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The causes of the Peasants' Revolt

I can explain why historians have different interpretations about the causes of the Peasants’ Revolt.

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Year 7

The causes of the Peasants' Revolt

I can explain why historians have different interpretations about the causes of the Peasants’ Revolt.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Some historians argue that the Peasants’ Revolt was caused by class conflict between the lords and the peasants.
  2. Evidence for class conflict includes the burning of court rolls by rebels, which recorded their feudal obligations.
  3. Other historians argue that class conflict over feudalism was not the cause as feudalism was already in decline.
  4. Instead these historians argue that the Peasants' Revolt was against taxation and growing government power.

Keywords

  • Class conflict - tensions between different groups (e.g. workers and employers) over who has power

  • Court rolls - records kept by a lord of payments made to them by their tenants

  • Feudalism - another term for the feudal system: the system of landholding which bound peasants to a lord in return for land to farm

  • Interpretation - a particular explanation of something

Common misconception

That the main aim of the rebels in the Peasants' Revolt was to overthrow the king.

In fact the rebels' grievances were against local officials and the king's advisers, who they believed were misleading the king into acting against the interests of his people.

This unit provides a good opportunity to reinforce pupils' secure understanding of the meaning of interpretations in history, and the difference between interpretations and sources.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Put these events that lead up to the Peasants' Revolt in chronological order.
1 - Arrival of the Black Death in England
2 - Statute of Labourers banned wage increases
3 - Poll tax introduced at four pence per person
4 - Poll tax raised to 12 pence per person
5 - John Bampton attempted to collect poll tax in Brentwood, Essex
Q2.
Who emerged as the leader of the Peasants' Revolt?
John Bampton
John of Gaunt
Robert de Hales
Simon Sudbury
Correct answer: Wat Tyler
Q3.
Where did the king go for safety when the rebels entered London in June 1381?
Smithfield
The Savoy Palace
Correct answer: The Tower of London
Westminster Palace
Q4.
What demands did Wat Tyler make of the king when they met at Smithfield?
Correct answer: the abolition of serfdom
higher pay for Flemish weavers
Correct answer: the removal of bad advisers from the king's court
the right to vote in elections to the king's council
Q5.
What happened to Wat Tyler at Smithfield?
He shouted, "I am your leader!" which ended the revolt.
He stabbed the mayor of London, who died.
He was pardoned by Richard II, who told him he would remain a peasant.
Correct answer: He was stabbed by the mayor of London, and died.
Q6.
Historians who believe history is driven by class conflict see the Peasants' Revolt as which of the following?
Carried out by wealthy landholders who did not want to pay higher taxes
Correct answer: Carried out by serfs who resented the power their lords had over them
Carried out by French migrants who opposed the war with France
Carried out by criminals who wanted opportunities to loot the homes of the rich

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the words with their correct definitions.
Correct Answer:class conflict,tensions between different groups over who has power

tensions between different groups over who has power

Correct Answer:court rolls,records kept by a lord of payments made to them by their tenants

records kept by a lord of payments made to them by their tenants

Correct Answer:revolt ,violent action against a government or ruler

violent action against a government or ruler

Correct Answer:poll tax,a payment made to the government by every adult

a payment made to the government by every adult

Correct Answer:serf ,a peasant bound to work on a certain piece of land

a peasant bound to work on a certain piece of land

Correct Answer:feudal system,the system of landholding introduced by William the Conqueror

the system of landholding introduced by William the Conqueror

Q2.
Which of the following was a short-term cause of the Peasants' Revolt, rather than a long-term cause?
increases in taxation
the Hundred Years War
the feudal system
the Black Death
Correct answer: violence in Brentwood, Essex
Q3.
Historian Rodney Hilton considers court rolls as evidence of class conflict in the Peasants' Revolt because...
court rolls listed crimes committed by lords against their peasants.
Correct answer: court rolls proved who had peasant status and was not free to leave their lord.
court rolls recorded that lords refused to negotiate with peasants over pay.
Correct answer: court rolls showed how lords increased fines against peasants after 1348.
Q4.
The Peasants' Revolt was strongest in which of these regions of England?
Correct answer: Essex
Correct answer: Kent
Midlands
Yorkshire
Wessex
Q5.
Which of the following would historian Mark Bailey see as the most likely cause of the Peasants' Revolt?
Correct answer: Anger among better-off landholders about rising taxes
Frustration among lords that peasants were leaving their lands
Fury about the fines demanded by lords when peasants got married
Resentment about the Statute of Labourers stopping higher wages being negotiated
Q6.
Which of the following best represents the view of Mark Bailey about the importance of the Black Death in ending the feudal system in England?
The feudal system was strengthened by the arrival of the Black Death.
Correct answer: The feudal system was already in a weak position before the Black Death.
The feudal system's decline was entirely due to the Black Death.
The feudal system was damaged by the Black Death but recovered strongly.

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