The chronicler. On Sunday 8 February Essex and his supporters took the Lord Chief Justice hostage, but the play had failed to arouse Londoners so by the end of the day the rebellion was completely quashed. [216] William de Ufford, the Earl of Suffolk, returned to his county on 23 June, accompanied by a force of 500 men. [91] Their forces were armed with weapons including sticks, battle axes, old swords and bows. He wrote Elizabeth many pleading and outraged letters. [82], Some of the Kentish crowds now dispersed, but others continued. [177] The rebels ransacked Corpus Christi College, which had connections to John of Gaunt, and the University's church, and attempted to execute the University bedel, who escaped. [264] With other events such as The Black Death, the devastation that followed after the plague incited the peasants that survived to seek a better quality of life. [32], Just before Edward's death, Parliament introduced a new form of taxation called the poll tax, which was levied at the rate of four pence on every person over the age of 14, with a deduction for married couples. The revolt in Lower Canada was more serious and violent than the rebellion in Upper Canada. He became a Privy Councillor in 1593 and led a successful expedition to attack the Spanish port city of Cadiz, returning. [278] Among the key accounts was the anonymous Anonimalle Chronicle, whose author appears to have been part of the royal court and an eye-witness to many of the events in London. Taxes in the 14th century were raised on an ad hoc basis through Parliament, then comprising the Lords, the titled aristocracy and clergy; and the Commons, the representatives of the knights, merchants and senior gentry from across England. [159] As in London and the south-east, this was in part due to the absence of key military leaders and the nature of English law, but any locally recruited men might also have proved unreliable in the face of a popular uprising. ", "Peasants' Revolt Plaque Unveiled In Smithfield", "Bread, Cheese and Genocide: Imagining the Destruction of Peoples in Medieval Western Europe", Critical Dictionary of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements, When Medieval Peasants Revolted Against The Establishment | Peasants' Revolt Of 1381 | Timeline, George Floyd protests in the United Kingdom, Actions against memorials in Great Britain during the George Floyd protests, Conscientious objection to military taxation, List of historical acts of tax resistance, National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee, The Cold War and the Income Tax: A Protest, Medieval and Early Modern European peasant wars, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peasants%27_Revolt&oldid=1160923942, History of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0, Eventual suppression of revolt and execution of rebel leaders, This page was last edited on 19 June 2023, at 15:13. [266] The notion that the Miller is able to tell a tale that can match, or is even better than one of the highest-ranking Knights in the pilgrimage shows the rebellion and persistence in bettering one's status, which is similar to what was seen in the attitudes of the peasants in their revolt. [105] It included national figures, such as John of Gaunt, Archbishop Sudbury and Hales; other key members of the royal council; officials, such as Belknap and Bampton who had intervened in Kent; and other hated members of the wider royal circle. [202], In the Somerset town of Bridgwater, revolt broke out on 19 June, led by Thomas Ingleby and Adam Brugge. We'll be bringing you live updates on the war in Ukraine in this blog throughout the day. [180] Revolt then spread north from Cambridge toward Ely, where the prison was opened and the local Justice of the Peace executed. Rebellion against God's authority was humanity's first sin ( Genesis 3) and continues to be our downfall. [61] The poet John Gower warned against a future revolt in both Mirour de l'Omme and Vox Clamantis. [311][nb 16]. [56] Animals seized by the courts began to be retaken by their owners, and legal officials were assaulted. [260] In some cases, the townsfolk who joined the revolt were the urban poor, attempting to gain at the expense of the local elites. [8] while the documents burned. [19] Some labourers took up specialist jobs that would have previously been barred to them, and others moved from employer to employer, or became servants in richer households. [224], A wide range of laws were invoked in the process of the suppression, from general treason to charges of book burning or demolishing houses, a process complicated by the relatively narrow definition of treason at the time. This rebellion is also known as the Sepoy Mutiny, the Indian Rebellion, or the First War of Independence. [227], The rebel leaders were quickly rounded up. [189] By the end of the month the rebels had taken power and replaced the former town administration with their own. [194] John of Gaunt was in Berwick when word reached him on 17 June of the revolt. [276] 19th-century historians such as William Stubbs and Thorold Rogers reinforced this conclusion, Stubbs describing it as "one of the most portentous events in the whole of our history". [124] Other urban rebels were part of the elite, such as at York where the protesters were typically prosperous members of the local community, while in some instances, townsfolk allied themselves with the rural population, as at Bury St Edmunds. [15] Although in theory these laws applied to both labourers seeking higher wages and to employers tempted to outbid their competitors for workers, they were in practice applied only to labourers, and then in a rather arbitrary fashion. As noted above, questions exist over Jack Straw's identity. Edward had initial successes, but his campaigns were not decisive. However, both events inspired the pivotal Durham Report. [241] Few lords took revenge on their peasants except through the legal processes of the courts. On 3 February 1601, five of the conspiracy leaders met at Drury House, the lodging of the Earl of Southampton. [156] Richard promptly knighted Walworth and his leading supporters for their services. [97] Chroniclers' accounts vary as to how he came to be involved in the revolt; he may have been released from Maidstone prison by the crowds, or might have been already at liberty when the revolt broke out. [51] John of Gaunt was also engaged in a feud with the London elite and was rumoured to be planning to replace the elected mayor with a captain, appointed by the Crown. [216] Parliament met in November to discuss the events of the year and how best to respond to their challenges. [163] A small band of rebels marched north to Thetford to extort protection money from the town, and another group tracked down Sir John Cavendish, the Chief Justice of the King's Bench and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. [11] The trading, commercial and financial networks in the towns disintegrated. [309] Florence Converse used the revolt in her novel Long Will in 1903. [116] The interior was systematically destroyed by the rebels, who burnt the soft furnishings, smashed the precious metal work, crushed the gems, set fire to the Duke's records and threw the remains into the Thames and the city drains. [251] Some chroniclers, including Knighton, also noted the presence of runaway apprentices, artisans and others, sometimes terming them the "lesser commons". The Peasants' Revolt has been widely studied by academics. [70] There was a great storm in England during May 1381, which many felt to prophesy future change and upheaval, adding further to the disturbed mood. [5] Population growth led to pressure on the available agricultural land, increasing the power of local landowners. The aims of the Simnel and Warbeck rebellions were to replace Henry VII on the English throne with what the people saw as the "true heir". [176], On 15 June, revolt broke out in Cambridgeshire, led by elements of Wrawe's Suffolk rebellion and some local men, such as John Greyston, who had been involved in the events in London and had returned to his home county to spread the revolt, and Geoffrey Cobbe and John Hanchach, members of the local gentry. [154], While the revolt was unfolding in London, John Wrawe led his force into Suffolk. In 1377, the "Great Rumour" occurred in south-east and south-west England. It could have stirred more Catholics into open rebellion had it arrived sooner, or the rebellion lasted longer. [168], Revolt began to stir in St Albans in Hertfordshire late on 13 June, when news broke of the events in London. [268] Some of them later claimed to have been forced to join the revolt by the rebels. [266] Chaucer otherwise made no reference to the revolt in his work, possibly because as he was a client of the King it would have been politically unwise to discuss it. ; Once the plague transferred to animals that were in close contact . [18], Over the next few decades, economic opportunities increased for the English peasantry. [77] The Essex rebels, possibly a few thousand strong, advanced towards London, some probably travelling directly and others via Kent. [142] Many of the Essex rebels now began to disperse, content with the King's promises, leaving Tyler and the Kentish forces the most significant faction in London. Russia's enemies were in the West . Some ran to shake hands with Prigozhin as he drove away . [103], Since the Blackheath negotiations had failed, the decision was taken that the King himself should meet the rebels, at Greenwich, on the south side of the Thames. [105] The negotiations failed, as Richard was unwilling to come ashore and the rebels refused to enter discussions until he did. [28], Richard's government was formed around his uncles, most prominently the rich and powerful John of Gaunt, and many of his grandfather's former senior officials. [82] From this point, they appear to have been led by Wat Tyler, whom the Anonimalle Chronicle suggests was elected their leader at a large gathering at Maidstone on 7 June. [175] The revolt against the abbey spread out over the next few days, with abbey property and financial records being destroyed across the county. They were met at Blackheath by representatives of the royal government, who unsuccessfully attempted to persuade them to return home. But in the hysteria of aroused fears and anger in the days after the revolt, white militias and mobs killed an estimated 200 blacks, many of whom had nothing to do with the rebellion. [114] The priory was destroyed, along with the nearby manor. [237] The revolt was blamed on the misconduct of royal officials, who, it was argued, had been excessively greedy and overbearing. 17th-century historians, such as John Smyth, established the idea that the revolt had marked the end of unfree labour and serfdom in England. [26][nb 1] Edward died in 1377, leaving the throne to his grandson, Richard II, then only ten years old. Rebellion always begins in the heart. [139] The castle was thoroughly looted of armour and royal paraphernalia. For comparison, the wage for an unskilled labourer in Essex in 1380 was around three pence a day. [121][nb 9] In one city ward, the bodies of 40 executed Flemings were piled up in the street, and at the Church of St Martin Vintry, popular with the Flemish, 35 of the community were killed. [154], The situation was now precarious and violence appeared likely as the rebels prepared to unleash a volley of arrows. The revolt heavily influenced the course of the Hundred Years' War, by deterring later Parliaments from raising additional taxes to pay for military campaigns in France. [298], The revolt formed the basis for the late 16th-century play, The Life and Death of Jack Straw, possibly written by George Peele and probably originally designed for production in the city's guild pageants. [41] The third poll tax was highly unpopular and many in the south-east evaded it by refusing to register. In 1837 and 1838, insurgents in Upper and Lower Canada led rebellions against the Crown and the political status quo. [74] Robert Bealknap, the Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, who was probably already holding court in the area, was empowered to arrest and deal with the perpetrators. The decades running up to 1381 were a rebellious, troubled period. [170] On 14 June, protesters met with the Abbot, Thomas de la Mare, and demanded their freedom from the abbey. [231] Grindecobbe was also tried and executed in St Albans. [79] Burley sent two sergeants to Gravesend, where Belling was living, to reclaim him. Elizabeth's accession was disputed due to the questioned legitimacy of the marriage of her parents ( Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn ), and Elizabeth's own questioned legitimacy due to the Act of Succession 1536. Historian Sylvia Federico notes the dangers in treating the pardons lists simplistically, given the tendency for some innocent individuals to acquire pardons for additional security, and the tendency for cases to be brought against individuals for local, non-political reasons. What caused the Essex Rebellion? [31] To complicate matters, the official statistics used to administer the taxes pre-dated the Black Death and, since the size and wealth of local communities had changed greatly since the plague, effective collection had become increasingly difficult. [215], On 17 June, the King dispatched his half-brother Thomas Holland and Sir Thomas Trivet to Kent with a small force to restore order. [221] Richard rejected them, allegedly telling them that "rustics you were and rustics you are still. [165] John Battisford and Thomas Sampson independently led a revolt near Ipswich on 14 June. [129] It is unclear precisely what was meant by the law of Winchester, but it probably referred to the rebel ideal of self-regulating village communities. [69] An uprising occurred in York, during which John de Gisborne, the city's mayor, was removed from office, and fresh tax riots followed in early 1381. [186] Violence spread out across the county, as prisons were opened, Flemish immigrants killed, court records burned, and property looted and destroyed. [20] These changes were keenly felt across the south-east of England, where the London market created a wide range of opportunities for farmers and artisans. On his best behaviour, he became a firm favourite with an ageing Queen Elizabeth I, but Elizabeth, ever cautious, never let him presume too far upon her favour. [89] The city prison was opened and the prisoners freed. [265] Some of these distortions made by countless authors were also interpretative and favored their own positions, making the job of historians more difficult as they try to uncover a more truthful representation of the rebels. Walsingham highlights the role of a "Jack Straw", and is supported by Froissart, although Knighton argues that this was a pseudonym; other chroniclers fail to mention him at all. [91], At Blackheath, John Ball gave a famous sermon to the assembled Kentishmen. [110], The Kentish rebels had assembled a wide-ranging list of people whom they wanted the King to hand over for execution. [272] They were used both to avoid incriminating particular individuals and to allude to popular values and stories. [257] The rebels were typically illiterate; only between 5 and 15 per cent of England could read during this period. [308] In turn, this representation of the revolt influenced Morris's utopian socialist News from Nowhere. [99] The rebels rejected proposals from the Bishop of Rochester that they should return home, and instead prepared to march on. [9] Labourers could charge more for their work and, in the consequent competition for labour, wages were driven sharply upwards. One theory is that it was another term for the, Most chroniclers stated that the force that attacked the Tower of London was separate to that operating under Tyler's command at Mile End; only the, The primary sources for the events at Smithfield are the. The Pope sent a Papal Bull (Statement) that arrived after the collapse of the Rebellion. The rebels sought a reduction in taxation, an end to serfdom, and the removal of King Richard II's senior officials and law courts. [68] The troubles increased again in 1380, with protests and disturbances across northern England and in the western towns of Shrewsbury and Bridgwater. [256] They were predominantly male, but with some women in their ranks.