Hello, and thanks for joining me for another Oak Academy History video.

My name is Mrs. Knox, and today I'll be guiding you through the resources and materials needed to be successful in this lesson.

So let's begin.

The lesson today is part of the unit of work on the Peasant Revolt.

We are asking why do historians disagree about the causes of the peasant revolt? By the end of our lesson today, you'll be able to explain why historians have different interpretations about the causes of the Peasants' Revolt.

Now we'll be using some keywords in our lesson today, so let's take a look at those now.

The first term we'll use is class conflict, which is tensions between different groups, for example, workers and employers over who has power.

We'll also use the term court roles, which are records kept by a Lord of payments made to them by their tenants.

We'll also use the word feudalism, which is another term for the feudal system, which was the system of landholding, which bound peasants to a Lord in return for land to farm.

Finally, in our lesson, we'll use the word interpretation, which is a particular explanation of something.

Now, our lesson today will be in two parts, so we'll start now with part one, which is about class conflict.

Over time, historians have interpreted the peasantry vote differently.

In the middle of the 20th century, it was common to interpret the revolt as an expression of a class conflict which had been going on between the lords and the peasants throughout the Middle Ages, many of the historians who support this interpretation believe that history is best to find as a struggle between different classes of people.

Rodney Hilton, whose work on the Peasants' Revolt has been extremely influential, is one such historian, for Hilton, the causes of the Peasants' Revolt lie in the behaviour of the Lords towards the peasants, both before and after the Black Death.

His research on the feudal system showed that peasants were exploited harshly before the Black Death arrived.

They were forced to pay fines to the Lords when they married or when their relatives died, and many were forbidden from moving beyond the Lord's control.

For Hilton, the crisis brought by the Black Death simply prompted the Lord to double down on their controlling behaviour, forcing the peasants to continue paying fines and working the land.

In this interpretation, the peasants became fed up with the restrictions on their lives and eventually rose up in revolt, for Hilton, it is no coincidence that the peasants destroyed the court rules, but it was these records which proved their peasant status and kept them tied to the land.

Arguably, the peasants were aiming to destroy these records so that they could escape their funeral status.

In this view, the Peasants' Revolt was caused by class exploitation and by the actions of the Lords.

In turn, the revolt brought about the decline of English feudalism itself.

For historians who believe this, the Black Death itself was not a leading cause of the revolt.

Although it was a significant historical event, it did not fundamentally alter the feudal structures of English society.

Only direct class conflict led by the peasants themselves could achieve that.

Okay, it's time to have a check of your understanding so far.

Which of the following best describes the view of historians who believe in the importance of class conflict? Is it A, the peasant result was caused by high taxation charged by the king, B.

the Peasants' Revolt was caused by the justice system and the access to law courts, or C, the Peasants' Revolt was caused by conflict between the Lords and the peasants.

Press pause now and then press play to hear the correct answer.

Well done if you said the correct answer is C.

For historians who think that the Peasants' Revolt was about class conflict, they would argue that the Peasants' Revolt was caused by the conflict between the Lords and the peasants.

Here's another question now, true or false, historians who believe in the importance of class conflict have emphasised the fact that peasants burned court rolls during the revolt.

Press pause now and then press play to hear the correct answer, you should have said the correct answer is true.

I'd like you to press pause again now and write an explanation about why the answer is true in your explanation, you could have said that the fact that the peasants destroyed court rolls suggest that they were trying to erase the proof that they had the status of peasants in the feudal system.

Finally, in this section, I'd like you to answer this question.

Explain why some historians see class conflict as being the main driver of the Peasants' Revolt.

In your answer, try to use the following words, feudalism, revolt, interpretation, and court rolls.

Press pause to write your answer.

Then press play to see what you could have written.

Welcome back.

Let's see how you got on.

Your answer might look something like this.

Some historians believe that the Peasants' Revolt was caused by class conflict because they believe that the Lord used feudalism to exploit the peasants.

In this interpretation, the Peasants' Revolt was a reaction against his exploitation.

The fact that the rebels burned court rolls during the revolt suggests that they wanted to destroy the evidence of their feudal status.

We're ready now to go on to the second section of our lesson today.

The section will cover central government and the Black Death.

In more recent years, some historians have come to challenge the idea that human history can always be explained by class conflict.

It has been argued that the evidence from each period should be studied more carefully to build up a convincing account of the causes of a range of historical events.

In relation to the Peasants' Revolt, the historian Mark Bailey has argued that it cannot have been caused by class conflict between the peasants and Lords alone.

This is partly because Bailey believes that feudalism, which is the social structure which gave rise to the class conflict between peasants and lords, was no longer the dominant force in English society by 1381.

Bailey's research has shown that in some areas of England at least, the feudal system was already in decline, before the arrival of the Black Death, peasants were beginning to move around more freely and Lords were charging them fewer fines.

When the Black Death hit in 1348, some Lords did try to reassert control, but Bailey argues that this was an impossibility in most cases.

The Black Death was therefore essential event in the decline of English feudalism.

If many peasants had already been set free in the 1350s and 1360s, and the revolt was led by better off peasants who owned their own land, then there must be another explanation for the Peasants' Revolt.

It cannot be explained purely by class conflict.

Bailey has argued that it has much more to do with the growing power of the central government, which wanted to raise more taxes than ever before.

For Bailey, it is no coincidence that the areas where the revolt was strongest, Kent and Essex were close to London and the centre of royal power.

These were the counties where taxes could be raised most easily, so the people who lived there were likely to be paying more and to feel a greater burden than people who lived far away.

These were the counties where taxes could be raised most easily, so the people who lived there were likely to be paying more and to feel a greater burden than people who lived further away.

This burden would've been felt particularly by the relatively wealthy peasants and farmers who were trying to advance their social position.

In this interpretation, the Peasants' Revolt resulted from growing anger with King Richard II's government due to the high taxation which these landholders were being asked to pay, not by feudal exploitation ordered by the Lords.

The growth of central government is positioned as the main reason for the Peasants' Revolt.

Historians still have more work to do in order to understand the causes of the Peasants' Revolt more fully.

Archives are still full of court rolls, which show the extent to which peasants were being exploited by the Lord in the 14th century, and many of these records have never been properly investigated.

Further research on the court rolls is needed to find out about the lives and the experiences of peasants and to help historians have a fuller and more convincing account of the reasons for the Peasants' Revolt.

It's time for another check of your understanding now.

Why do some historians believe that it was not class conflict alone that led to the Peasants' Revolt? Is it because A, in some parts of England, feudalism was already in decline long before the revolt took place? B.

In some parts of England, peasants had more power than the Lords or C, in some parts of England lords exploited their peasants long after the Black Death? Press pause now and then press play for the correct answer.

You should have said, the correct answer is A.

In some parts of England, feudalism was already in decline long before the revolt took place.

Here's another question now, true or false, historians have now reached a consensus about the causes of the peasant's revolt.

They all agree with what the causes were.

Press pause now and then press play for the correct answer.

You should have said that the correct answer is false.

I'd like you to press pause again now and write an explanation about why the answer is false.

Your answer could have said that Historians continue to debate the causes of the Peasants' Revolt, and further research needs to be done on the court rolls to find out about the lives and experiences of the peasants.

Finally, today I'd like you to complete this task.

You need to finish the statements below so that Lucas and Sophia reflect the different interpretations of the causes of the Peasants' Revolt.

I'd like you to press pause to complete the task and then press play to see what you could have written.

Welcome back.

Let's start by having a look at what you could have said for Lucas.

Lucas says, I believe that the peasant revolt was caused by class conflict because the peasants were being exploited as a class by the Lord's under feudalism.

The evidence from court rolls suggests that this exploitation became worse after the Black Death.

Eventually, the peasant reacted against this in the revolt of 1381 by violently rebelling against the Lords.

Let's have a look now at Sophia.

Sophia says, I believe that the Peasants' Revolt was caused by taxation and growing government power because many peasants were not being exploited under feudalism after the Black Death and the revolt was led by better off peasants who owned their own land.

This suggests that it must have been caused by growing anger with King Richard II's centralising government due to the high taxation which these landholders were being asked to pay, we've now reached the end of today's lesson, so it's time for a recap of everything you should have learned.

Some historians have argued that the peasant revolt was caused by class conflict as the peasants rose up against the exploitative lords and demanded better treatment.

In turn, this led to the decline of feudalism.

Other historians have argued that the Peasants' Revolt was not caused by this class conflict as feudalism was already in decline before and after the Black Death.

Instead, they have argued that the revolt was a reaction against growing government power.

Many thanks for all of your hard work in our lesson today.

I hope you feel confident that you've understood the material and hope that you'll be able to join me for a future Oak Academy History lesson.