June 13, 1381: Peasants’ Revolt enters London

John of Gaunt, a younger son of King Edward III, was the richest man in England, and his Savoy Palace contained jewels and rugs fit for his father. Peasants blamed him for the introduction of a crippling poll tax used to finance The Hundred Years’ War.

It was the last straw in a series of gripes with the government. Wat Tyler led a violent revolt, which began in southeast England on May 30 and worked its way to London. King Richard II, just 14 at the time, was unsuccessful in stopping the rioters by negotiation.

On this day in 1381, the Peasants’ Revolt reached the capital, where the protesters burned the Savoy Palace and captured the Tower of London.

To stop the rioting, Richard agreed to many of the protestors’ demands, including the abolition of serfdom. But when the king met with Wat Tyler on June 15, Tyler was killed, and Richard went back on his promises.

Regardless, the go-to way for funding military expeditions on the Continent had become a poison pill.

Fun facts: Geoffrey Chaucer began writing The Canterbury Tales when he worked as a clerk at the palace; the Savoy Theatre and the Savoy Hotel are named in its honor.

For more on the Peasants’ Revolt, visit BBC.

Image: Jean Froissart, Chroniques (15th c.), Bibliothèque nationale de France via Wikimedia Commons