Causes of the Peasants' Revolt

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  • Causes of the Peasants' Revolt
    • England under Richard II
      • Richard II became King in 1377 after the death of Edward III
      • As Richard II was only 10 years old, his advisers ruled England. However, this group of advisers did not include the most important lord, John of Gaunt.
      • England was short of wealth following the Black Death.
      • England ruled a very large part of France, Wales and Ireland. Richard inherited a very costly war with France.
      • The Hundred Years War against France was becoming more and more expensive to fight each year.
    • What was the Peasants' Revolt?
      • The Peasants' Revolt in 1381 was the most serious rebellion of the middle ages. It started in Fobbing, Essex, and was centred on counties close to London.
      • The rebels entered London and came very close to overthrowing the government.
      • The defeat of the revolt saved Richard II's reign.
      • Richard made promises to the rebels to end the revolt, however, he failed to keep these promises.
    • Why did the revolt start?
      • The immediate cause of the revolt was the introduction of the Poll Tax in 1380.
      • Poll Tax
        • A tax payed by all adult men and was needed to pay for the ongoing war against France
        • Everyone, no matter if they were rich or poor, paid the same amount. Five pence per person.
        • Peasants feared new taxes after the introduction of the Poll Tax.
      • Peasants wanted wages
        • The Black death had caused a shortage of peasants which led to the remaining peasants demanding wages.
        • Peasants still worked for lords with no pay. Many peasants had to work for free on Church land
        • As peasants spent so much time working for others with no pay, it gave them no time to tend to their own land which made it difficult for them to feed their families.
        • Peasants wanted to be free of this burden which made the Church rich at their expense.
      • John Ball, a priest, said that God had not created rich and poor and everyone should be equal.
      • Richard II was only 14 so the peasants felt he had been given bad advice from his advisers.
      • The rebellion was more against the Kings advisers than the King himself.

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