The Peasants' Revolt, 1381 (AQA GCSE History)

Summary

The challenges to the authority of both King John and Henry III had come from their barons. When Richard II came to the throne in 1377, he was only ten years old. He was soon being challenged by people at the bottom of the feudal system.  

Peasants lacked power as individuals, but they made up for this in their large numbers. In June 1381, thousands of peasants descended on London to demand change. For a short time, it appeared as though the feudal system had been turned on its head and the king was following the orders of the peasants.  

Richard soon went back on most of the promises he’d made to the rebel leaders. In the months that followed, the king took revenge on those who had challenged him. However, many of the peasants’ demands were met and the revolt served as an inspiration for working people for centuries to come

Causes of the Peasants’ Revolt

There were three main causes of the Peasants’ Revolt:

• The Black Death

• New taxes

• The wealth of the Church

The Black Death

• The Black Death arrived in England in 1348

• It killed between a third and half of the population

  • Soon, there were not enough peasants alive to work all the fields

  • Those who survived found they could demand higher wages or more favourable terms

  • This worried the nobles who feared their wealth would be affected and that it gave the peasants too much power

• As a result, Edward III passed the Statute of Labourers in 1351

  • This stated that workers could only receive the same wages as they received before the Black Death

  • This greatly angered the peasants and many refused to work for the old wages

  •  As a result, many were brought before the Justice of the Peace for punishment

New taxes

• In 1377, Richard II became King aged just ten years old

• He was advised to raise new taxes to pay for lost wars against France

  • Three poll taxes were introduced between 1377 and 1381

  • The result was a 75% increase in tax

The wealth of the Church

• People were facing starvation but could see how wealthy the Church was

• The Church charged people to pardon their sins

  • This greatly angered many, including some priests

  • John Ball began preaching against the wealth of nobles and the Church 

    • He was arrested on the King’s orders

Events of the Peasants’ Revolt

• The revolt was triggered by the arrival of a tax collector called John Bampton in Brentwood, Essex on 30 May 1381

  • A peasant called Thomas Baker told Bampton that they had paid their tax and would pay no more

  • When Bampton tried to arrest Baker, the villagers came to his aid and the tax collectors were forced to flee

  • The men of Brentwood went into hiding but news of their refusal quickly spread and other villages came out to support them

  • Bampton’s clerks were beheaded and the homes of his supporters were attacked

• On 7 June, peasants also started to assemble in Maidstone, Kent

  • They appointed Wat Tyler as their leader and freed John Ball from his prison

  • The peasants stormed Rochester Castle and burnt the government tax records

• The rebels from Essex and Kent both headed for London

  • On 13 June, several thousand armed men entered the city, opened the jails and burned down the Savoy Palace

  • The king agreed to meet with the rebels at Mile End

• On 14 June, Richard II met with Wat Tyler and heard his demands

  • The King agreed to pardon all those involved in the revolt and to make all peasants freemen.

  • In return, the King requested that the peasants go home peacefully

  • Despite the Kings promises, the violent behaviour of the peasants continued

  • The Archbishop of Canterbury was beheaded and had his head paraded around London

• On 15 June, Richard II met with the rebels at Smithfield

  • Wat Tyler refused to leave until the King agreed to even more demands including giving all Church lands to the people

  • The King agreed but, in the confusion, Wat Tyler was killed by the King’s men

  • Despite the death of Tyler, Richard talked to the angry crowd and managed to calm them down

  • He instructed the crowd to follow him and Richard led the peasants out of London

  • The Peasants’ Revolt was over

Impacts of the Peasants’ Revolt

• Despite Richard’s promises, in the short term, the revolt appeared to have little impact

• The King sent an army to Essex, Kent and other counties to round up the rebels

  • Somewhere between 1,500 and 7,000 people were killed as a punishment for the revolt

  • Richard II was firmly back in control

• However, the poll tax was not reintroduced during the Medieval Period

  • Peasants wages began to rise and attempts to control them were stopped

  • Peasants began to buy the land left unused after the Black Death

    • This freed them from the control of the local Lord

  • Within a century of the Peasants’ Revolt, they could work for whatever wages they wanted 

  • The peasants were all freemen

• In the longer term, the Peasants’ Revolt is considered more significant

  • It was the first time that the poorest and least powerful people in society had risen up and challenged the country’s leaders

  • It inspired future generations of working people to demand better treatment

  • Levellers in the 16th Century and socialists in the 19th Century used their slogans

  • Protesters marching against the Community Charge in 1989 followed the same route through London as the peasants did in 1381

  • They also referred to the Community Charge as the poll tax