Causes of popular revolts
The Peasants’ Revolt 1381
By Unknown medieval artist illustrating Froissart's Chronicles [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Some historians have described the 14th century as the worst century ever! For much of it
there were poor harvests, animal diseases, floods, drought and famine. Food prices rose and
only around a quarter of peasants had enough land to feed themselves. The war with France
meant everyone had to pay higher taxes, and this burden was felt more by the poor than the
rich. To make things worse the Black Death arrived in Britain in 1348 killing between 35%
and 60% of the population (no-one is sure quite how many people died). Whole villages were
wiped out. After the Black Death labour was scarce and wages went up. However,
Parliament tried to restrict this with the Statute of Labourers in 1351.
Workers moved around the country demanding higher wages. In 1377 Edward III died and
was replaced by 11 year old king Richard II. Parliament was called and agreed to levy three
Poll taxes, in 1377, 1379, and 1381. Poll taxes affect the poor more than the rich - the 1377
Poll tax was levied at 4d per person, however rich you were. The 1381 Poll Tax was a
shilling and 4 pence [about two weeks’ wages for a labourer] per head. Many people thought
this was very unfair. Most, but not all, of the opposition to the government came in London
and the South-East, the more prosperous part of the country. Several thousand armed men
marched on London, demanding justice from the King. They blamed his 'wicked advisers' like
John of Gaunt for their troubles. Most of the rebels were artisans and skilled workers rather
than peasants. Many were middle-aged and literate. One historian has called the Peasants’
Revolt ‘the revolt of rising expectations generated by rising prosperity.’
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Causes of popular revolts
The Diggers
Towards the end of the English
Civil War Gerrard Winstanley
and others set up a radical
group which became known as
the Diggers (sometimes called
the ‘True Levellers’). They were
partly a response to the poor
harvests and food shortages
caused by many years of
fighting. They also grew out of
the intellectual debates of the
time perhaps best summarised
by the Putney Debates of 1647
about the future course of
England's government: what to
do with King Charles I; who
should run the country; the
ideas of people like John
Lilburne and the Levellers.
A New Year's Gift for the Parliament and Army,
Showing what the Kingly Power is and the Cause of
those they call Diggers, published 1650 / Credit:
Bridgeman Art Library / Universal Images Group /
Copyright © Bridgeman Art Library / For Education
Use Only. This and millions of other educational
images are available through Britannica Image
Quest. For a free trial, please
visit www.britannica.co.uk/trial
The Diggers believed that property was theft, and that everyone, including men and
women, were equal, and that an equal society could be achieved by communities digging
and planting crops together. Land should be owned by everyone, not by individuals. In
spring 1649 they began to plant vegetables on common land near Weybridge in Surrey.
Other groups followed suit in different parts of the country. By the end of 1649 there were
at least 30 groups spread across the country. They wanted the abolition of private property
and said that ‘the earth was made to be a common treasury for all’ and that all should live
by their own work on the land. The Diggers were seen by those in power as a great threat to
the natural order of things.
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Causes of popular revolts
The Chartists
By William Edward Kilburn [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
In 1838 a ‘People’s Charter’ was published, pulling together long-standing demands for
change in the political system:
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A vote for all men over 21
A secret ballot
Equal electoral districts
No property qualification to become an MP
Payment for MPs
Annual parliaments.
These demands grew out of a belief that the ‘Great’ Reform Act of 1832 was no such thing,
and had merely benefitted the middle-classes. Demands for political reform were not new:
1776 had seen the American Revolution [slogan: 'no taxation without representation']
followed in 1789 by the French Revolution with its slogan of 'Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité’.
Ordinary people were demanding what they regarded as their rights. Thomas Paine
published The Rights of Man in 1791 closely followed by Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication
of the Rights of Women in 1792.
The Chartists presented huge petitions to Parliament in 1839, 1842 and 1848. Each one was
decisively rejected. There was armed rebellion in Newport, South Wales, and even a Land
Plan to resettle unemployed families on small farms. Chartist membership tended to grow
when times were bad - this was the 'hungry forties' and the time of when Corn Laws were
blamed for keeping food prices artificially high by banning imports of wheat. Some people
thought the only way to improve the standard of living for ordinary people was through
political action and that if all men had the vote then wages would improve. Others thought
in terms of equality and fairness. Unsurprisingly, the government met all attempts to
demand political change with rejection and repression.
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The Suffragettes
The demand for women’s
suffrage was not new: the
prominent radical reformer
Henry Hunt had tried to amend
the 1832 Reform Act to change
the term ‘male’ to ‘adult’ to
get women the vote. Some
Chartists had also demanded the
vote for women. John Stuart
Mill similarly tried to amend the
1867 Reform Act and failed and
nearly every year from 1880
some radical MP introduced a
motion into Parliament in favour
of giving women the vote.
However, they all failed.
Women argued that adult
suffrage should apply to all
adults. The NUWSS was formed
following the failure of the 1867
Reform Act to give women the
vote, but made little progress.
The arrest of Mrs Pankhurst, leader of the Suffragettes (image within the public domain)
The WSPU was founded by Mrs Pankhurst in 1903 to adopt a more radical approach to
getting women the vote. They adopted much more violent tactics to get their message
across.
Women had fought hard throughout the 19th century not just for the vote, but to get access
to higher education, skilled jobs like medicine, even equal rights to custody of their
children when a marriage failed. Some progress had been made, but it was very slow given
the prevailing Victorian attitude to gender roles. Finally, many women came round to the
view that equality could only be achieved when women could vote in parliamentary
elections. Following the First World War women over 30 were given the vote, and in 1928
women were given the vote on the same terms as men. Surely, by then, the suffragettes
had achieved their aims?
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Causes of popular revolts
Tasks
1. Read through the information about each of the events and decide which is the main cause,
or causes, of that event or movement. Write very brief notes in the table below to explain
how the factor influenced each movement.
For example, arguably 'Government’ action was a main cause of the Peasants’ Revolt
through the introduction of the Poll tax but you could also add notes including war with
France and the Black Death.
2. For each of the four events above, which do you think is the main cause of demands by the
people for more power from 1381 to 1918? Explain your answer.
3. Can you identify any other events or movements you have studied during this course that
have similar causes? Can you make out a pattern of causation?
Extension
Think about how successful each of these popular revolts was. How do you measure 'success' of a
revolt? Did it have an immediate impact? Did it have a longer-term impact? Did it affect the way
people thought about power?
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Causes of popular revolts
Peasants’ Revolt
The Diggers
The Chartists
The Suffragettes
War
Religion
Chance
Government
Poll tax in 1377,1379,1381
Communication
The economy
Ideas
Role of the
individual
Other....
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Causes of popular revolts
Teaching notes
This resource could be used in a variety of ways.
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You could make it a carousel activity and put information about each of the
revolts/movements on different stations and ask students to move around the room to
complete their tables.
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Students could also be tasked with finding out more information about each group to
supplement the information provided in the resource.
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Students could be asked to research additional protest groups and compare and contrast
the factors which encourage revolt.
Having completed the table and tasks you could then hold a debate on which was the most
successful movement.
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