Why did the peasants revolt.

The Peasants' Revolt took place in 1381 and is a major event in the history of England.
An army of peasants from Kent and Essex marched on London. They did something no-
one had done before or since - they captured the Tower of London. The Archbishop
of Canterbury and the King’s Treasurer were killed. The King, Richard II, was only 14
at the time. Despite his youth, he agreed to meet the peasants at a place called
Smithfield. At Smithfield negotiations with the King were arranged, but on this
occasion the meeting did not go according to plan. Wat Tyler rode ahead to talk to
the King and his party. Tyler dismounted from his horse and called for a drink most
rudely. In the ensuing dispute, Tyler drew his dagger. The Mayor of London, drew his
sword and attacked Tyler, wounding him; Then one of the King's knights, drew his
sword and stabbed Tyler's, killing him. This ended the revolt.
There were five main reasons for the revolt. They are:
1. The War with France.
2. Taxes /Money
3. Hated Officials
4. The Black Death
5. Peasants Rights

1. The war with France.

In order to pay for the war, the Poll tax was introduced. If there was no war, there
would be no Poll tax. No Poll tax would means there would be no hated officials.
Without those three reasons there would be less chance of the revolt taking place.
The war with France also helped make the revolt more likely to happen, because the
Poll tax meant that every one had to pay the same, and the majority of peasants
couldn't pay the tax and had no part in the war.

2. Taxes /Money.
The Taxes, especially the Poll tax, and money were very important because if there
was no tax there would no war or hated officials Taxes /Money also helped make the
revolt more likely to happen because the pool tax meant that every one had to pay
the same amount which was thought unfair because peasants were earning less that
ever because of the Statute of labours. This Statute meant that all peasants earned
the same small amount of money.

3. Hated officials.
The hated officials were:
● John of Gauth – the Kings Uncle and Advisor
● Archbishop Sudbury – the Chancellor (the man in charge of the taxes).
● Sir Robert Hales – the Treasurer (the person who made sure taxes were paid.)
The officials were hated because they introduced the Poll tax which was need for the
war with France which the were losing any way. It is quite a important factor because
if there was no hated officials there would no war or poll tax and without these
reasons there would be less chance of the revolt taking place.

4. Black Death.
The Black Death was slightly important because it gave the peasants to charge higher
wages for their work. When the Statute of Labours was introduced it banned higher
wages and stopped peasants from leaving their jobs to take better jobs to earn more
money. If there was no black death then there would be no problem with the peasants
rights.

5. Peasants rights.
The peasants rights were not very important because nothing else would be removed
if they were removed.

I conclude that the five main reasons for the revolt they are:
1.The War with France.
2.Taxes /Money.
3.Hated Officials.
4.The Black Death.
5.Peasants Rights.