collected a Poll Tax until 1990.
For the next century the government persecuted the Lollards (group of Christians who John Ball belonged to) because they were seen as linked to rebellion
Over the following 50 years the demands of the peasants were largely met, even if they were on the king’s conditions. Peasants could work for more money and slowly gained more freedoms from their lords to work where they pleased and make more of their own choices such as who to marry.
Short Term: Richard did not keep his promises. Serfdom was not abolished.
The rebellion had frightened the rich, and made them realise that they could not push the poor too far
