Parliament approved a poll tax in 1377, charging most lay people above a set age a flat amount to fund war expenses. This broadened taxation beyond traditional property-based subsidies and was widely unpopular. The tax’s design and collection methods brought national finance directly into village households and manorial communities.
Edward III died in June 1377, and his 10-year-old grandson Richard II inherited a government strained by the Hundred Years’ War and heavy taxation. Political power rested largely with leading nobles and royal officials who had to raise money and keep order. These pressures set the stage for sharper conflict between landlords, officials, and laborers tied to the manorial system.
Richard II’s coronation in July 1377 symbolized continuity, but it did not solve the kingdom’s financial and social problems. Many rural communities still lived under manorial obligations, including labor services and restrictions tied to villeinage (unfree peasant status). In the following years, repeated tax demands and enforcement of labor controls became flashpoints.
A second poll tax in 1379 followed the first, reinforcing the idea that extraordinary wartime taxes were becoming routine. For many villagers, these levies compounded existing grievances about rents, labor services, and local justice on manors. Repeated collection efforts also increased opportunities for harsh or corrupt enforcement.
In late 1380 Parliament approved another poll tax, and collectors began aggressive enforcement in 1381. The levy used a mixed system: a low minimum payment, but collectors were responsible for an average amount per head, pushing local communities to make up shortfalls. This structure increased pressure on poorer people and made collection disputes more likely.
In late May 1381, resistance to poll tax collection erupted in Essex and quickly spread. The uprising drew on long-standing manorial grievances, including demands for relief from serfdom and forced labor. What began as local confrontation escalated into a coordinated movement across southeastern England.
On June 13, 1381, rebel forces from Kent entered London. They attacked symbols of elite power, including the Savoy Palace associated with John of Gaunt, and violence broke out against some foreign merchants. The government’s limited forces in the city left royal officials under intense pressure to negotiate.
On June 14, Richard II met rebels at Mile End and offered concessions, including promises linked to ending bondage and forced labor. Royal clerks began issuing written charters to formalize these promises, encouraging many rebels to consider going home. The meeting showed how central manorial status and labor obligations were to the rebels’ goals.
While the king was away from London’s center, rebels entered the Tower of London and captured senior officials associated with taxation and government. Archbishop Simon of Sudbury (the chancellor) and Robert Hales (the treasurer) were executed. These killings shocked elites and hardened the government’s determination to restore control.
On June 15, the king met the remaining rebels at Smithfield, where leader Wat Tyler was killed during tense negotiations. Richard II then urged the crowd to disperse, presenting himself as their lawful leader to prevent immediate retaliation. Tyler’s death was a turning point that weakened the revolt’s ability to negotiate and coordinate.
In East Anglia, rebels continued after events in London, but armed suppression intensified. A major confrontation near North Walsham in Norfolk on June 25–26 ended significant organized resistance, as forces led by the Bishop of Norwich defeated local rebels. After this, the uprising shifted from mass action to pursuit, trials, and punishments.
John Ball, a radical preacher linked to the revolt’s social critique, was captured and executed on July 15, 1381, at St Albans. His death signaled that the government intended to punish leaders and discourage future challenges to the manorial order. Executions and prosecutions continued as officials tried to reassert control in towns and villages.
In the autumn 1381 parliamentary session, the government moved to undo rebel gains and strengthen legal tools against unrest. Legislation associated with the response declared manumissions and other agreements made under compulsion to be void and treated starting riots and "rumour" as treason. These measures aimed to restore the pre-revolt legal order on manors and deter further mass protest.
After months of judicial action, the crown issued a broad general pardon as part of the political settlement following the revolt. The terms were presented to Parliament on December 13, 1381, extending mercy widely while still allowing serious offenders to be excluded or pursued. The pardon helped the government shift from emergency repression back toward routine administration.
In 1388, Parliament passed the Statute of Cambridge, requiring laborers to obtain official permission to leave their local area. This reflected ongoing elite anxiety about worker bargaining power and movement in the late 1300s. The law shows that, even after the revolt, conflicts over labor, wages, and manorial control remained a central political issue.
By the end of the 1300s, the Peasants’ Revolt was over, and the government had formally rejected the rebels’ demands; manorial obligations were not abolished by law. However, the uprising left a lasting political lesson about the risks of heavy head taxes and mass enforcement, and it became a reference point in later debates about labor and authority. In this sense, 1377–1400 marks a full cycle from fiscal crisis and manorial grievance to revolt, repression, and a cautious long-term adjustment in how rulers managed popular consent.
Peasant Revolts over Manorial Grievances: The English Peasants' Revolt and Aftermath (1377–1400)