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413. The Peasants' Revolt: England Erupts (Part 1)

By the late 14th century, England was in decline. Already weakened by the Hundred Years’ War, both Edward III and his son, the Black Prince, had died, leaving the country in a perilous state. Richard II, the new king, was only a child. With the poor facing increasingly harsh poll taxes, and distrust of the nobility growing among them, an uprising broke out in southern England in 1381. It was led for the first time by peasants, a class of person invisible on the historical stage up to this point. The Peasants’ Revolt would prove to be one of the most iconic events of English history, altering not only England’s society and the fate of her monarchy, but also generating a new kind of grassroots radicalism.

Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss the outbreak of this landmark moment in the history of English socialism, building up to the climactic moment when Richard II and his men find themselves besieged in London by the rebel army surrounding her walls, under the leadership of the elusive Wat Tyler…

Series
England in the Fourteenth Century: Revolt, Reign, and Canterbury
Topics
Peasants Revolt 1381
Part
Part 1
Published date
2024-01-29
Year span
1381

At a glance

Edward IIIRichard IIEnglandLondon

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