Amongst the feelings of fatigue and pessimism in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, many political figures turned to messages of hope and encouragement to boost the morale of their suffering constituents. The pandemic brought some of the most pervasive societal inequities to the forefront, exposing the toxicity of capitalism to even the most apolitical citizens.
The more optimistic amongst us viewed the pandemic as an opportunity to fundamentally reconfigure society to be more just and fair for all of us. Despite the tragedy of the pandemic, we had reason to hope that something better was coming. However, students of history remained skeptical of the opportunity the pandemic provided. Unfortunately, historical precedent would show that in the aftermath of catastrophic public health crises, what could have become moments of profound societal transformation often failed to improve conditions for the working class. Examining the Peasant’s Revolt of 1381 will demonstrate that although mass mortality events offer opportunities for positive societal transformation, the ruling class will always endeavour to maintain the status quo.
The Black Death: 1347-48
The Black Death (bubonic plague) is commonly considered to be one of the largest mass mortality events in all of human history. Brought to Europe by fleas living on merchant ships, the Yersinia pestis bacteria arrived in Sicily in October 1347. By 1348, the plague had infiltrated the entirety of continental Europe, Britain, and parts of Asia. Although the exact death toll is difficult to calculate, best estimates guess that between 75 and 200 million people died as a result of the largest outbreak of the bubonic plague The scale of the devastation caused by the Black Death is difficult to comprehend.
Although the years of 1347-1348 would be characterized by unprecedented unrest and ruin, similar to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ramifications of the Black Death offered a positive opportunity for the disenfranchised. The mass mortality caused by the plague resulted in virtual demographic collapse, leading to a severe labour shortage in the recovery years. The people at the very bottom of society began to feel optimism about their economic conditions, as there was far more work to do than there were people alive to do it. Similar to the labour shortage in the aftermath of the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the labouring class finally had leverage over the ruling class to demand better working conditions–namely higher wages.
Ruling class response
The ruling class would not make concessions so easily, however. Despite the fact that peasant labour was now both vital and scarce, the government scrambled to maintain the status quo. In 1351, King Edward III would pass the Statute of Labourers, a piece of legislation aimed at suppressing wages, effectively stripping peasants of their bargaining power. Parliament would pass successive pieces of legislation also intended to continue the suppression of the working class in the 30 years after the height of the Black Death in England. The rich felt so threatened by the power shift brought on by the plague, they even passed laws banning the poor from wearing styles of clothing that were typically reserved for the wealthy.
Although discontent had been fomenting for decades since the waning of the Black Death, it was the implementation of a new tax that would be the final straw. The Crown was struggling to finance the King’s costly war with France, and had implemented 27 new taxes in order to raise funds. The final poll tax of 1381 was not means-tested and demanded the same payment from every citizen over the age of 15, irrespective of wealth. For the average peasant, the tax was roughly the equivalent to multiple days of labour—a catastrophic burden for the average labourer. This new tax, compounded with the constant bombardment of legislation aimed at continuing their oppression, would be the breaking point for the peasant class . In May of 1381, the peasants had finally had enough and violence erupted in the southeast of England.
The Peasant’s Revolt of 1381
At first, the rebellion was measured and controlled, with protesters deliberately only destroying the property of their ruling class oppressors. As they made their way to London, the movement had grown big enough to demand the attention of the King. The newly crowned, still teenaged King Richard II agreed to meet with the peasants to discuss demands. Despite their anger towards the ruling class, the protesters remained loyal to King Richard, believing him to be unduly influenced by a number of bad actors in his government such as his uncle, John of Gaunt. The peasants made numerous demands of the King aimed at improving their material conditions, most importantly the total abolition of serfdom, repeal of all wage suppression laws, more peasant participation in government, and redistribution of Church wealth and property (largely accumulated during the plague years).
During a meeting at Mile End on June 13th, the King would appear amenable to the demands of the rebels , even granting them permission to exact violence on individuals in his government perceived to be the source of peasant oppression. Energized by the King’s apparent support, the leader of the revolt, Wat Tyler, would order the storming of the Tower of London, resulting in the murder of Simon Sudbury, Archbishop of Canterbury, one of the King’s preeminent advisors. After the murder of Sudbury, the protest lost its focused and measured character, resulting in widespread rioting and looting throughout London. Violence would also break out in other parts of England, with the King receiving reports of rioting as far north as York.
The King would be forced to meet with the protesters again to discuss their demands. During negotiations, a skirmish broke out resulting in the death of Tyler. In order to urgently placate the protesters, Richard appeared to concede to every one of their demands. The King’s promises were enough to stave off more rioting, and the mob disbanded and was escorted out of London by the city’s militia. However, Richard characteristically never intended to keep his promises to the peasants, instead dispatching his soldiers to seek violent reprisal against the rebels and ruthlessly suppress any attempts to revive the movement. Without clear leadership and fear of violent retaliation, the Peasant’s Revolt would ultimately fizzle out and fail to result in the dramatic societal change made possible by the opportunities afforded by Black Death.
Lessons for class struggle today
Although the demographic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have not been as dramatic as those that emerged due to the Black Death, parallels are certainly visible. The labour shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic represented a similar opportunity for the working class to extract concessions from the ruling class. Similar to 1347, the rich realized that our labour was both vital and scarce. The working class also took note of this and mobilized on a scale not seen for decades: in 2020, the United States experienced its greatest number of strikes and labour movements since 1946.
However, instead of “building back better”, the ruling class heeded the example of England’s medieval lords and doubled down on their oppression of the working class. Similar to the events in the mid-14th century, the government would also be complicit in the rich’s attempts to undermine any movements organized by the labouring class. In the years during the pandemic, the Canadian government passed legislation aimed at limiting wage increases as well as workers’ ability to organize and strike—not unlike the Statute of Labourers of 1351.
While the Peasant’s Revolt is typically considered to have failed at achieving its original radical aims, many of the demands of the peasants would be realized in the years following the uprising. The usage of serfdom would gradually decline in the waning years of the 14th century (although more for economic than political reasons) and eventually completely cease in the 15th century. In addition, the government eventually abolished the controversial poll tax and made no further attempts to implement taxes that were disproportionately burdensome on the peasant class.
Class struggle frequently feels like an uphill battle, especially with the emergence of the ultra-wealthy billionaire class. Wealth inequality may soon reach historic levels. While historical precedent may give us reason to be pessimistic about the possibility of change, we still have reason to be hopeful. Dissatisfaction with electoral politics and an increasing awareness of the complicity of political elites in our oppression is resulting in increasing militancy amongst the working class. Let us learn from our comrades in 1381 to keep our movements focused and disciplined, and to never trust disingenuous promises from the ruling class. Conditions are ideal for a mass labour movement, but it’s up to us to seize the moment and learn lessons from historical struggle to inform our organizing in the present.
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