Who was Wat Tyler?
English rebel and worker's Leader.
Date and Place of Birth:
Unknown but probably in Kent. (Fourteenth Century).
Family Background:
Son of artisan stock probably taking on his father's
trade as a tiler.
Education:
Apprenticed to a trade by his family.
Chronology/Biography of Wat Tyler:
1348-49: Bubonic
plague known, poetically as the "Black Death", swept the
country reducing the population of England by a third. This meant
that the once plentiful supply of (mainly agricultural) labour was
not available and wages began to rise.
1351: Parliament
passed the Statute of Labourers in an effort to hold down wages.
This act was almost impossible to enforce but growing resentment
was still brewing. On top of this landlords where attempting to
stop labourers moving from one village to another to find better
paid work by invoking their ancient manorial rights.
1380: The implementation
of the "Poll Tax" by an impoverished government turned
hostility in to open rebellion. The Poll Tax meant that every adult
had to pay a fixed amount of money to the King and state regardless
of how rich they were.
1381: Rebellion
first broke out in Essex but soon spread to Kent. A group of rebel
peasants from there began to march against the King and took Rochester
Castle by force. Walter Tyler (known to history as Wat) was chosen
as the mob's leader and spokesman. He then led his people's army
on to Canterbury and then London via the outskirts at Blackheath.
There they burned many houses including one belonging to John of
Gaunt. King Richard the Second (then only fourteen years old) eventually
agreed to meet the revolutionaries at Mile End on June 14th, but
only as what turned out to be a political ploy. The King gave the
impression that he would give in to their demands of ending serfdom
and market monopolies and give extra rights and freedom of labour.
Tyler and another group of rebels, flushed with their success went
on to take the Tower of London by force and beheaded several high
officials including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Simon Sudbury
and the Treasurer Sir Robert Hales. The following day King Richard
agreed to meet Tyler again this time at Smithfield. There he put
further demands including the seizure of all church lands. Tyler
advanced in front of his strong force to speak with the King and
showed no deference which angered the royal party. He then asked
for a drink of water as it was a hot June day and spat it out in
an uncouth manner. A fight ensued between Tyler and the King's officials
and he became wounded by the Mayor of London, William Walworth.
A squire then finished him off with a sword into the stomach. The
King, though a boy, called for calm and said that he would be the
rebel's new, natural and only leader and that they should have nothing
to fear from him. The rebels then dispersed. Orders were given out
to put down any rebels anywhere in the country by force. The remaining
rebels in London were then driven out and other ringleaders such
as Jack Straw and John Ball were found and beheaded. Their heads,
along with Tyler's, were placed on poles on London Bridge as a deterrent
to others. The king immediately reneged on the Mile End grants and
the Peasant's Revolt was at an end.
Marriage:
Unknown.
Places of Interest:
LONDON:
London Bridge.
Date and Place of Death:
15th June 1381, London, England.
Age at Death:
Unknown but believed to be in his thirties.
Site of Grave:
Buried without ceremony or marked grave near
the place of his death.
