June 14, 1381- The "Peasant's" Revolt

Portrait of Richard II of England. Circa 1390s. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Westminster_Portrait_of_Richard_II_of_England_(1390s).jpg

In the wake of the Black Death, England suffered catastrophic population loss. As a result, demand for peasant labor increased dramatically and landlords were forced to pay them much higher wages to ensure they had enough workers. In response to this and to fund a war with France, the parliament passed a law limiting wage increases and began several rounds of poll taxes. These were taxes paid by every adult of the kingdom. They were widely resented because the poor paid as much as the rich, though it impacted them far more severely. When commoners did not have the money to pay, they were forced to pay in seeds or other precious commodities. After the 3rd poll tax in 4 years, resistance began to escalate from avoidance to outright violence against the tax collectors. Some historians argue that the English elite named this movement the Peasants’ Revolt to disparage what was actually a popular rebellion among the common people, including many tradesmen, clergy, and small merchants.

These events occurred spontaneously in several locales and snowballed into an army that marched into London intent on removing Simon Sudbury, the Archbishop of Canterbury and John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster and the king’s uncle, by force. It was widely believed by the commoners that these powerful advisors to the teenage king were corrupt and responsible for the policies they found so onerous. 

It is estimated that approximately 60,000 people took part in this uprising. On their march towards London, they destroyed buildings that housed government records and attacked numerous tax agents, fatally in some cases. In London, the rebels stormed and vandalized the Duke of Lancaster’s palace. Most of their aggression was aimed at wealthy priests and lawyers, but there was also indiscriminate looting in other parts of the city.

The 16 year old King and his council met with the rebellion’s leader, Wat Taylor at Mile End on June 14, 1381. Richard acceded to all the rebel’s demands; it would later become clear he had no intention of fulfilling his word. However, while this meeting was taking place, another division of the rebels stormed the Tower of London and murdered Simon Sudbury, the Archbishop of Canterbury, England’s highest clerical post. They also killed Lord High Treasurer Robert Hales, the highest tax official in the land. They were both beheaded.

A subsequent meeting outside the city at Smithfield ended with Tyler being stabbed in the neck by the Lord Mayor of London, Sir William Walworth. He was taken to a hospital where he either died of his injury, or some say was fatally attacked a second time. The King made another false agreement with the rebels. Not long after they left London, many were hunted down and executed until the status quo was restored. 

While the insurrection was put down, the poll tax was not reinstated, and many peasants and tradesmen continued to drive hard bargains with the employing classes for their labor.

Sources:

What’s in a Name? The Peasant's’ Revolt- History Hub

30th May 1831- History Pod

Wat Tyler and the Peasants' Revolt- Historic UK

About the Peasants Revolt- People of 1381

Matoaka's Story/Part 7 The Death of Matoaka

“Princess Pocahontas.” Base of statue by William Ordway Partridge. Memorial at St. George Church, Gravesend, England. Photo: Tracy Jenkins, Art UK. CC.

The Virginia Company’s publicity tour had been a success. Plans were made to send more colonists to Jamestown and to establish schools for religious and English instruction among Native children in Virginia.

Arrangements were made for the party to return to Virginia in the spring of 1617. As the ship set sail, Matoaka and John dined with Captain Argall in his quarters. She became sick soon after. Argall docked the ship at the town of Gravesend. Matoaka died at the Gravesend Inn and was buried at the nearby Church of St. George. Many myths have grown up around her last words, but nothing is known for certain. The party held a funeral for her at the church before setting sail again. Fearing he would not survive the journey, John Rolfe left their son Thomas with relatives.

The Mattaponi Oral History records a different version of the events. It claims that shortly after the dinner with Captain Argall, Matoaka told her sister Mattachana that she thought “the English” put something in her food. Mattachanna tried to care for her, but her condition worsened. She left to get Rolfe and when she returned, Matoaka was dead. The Oral History records that Mattachanna and Uttamatomakkin told Wahunsenaca that Matoaka had been in good health in England, and had not become sick until boarding the ship to return home.

It is impossible to know the whole truth of Matoaka’s final days. Oral traditions were long seen by Western scholars as mere folklore without reliable information. That has changed somewhat, but even scholars who argue for their indispensability point out that they are a different kind of history that, taken out of their oral medium, lose much of their nuance and meaning. As the authors of “The True Story of Pocahontas” state, “There are attributes of oral traditions that are not obtainable in a written format… There is a living connection between the oral historian and his or her ancestors.”

The lethality of eastern diseases to indigenous Americans is well documented and so European and American historians have rarely questioned the circumstances of Matoaka’s death. More skeptical writers have speculated that she may have soured on supporting the Virginia Company’s plans for large-scale conversion of Powhatan children to Christianity, or that her experience in London had not made her the enthusiastic advocate of “civilization” they had expected. Perhaps with her tour of London completed, she was no longer seen as crucial to the company’s plans. Like so much of Matoaka’s life, her death is impossible to be certain about. 

Back in Tsenacomoco, the tenuous peace between the English and the Powhatan would endure for a few more years. But the death of Matoaka left Wahunsenaca stricken with grief. He turned over the leadership of the Powhatan Nation to his brother, Opitchapum. He died in 1618, roughly a year after his daughter.

Sources:

Pocahontas and Gravesend Jamestown/Yorktown Museums

“Indian Princess” sculpture- Pocahontas Archive