In the last post, the Black Death killed off about one third of Britain’s population, although some sources put it at half the total number of people, resulting in famine, wage increases and if the sumptuary laws are to be believed, people who had no business looking good started to rock new fashion trends as well as to eat better food – disgraceful. It was a slow fuse – or a long-term causation to the Peasants Revolt. A more significant short term causation of the Peasants Revolt in 1381 was an increase in taxation caused by yet another Anglo-French war.

The Hundred Years War between France and England, started by King Edward III who had a claim to the throne through his mother Isabella of France (the clue being the of France part). It started in 1337 after Philip VI of France, who was Edward’s cousin, invaded parts of Aquitaine and Ponthieu. Edward refused to pay homage to the French. Instead, he announced that he was the only living person through his maternal grandfather with a claim to the French crown – and thus should be king rather than Philip. The French invoked the Salic law that said girls couldn’t rule and nor could their descendants make random claims to the throne. Not realising that the war would last quite so long, 116 years in total, Edward promptly invaded.

However, making wars costs rather a lot of money as King John and his son Henry III discovered. Parliament was not pleased. In 1340 Edward was forced by parliament to accept some limitations – as in money doesn’t grow on trees! Without going into a blow by blow account of the reign of Edward III who died in 1377 and his grandson King Richard II, the financial pressures of the Hundred Years War led to the introduction of  various poll taxes. Nor were matters helped when by 1377 trade was badly disrupted. For instance, in that year the French invaded the Isle of Wight and destroyed the port of Rye. 

Richard II’s uncle, John, Duke of Lancaster better known as John of Gaunt introduced a tax in 1377 of 4 pence per person – about two days pay for an ordinary citizen. A second poll tax was introduced in 1379 which many people simply avoided paying and then in 1381 every person over the age of 15, whether they were a baron, a knight, merchant or peasant, had to pay 1 shilling 4 pence per year to the king.  This was a lot of money representing something like two weeks pay. Even worse, by then the English were losing the Hundred Years War (remember kings were supposed to win wars because it showed God was on their side) and the Statute of Labourers had been reinforced by King Richard II’s regents.

In 2021 the AQA GCSE History examination asked students:

Have ideas, such as equality and democracy, been the main reason for protest in Britain?
Explain your answer with reference to ideas and other factors.
Use a range of examples from across your study of Power and the people: c1170 to the
present day. [16 marks]

Interestingly, before the Peasants Revolted because they weren’t happy about the poll taxes, priests including John Ball had been preaching that everyone was equal in the eyes of God. He preached a sermon at Blackheath just before the peasants revolt took them into London. He asked the famous question – ‘When Adam delved and Eve span, Who then was the gentleman?’ Ball a Lollard (An early Protestant who ‘lolled’ or read the Bible in English – and no one read silently at that time) effectively became the first person to challenge the legitimacy of the hierarchy from the bottom up. – More on Ball in due course, but suffice it to say the authorities had him hanged, drawn and quartered for his cheek.