The Peasants' Revolt
Subject Knowledge
Why did it happen?
There was a new tax called the Poll Tax. This was collected from everyone, and was to pay for the King's war with France.
|
Ordinary people couldn't afford to pay taxes, but the price of taxes kept increasing.
|
King Richard II was young (only 14) and people thought he was badly advised by greedy evil men who wanted to make themselves rich.
|
Many peasants didn't own their own land. They worked on their local lord's land. They would have to work a few days a week no wages, this was known as 'work service'. This made them very bitter.
|
Wages used to be higher. The Black Death had killed lots of the country's workers, so they were not enough people to work the land. People then asked for higher wages, or the work would not get done. The wages rose a lot, but then the King passed a law called the 'Statute of Labourers' that said they couldn't earn more money than they did before the Black Death. People didn't think this was fair.
|
THE SPARK! 30th May 1381: the King's tax collectors arrived in Fobbing, Essex, to collect the Poll Tax money. The peasants refused to pay and attacked the tax collectors. Three of the king's men were killed. Other tax collectors were attacked all over Essex and Kent. Peasants burned important documents, books and papers. They broke into Maidstone prison and freed a priest called John Ball (who was in prison for encouraging peasants to disobey their lords). A group of 60,000 angry peasants decided to march to London. This was the Peasants' Revolt.
|
What happened?
|
Teaching Ideas
Source Analysis
You will be given three or four different accounts of what happened when Wat Tyler died. What is different about the accounts? Why do you think they are different? Which account do you think is the right one (e.g. which one do you trust the most?) Write a paragraph on this.
Diary
Write a diary entry from the perspective of one of the peasants who went to London to revolt. Try to make it accurate, and do it from a peasant's perspective. Try to include all the key events and people.
Key Words
Focus on understanding of key words, e.g. revolt, peasants, taxes, Archbishop of Canterbury, Wat Tyler,
You will be given three or four different accounts of what happened when Wat Tyler died. What is different about the accounts? Why do you think they are different? Which account do you think is the right one (e.g. which one do you trust the most?) Write a paragraph on this.
Diary
Write a diary entry from the perspective of one of the peasants who went to London to revolt. Try to make it accurate, and do it from a peasant's perspective. Try to include all the key events and people.
Key Words
Focus on understanding of key words, e.g. revolt, peasants, taxes, Archbishop of Canterbury, Wat Tyler,