To What Extent Was the Black Death Not the Main Cause of the Peasants’ Revolt?

Roslyn Hong 7CH

To what extent was the Black Death not the main cause of the Peasants’ Revolt?        

      The Peasants’ Revolt was caused by the unfair rule of the kings during the 14th century. These complaints grew bigger and finally the Kentish rebels selected Wat Tyler as their leader, and started to protest about their levels in the society. The rebellion was also called the Wat Tyler’s Rebellion , the first popular rebellion in English history. There were many reasons for this, and the Black Death was one of them. The Black Death (1348-1350) had killed many people, which meant that there was very few workers and wages went up. In 1351 Edward III had passed a law called the Statute of Labourers, that stopped the peasants from getting wealthier, by limiting the amount of wage. However, the Black Death was not the main cause for the Peasants’ Revolt. Besides the Black Death, there were Poll Tax, the Feudal System, and John Ball and the church that encouraged the peasants to rebel.

      One of the causes that made the peasants angry was the Poll Tax. During the Hundred Years War, when the soldiers needed invincible weapons to win the French, they realized that the treasury of England was empty. Therefore Richard II came up with the new taxation system in which was the poll tax. The Poll Tax was like this: everybody in the kingdom over the age of 14 had to pay 1 shilling each, whether they were poor or wealthy. 1 shilling, even if it was not a huge amount of money for the lords, was unaffordable for the peasants, but when they refused to pay, they were either put in jail, kicked out of THEIR houses, or at the worst, executed.

       The second reason was the Feudal System. Three hundred years after the Norman Conquest, the peasants were still villeins who belonged to the lords under the Feudal System.The Magna Carta was a great influence as well, because as King John kept on asking the barons for money, the barons came at rage and forced the king to sign the Magna Carta. Of course the peasants and the serfs who watched the rebellion thought: “The barons and the lords were allowed to deny and protest to the kings, but what was wrong for us to do that?”. Another influence of the Feudal System was, since the Black Death, poor people had become increasingly angry that they were still serfs. They were demanding that all men should be free and equal, for less harsh laws, and a fairer distribution of wealth.

       The final reason I would suggest as a big influence was the Kentish Lollards priest called John Ball, and the church during the 14th century. The church was badly hit by the Black Death, and the clergy were mostly poorly educated, of which reduced the popular respect of the Church. The Church was a very important major landowner, and the abbots and the bishops sided the barons against the peasants. That was how the peasants felt betrayed by the church who promised and said that they would stand on both sides and try to make a fair decision that would be reasonable for the situation. Then this Kentish Lollards priest , John Ball finally stood up and told the peasants that they were justified to rebel, by coining a famous verse, saying “ While Adam delved and Eve span, who then was the gentleman?” meaning that everybody was equal and free.