Hello, and thanks for joining me for another Oak Academy history lesson.

My name is Mrs. Knox, and today I'll be taking you through the resources and the materials required to be successful with this lesson.

So let's begin.

Our lesson today is part of a unit of work on the Peasants' Revolt.

We are asking why do historians disagree about the causes of the Peasants' Revolt? And by the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain the different causes of the Peasants' Revolt.

Now, our lesson will use some keywords today, so let's take a moment to look through those now.

The first word we'll use is the word revolt, which is a violent action against a government or ruler.

We'll also use the term poll tax, which is a payment made to the government by every adult, regardless of how wealthy they are.

And finally, we'll use the word serf, which was a peasant bound to work on a certain piece of land.

Our lesson today will be in three sections, so let's get started now with section one, the course of the Revolt.

John Bampton was a tax collector working for the English king in 1381.

His job was to travel around certain regions of England and collect payment of the poll tax, an unpopular charge, which was intended to raise money for an ongoing war in France.

The poll tax was particularly hated because everybody was expected to pay the same amount, regardless of how rich or poor they were.

When Bampton arrived in the town of Brentwood in the county of Essex in June, 1381, he expected the residents to pay the tax, which he believed they owed.

However, he was met by an angry mob.

He was informed that no more money would be forthcoming.

Bampton's attempt to arrest one of the ringleaders of the mob was resisted forcefully.

Sensing that the situation was about to turn violent, Bampton fled back to London, but several of his servants were killed by the mob.

News of the revolt spread quickly across Essex and Kent, and soon throughout the southeast of England, the king's tax collectors were violently set upon and murdered, and local government offices were ransacked.

Wat Tyler, a low born labourer from Essex, emerged as the leader of the Peasants' Revolt.

Crossing into Kent, the rebels broke a number of people out of prison before setting their sights on the capital city.

On the 13th of June, they entered London, where they destroyed John of Gaunt's Savoy Palace, and attacked public officials.

Reaching the Tower of London, where the king himself was sheltering, they dragged the treasurer, Robert Hales, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Simon Sudbury, into the streets.

In a shocking act of violence, the rebels beheaded these important members of government as they believed they were responsible for giving Richard II bad advice.

Rebels then paraded the Hales' and Sudbury's heads throughout London as a symbol of the rebellion.

All right, let's have a check now of your understanding so far.

Who merged as the leader of the Peasants' Revolt? Was it A, John of Gaunt, B, John Bampton, or C, Wat Tyler? Press pause and then press play to hear the correct answer.

That's right, you should have said the correct answer was C.

Wat Tyler became the leader of the Peasants' Revolt.

Here's another question now, true or false? The rebels used violence against the people they thought were responsible for their problems. Press pause now and then when you're ready to hear the answer, press play.

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 answer, you could have said the rebels committed acts of violence against the king's tax collectors and the king's advisors.

Finally, in this section, I'd like you to place the following events into chronological order by numbering them one to five.

The first one has been completed for you.

Press pause now to complete the task, then press play to hear the correct order.

Let's see how you got on.

The first event was that Richard II charged a poll tax to pay for the war with France.

Next, John Bampton arrived in Essex to collect payment of the poll tax.

Then John Bampton fled from Essex after violence broke out.

Then Wat Tyler emerged as the leader of the Peasants' Revolt.

Next, the rebels arrived in London, and finally, the rebels beheaded important members of the government.

Well done if you placed all of them in the correct order.

We're ready now to move on to the second section of today's lesson.

This section will look at the outcome of the Revolt.

Richard II knew that he needed to act quickly to regain control.

Despite being just 14 years old, he told the rebels to meet him at Smithfield.

The rebels arrived armed, as did the king's followers.

Wat Tyler approached the king and made known his demands, the removal of bad advisors from the king's court and the abolition of serfdom, which would allow serfs to be free to travel where they wished and to negotiate higher wages.

Richard had no choice but to agree to the demands.

Here's another question now.

What demands did Richard II agree to? A, the abolition of all taxes.

B, the abolition of serfdom or C, the removal of bad advisors from the king's court.

Press pause now and then press play for the answer.

Welcome back.

You should have said that Richard II agreed to the abolition of serfdom.

He also agreed to the removal of bad advisors from the king's court.

Well done if you spotted both of those correct demands.

As the meeting drew to a close, some of the king's advisors taunted Tyler, prompting him to draw his sword.

The mayor of London, sir William Walworth, jumped in front of the king and promptly Tyler through with his own dagger.

Richard quickly took advantage of this shocking development.

Mounting his horse, he ordered the rebels to follow him, shouting to them, "I am your leader!" With Tyler fatally wounded, most rebels followed the king, who officially pardoned them and then sent them home.

With the rebellion now over, Richard revoked his promises and declared that he had no intention of helping the peasants.

"Peasants you are and peasants you will remain," he's said to have told them.

The leaders of the rebellion were subsequently rounded up and executed.

The Peasants' Revolt had been defeated and Richard II's position as king had been strengthened.

Here's another question now, true or false? The Peasants' Revolt was a failure.

Press pause now and then press play for the 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.

You should have said that the peasant's leader, Wat Tyler, was killed and King Richard II revoked his promises.

Here's another question now, which one of the following best describes the meeting at Smithfield? A, the king immediately refused to grant any of the rebels' demands and sent them home.

B, the king initially agreed to the rebels' demands but then revoked his promises.

Or C, the king refused to meet with the leaders of the rebels because he did not think it was safe.

Press pause now, then press play for the answer.

That's right, you should have said that the correct answer was B, the king initially agreed to the rebels' demands, but then revoked his promises.

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

In one sentence, explain why the Peasants' Revolt ended in failure For the peasants.

Try to use the term "revoke" correctly in your answer.

Remember, it means to go back on something.

Press pause now and then press play to see what you could have written.

Let's see how you got on.

Your answer might have included some of the following.

The Peasants' Revolt ended in failure for the peasants because their leader, Wat Tyler, was killed, which gave Richard II the opportunity and confidence to tell the rebels to go home and to revoke the promises he had made to them.

We're ready to move on now to the final section of today's lesson.

This section will focus on interpreting the Revolt.

Historians have not always agreed on how to interpret what happened during those dramatic weeks.

There remains disagreement about why the Peasants' Revolt began, who took part and what its leaders hoped to achieve.

Some historians believe that human history can be explained as a series of conflicts between different classes of people.

For these historians, the Peasants' Revolt was clearly an expression of anger from the peasants and serfs about the exploitation which the lords were carrying out.

For example, Rodney Hilton has shown that many of the rebels deliberately destroyed court rules, that's records kept by a lord of payments made to them by their tenants.

These rules would have contained lists of fines which peasants had to pay.

They were proof of their peasant status.

As such, Hilton has argued that this shows peasants and serfs were angry with the lords and wanted to destroy the feudal restrictions which were still governing their lives.

More recently, other historians have pointed out that many of the people involved in the Revolt were not the very poorest members of society, but wealthy farmers who wanted to secure a better social position for themselves.

Indeed, Mark Bailey has recently argued that the rebels did not exclusively target court rules.

Rather, in some cases, they destroyed documents which were linked to the poll tax and the power of central government.

For Bailey, the Peasants' Revolt is not about the peasant rising up against the lords, but rather about a group of well-off landholders protesting against the high tax burden which the king was imposing upon them.

Time for another check of your understanding.

What have historians who believe that history is driven by class conflict typically argued about the Peasants' Revolt? A, the Peasants' Revolt was carried out by wealthy landholders who resented the king.

B, the Peasants' Revolt was carried out by serfs who resented their lords.

Or C, the Peasants' Revolt was carried out by criminals who wanted to commit mindless violence.

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

You should have said the correct answer was B.

The Peasants' Revolt was carried out by serfs who resented their lords.

Here's another question now.

True or false? All historians agree that the Peasants' Revolt was driven by class conflict between the peasants and the lords.

Press pause now, then press play for the answer.

You should have said the correct answer is false.

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

You should have said that some historians disagree with this view and argue that the Peasants' Revolt was driven by the anger of better-off landholders towards the king's taxation policies.

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

I'd like you to explain which person gives the more convincing interpretation of the Peasants' Revolt.

Let's start with Aisha.

She says, "The revolt was caused by a complex mix of factors.

Some rebels were undoubtedly angry about the power of the lords, whilst others wished to protest the burden of taxation." Izzy says, "The causes of the Revolt were obvious and straightforward.

Peasants and serfs were only angry about their treatment by the lords and wanted improvements." Press pause now and then press play to see what you could have written.

Welcome back.

Your answer might have looked something like this, "Aisha has the more convincing interpretation because she recognises that there may have been more than one cause of the Peasants' Revolt.

This is accurate as there is evidence to support multiple causes of the Revolt.

For example, some historians have emphasised that many of the rebels deliberately destroyed court documents which showed their peasant status as a way to demonstrate their anger towards the lords.

Whereas other historians have argued that the Revolt was caused by anger over tax policies and point to the destruction of documents relating to the poll tax." We've now reached the end of our lesson today, so it's time for a quick summary.

The Peasants' Revolt began in Brentwood, Essex, before spreading throughout the south east of England and into London.

It began in response to the collection of the poll tax.

King Richard II met the rebels at Smithfield and promised to meet their demands.

However, he later revoked his promises.

Some historians believe that the Revolt was caused by class conflict between the serfs and the lords.

Other historians believed that the Revolt was caused by conflict between wealthier landholders and the government.

Well done on all of your hard work in our lesson today.

I hope you feel confident that you've understood the material and look forward to you joining me in a future Oak Academy history lesson.