One
of the greatest thinkers of the Fifteenth Century, Machiavelli, believes
that a country must have social classes in order for the republic to be
successful (Discourses on Livy, 28-29). It is good for uprisings to occur
within a country because when people rebel within their own nation it means
that they are progressing forward, bettering their situation in life. The
civil rights’ movement in the United States during the 1960’s, the English
Civil War, and the Storming of the Bastille Tower are all examples of successful
revolts that helped better the lives of those who wanted change. The Great
Peasant Revolt of 1381 was another uprising, by those belonging to the
lower classes of Great Britain, which tried to bring about change for the
better.
When
King Richard II took over in England from the command of Edward II, the
people of England were very dissatisfied with the way Parliament handled
the outcome of the French war. The war had created a financial crisis and
the government resorted to collecting three poll taxes between the years
1377 and 1381 to help pay for the cost of the war. The Poll Tax of 1381
was the main reason given as to why the men and women of London had risen
up against the King of England, Richard II. This one revolt of 1381 turned
out to be the largest and most serious outbreak of popular unrest in England
during the Middle Ages.
What
was surprising about this revolt was the fact that it started in the Southeast
part of London, and continued to sweep northward, through the whole country
of England. The reason that this part of the early stages was surprising
was because 90% of all the peasants who made up the region consisted of
tenant framers. Manorial records, official records kept throughout history
of England, from the southeastern sections of London showed that the tenant
farmers were being offered short term leases on their lands instead of
long term contracts on their farms.
The
Poll Tax of 1381 was the third Poll Tax in four years. It was brought into
effect so that the officials in England could have finances to help support
the battles with France and Spain. The tax was a payment of one schilling
by a person over the age of fifteen to the local government.. Although
there was a vague stipulation that the rich ought to help out the poor
and pay the tax, no provision was made for grading and the rate was pushed
higher.
The
Manorial records also showed who did and did not pay the tax. The original
plan was to pay 2/3’s by January 1381, then collect the remaining 1/3 of
it by June. Government officials were in need of money and were growing
impatient with waiting for the money that was coming in slowly. So, the
collectors were told to go out and charge the whole tax at once and return
to the offices with all the money by the 22nd of April. While
the collectors were gathering money, a new committee was being set up by
the government to make inquiries about certain counties. Rumors were then
started that a brand new tax was about to be implemented without Parliament’s
authority.Since social, political
and religious orthodoxies were challenged, and heresies became the basis
for the mass movement, ill feelings were now forced upon officials.
Wat
Tyler was considered to be the main leader of the rebellion. Not much else
is known about his life; however, some believe that he might have been
a soldier at one time. He was chosen to be the leader on June 7, 1381.
He was also a key figure in the freeing of John Ball. Tyler was the man
who held meetings with King Richard II to help solve the problems the peasants
were facing at this time, such as the Poll Tax, and bringing the people
of London, back under control (Encyclopedia Americana).
John
Ball was the other leader of the Peasants Revolt in England. Ball was an
ex-communicated priest at York who continued to preach in open marketplaces.
He was imprisoned for a good majority of his life after 1376. At the start
of the Great Revolt, he was rescued by Kentish rebels from prison and accompanied
them to London. Once the rebellion was over, he was tried and found guilty
in a court. He was sentenced to death and hanged as punishment for his
preaching. He preached to others in an attempt to kill all the Lords and
high-church officials.
With
the revolt almost immanent, government officials were now panicking. King
Richard II realized that the Poll Tax was the biggest mistake that he could
have made while king. The Poll Tax was seen as too large and unfair for
the people of London to contribute. The mistake came at the advice of the
persistence of government officials who wanted to collect it. England was
still trying to recover financially from the French war, and economically
from the “Black Plague” of the 1340’s.
King
Richard II was a young king whom many believed was ill advised by his councilors,
Sudbury and Hales. These two were the chief advisors of King Richard II;
however, they too were new to the political scene. Also, they were unpopular
with the country because of what they stood for. “Hales suffered from his
association with the Hospitallers, while Sudbury was perceived as the personification
of the ‘Caesarean Clergy,’ the clerics were the ones who mingled with the
affairs of the church and the realm.
At
the beginning of June in 1381, a group of men attacked the perceptory of
the Hospitallers (the order that Hales belonged to). These groups of men
met at Bocking and took an oath to “destroy divers lieges of the king and
to have no law in England except only those which they themselves moved
to be ordained. The reason why the Hospitallers was attacked first was
because it was the organization of which Hales (the founder of the Poll
Tax) stood for. Then on June 11th the King asked for the reason
they attacked. The rebels’ response was that it was to help stop the king
from receiving treacherous advice.
On
June 12th the rebels from Kent joined with those from Essex
and met up at the Black Health. The rebels set up a meeting with the King
to discuss their arguments about the advice given to him by his councilors.
That, however, fell through and no meeting took place. The rebels marched
into London and were met with open arms by other peasants who were already
destroying the city. A second attempt was made to meet with the king in
the Tower of London, but the king did not meet because he could not make
the remaining peasants leave the tower. The following day the King and
his councils met up with Wat Tyler to hear for the first time the demands
presented by the opposing side. The King pretended to agree with the demands.
Right after this meeting, the rebels, who continued to occupy “The Tower,”
beheaded Sudbury, Hales and a Franciscan Friar.
On
the following day Wat Tyler met up with the King and officials to discuss,
for the second time, the peasants’ demands at Smithfield. Shortly after
the meeting, The Mayor of London killed Tyler and the rebel army was sent
home. The reason why the rebels of the Essex and Kentish counties placed
so much pressure on the King was so that they could get satisfaction on
their demands. Due to the uprisings that took place in London, many other
small independent rebellions occurred throughout the entire country. The
main rebellion was located in East Anglia, at the Home Counties and with
the support of the poor, continued to thrive.
Also,
a number of internal troubles occurred within the provincial towns, where
law and order broke down within its own system of government. In late June
and early July, riots broke out at Scarborough and Beverly in Yorkshire,
at Winchester in Hampshire and at Northampton. There were some uprisings
within the small towns that took place during the time frame of the Peasants
Revolt.Even though they occurred
before and after the revolt, they should, in no way, be considered part
of the actual “Great Peasants Revolt.”
Although
a lot of activity took place during this revolt and many different people
became involved the events, the revolt did not actually gain anything it
had set out to accomplish. The aristocracy supported by the merchants was
too great to have been taken over by a community of peasants. Even though
they did not overthrow the monarchialgovernment,
they did raise awareness of the struggle between the peasants and Lords.
There were periods during the Middle Ages where rent on houses declined,
but that could have been attributed to other aspects of society (i.e. population,
economy, agriculture) during that particular time and not the revolt that
took place.
The
Great Peasant Revolt was an uprising in which the citizens wanted to change
the social status within England. Even though they tried to make things
better for themselves, their battle did not succeed, as they would have
liked. With the help of the Merchants, the Monarchial government was able
to keep the peasants down and keep social classes in England. Even though
the peasant class did not overthrow the government, they did, however,
manage to raise awareness to the conditions in which they lived.