he Peasants Revolt 1381 | A Bloody Uprising of the Common People

Delve into the story of the Peasants Revolt of 1381, a bloody uprising of the common people. In this Patreon voted video Kevin Hicks looks at the reasons behind the Peasants Revolt and reveals the dramatic events that shaped this pivotal moment in the fight for social justice.

If you bleep out the medieval-ish costume and exaggerate cockney accent and other annoying quirks in the presentation ("fight for social justice," indeed), his facts seem to be solid and well organized.

What interests me is the similarities to this insurrection which occurred during the reign of Richard II, and the one that Shakespeare so colorfully describes in Henry VI Part II, there are uncanny similarities. Were there more than one peasant insurrections where the insurrectors wanted to "kill all the lawyers," just for starters? I really must cross-check the names of the chief characters in Henry VI with those provided by the narrator in this history, and see how closely they match.

Meanwhile, over a decade earlier, on the other side of the globe, a wandering panhandler made himself emperor:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hongwu_Emperor#Early_life
[Zhu was born to a family of impoverished tenant farmers in Zhongli County in present-day Fengyang, Anhui.[25][26] His father’s name was Zhu Shizhen (朱世珍, original name Zhu Wusi 朱五四) and his mother was Chen Erniang. He had seven older siblings, several of whom were “given away” by his parents, as they did not always have enough food to support the family.[27] When he was 16, severe drought ruined the harvest where his family lived, and famine subsequently killed everyone in his family except for him and one of his brothers. He then buried them by wrapping their bodies in white cloth.[28]

His grandfather, who lived to be 99 years old, had served in the Southern Song army and navy, which had fought against the Mongol invasion, and told his grandson tales of it.[29]

Destitute after his family’s death, Zhu accepted a suggestion to take up a pledge made by his brother and became a novice monk at the Huangjue Temple,[30] a local Buddhist monastery. However, he was forced to leave the monastery after it ran short of funds.

For the next few years, Zhu led the life of a wandering beggar and personally experienced the hardships of the common people during the late years of the Yuan dynasty.[31] After about three years, he returned to the monastery and stayed there until he was around 24 years old. He learned to read and write during the time that he spent with the Buddhist monks.[32]]

The scale of the battles was something to behold, including the clash where he knocked out his biggest rival:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lake_Poyang
[The Battle of Lake Poyang (Chinese: 鄱陽湖之戰; pinyin: Póyáng Hú Zhīzhàn) was a naval battle which took place (30 August – 4 October 1363)[note 1] between the rebel forces of Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang during the Red Turban Rebellion which led to the fall of the Yuan dynasty. Chen Youliang besieged Nanchang with a large fleet on Lake Poyang, one of China’s largest freshwater lakes, and Zhu Yuanzhang met his force with a smaller fleet. After an inconclusive engagement exchanging fire, Zhu employed fire ships to burn the enemy tower ships and destroyed their fleet. This was the last major battle of the rebellion before the rise of the Ming dynasty.]

[That’s what you get for believing a fourteen year old boy swinging a severed head around and making overbroad promises.]

It’s one thing to renege on poorly-armed and -prepared rabble and quite another to do so with respect to a courtier experienced in field maneuvers as as well as court intrigues.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richard_II_of_England&diffonly=true#Downfall
[Henry had agreed to let Richard live after his abdication. This changed when it was revealed that the earls of Huntingdon, Kent, and Salisbury, and Lord Despenser, and possibly also the Earl of Rutland – all now demoted from the ranks they had been given by Richard – were planning to murder the new king and restore Richard in the Epiphany Rising.[108] Although averted, the plot highlighted the danger of allowing Richard to live. He is thought to have starved to death in captivity in Pontefract Castle on or around 14 February 1400, although there is some question over the date and manner of his death.[3] His body was taken south from Pontefract and displayed in St Paul’s Cathedral on 17 February before burial in King’s Langley Priory on 6 March.]

Yes, there were similarities. In both instances, the main targets were the King‘s advisers, not so much the King himself.

Furthermore, both rebellions sprang forth in Kent, just southeast of London, and in both cases, several royal advisers were slain by the rebels, without recourse to regular justice.

The revolt of 1381 was, iirc, caused by the so called poll tax, which demanded a shilling from every adult male in the country. This was seen as excessive, triggering the uprising headed by Wat Tyler.

The 1450 rising was, presumably, caused by the incompetence of King Henry Vl. and his advisers.

Interestingly, the Lord of Saye and Sele, James Fiennes, whom the rebels beheaded in 1450, has several famous descendants today - the family still being extant - one of whom is actor Ralph Fiennes.

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