Peasants Revolt 1381
Often referred to as the Wat Tyler Rebellion, the Peasant's Revolt of 1381 is one of the most famous revolts in English history. Centred in East Anglia and southeastern countries, the revolt began on 13 May 1381. On this day, Wat Tyler and the rebels marched to and reached London where they opened conflict. After the massacre, the government appeared more willing to negotiate the terms of the rebels' requests for equality.
King Richard II met with a group of rebels at Mile End, just outside of London, and made false promises of free trade, cheaper land, and the end to forced labour and serfdom. Whilst the King was absent from the centre of London, another group of rebels entered the Tower of London. This conflict escalated quickly and resulted in the deaths of the chancellor, Archbishop Simon of Sudbury, and treasurer, Sir Robert Hales. These two figures were blamed for the recent Poll Tax, the catalyst that began the Revolt.
Causes of the Peasants' Revolt
Many contextual elements were at play behind the scenes of the Peasant’s Revolt of 1381, and although at first glance the Poll Tax receives blame for the Revolt, the circumstances that the Black Death, the Statute of Labourers and the Hundred Year's War had created in England were also major contributors to its occurrence.
The Black Death
The Black Death caused the population of England to decrease by a drastic amount between the years 1346-1353, with a drop of around 50-60%. As the population dropped, the economy shifted. Food prices lowered, and the need for labourers was at an all-time high. Because of this, labourers began to bargain their wages, and most workers requested a higher wage as their time became more valuable.
Those who survived the crisis of the Black Death were likely to inherit both property and land from those in their family who had recently deceased, this impacted the social ladder. Many could now afford to dress in better clothes, and elements of their daily lives such as food were drastically improved. The once rigid hierarchical structure of 1300s England was at risk of breaking down.
Statute of Labourers, 1351
King Edward III introduced the Ordinance of Labourers in 1349, but without success, Edward needed his ordinance to be backed by further means. In 1351, Parliament laid out the Statue of Labourers in support of Edward's vision. Both scriptures detailed a maximum wage for labourers, and the aim behind this was to limit the labourer's demands for higher pay, to squash the lower classes in their fight for equality, and to fortify the social hierarchy that benefitted the rich.
Ordinance of Labourers, 1349
A law that stated employers could not pay workers above the standard amount.
Statute of Labourers, 1351
English Parliament created a law that was meant to regulate labour rates. It banned both offering and requesting a higher wage than the standard.
These actions against the lower-class labourers only angered them more, and the majority of labourers ignored the statute. Civil unrest increased, unstable class divisions began to emerge at higher rates, and the peasantry was enraged by their conditions. These factors all contributed to the push behind the Peasant's Revolt of 1381.
Poll Tax As previously mentioned, the Poll Tax introduced in 1381 is the immediate cause of the Peasant's Revolt and the event which pushed the poor classes of England to their breaking point. Since the middle of the 14th century, economic unrest had been spreading across England, and the movement against the unfair system was beginning to emerge through conflict.
Many of the Peasants' Revolts that we will address in this article shared similar civil unrest, a few that we will discuss are the French, American, Philippine, and Russian Revolutions. 
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