Blood of Kent, by Harold Middlemore (University of Maidstone, 1972)
Of course, the seeds of victory for the peasants was laid not in London, or even later in Warwickshire, but in Kent. And the man who truly turned the peasants from a rabble of angry farmers primarily concerned with their taxes into a proper revolting army was not Wat Tyler but John Ball. His barn-storming performance in Blackheath drew hundreds if not thousands more to the cause, and with demands that they return home rejected, the people of Kent spread the revolt and a great army gathered itself for the invasion of London.
The young king and his advisors had cloistered themselves in the Tower of London, an innocuous name for what was in fact a formidable fortress of great size and complexity. Attempts to negotiate were stymied by the King's refusal to leave his barge. His fears were not unfounded. The Kentish armies were large, if untrained and poorly armed. But the King had few men at his command and the cream of the English military guarded the frontier against Scotland or were abroad in either Ireland, France or Germany.
At the same time that the Kentish army crossed the Thames into London, with the intention of seizing the Tower, lesser armies from Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk had surrounded the city from the North. A revolt of Londoners also broke out, aiding the armies in their campaign. The Kentish army hunted down those who had perpetrating crime against the peasantry, a list including bishops, advisors and officials. John Fordham, the Keeper of the Privy Seal was seized and executed. Foreign mercenaries were rooted out[1], the prisons were opened, and the Tower was surrounded. The King and his advisors were prisoners within their own fort.
The fortress' garrisson opened the gates as the King decided to negotiate, and soon afterwards, the peasants took control of the Tower. Here, they put to death those who had worked to destroy their liberties, looted the armoury and massively improved their own arsenal and kept the King and those close to him under house arrest in the Tower[2]. Wat Tyler only now asserted himself as leader of the Kentish revolters, and directed those from other counties to return home, and spread word of the King's agreement to their demands throughout England.
Wat Tyler notably began the destruction of those who opposed him in the city. Cleverly he had removed the non-Kentish armies and their commanders who could potentially challenge his policies. The legal system was assaulted, foreign saboteurs were killed where they could be found, and the hated John of Gaunt was killed one thousand times in his absence, either through the death of his son Henry, the sacking of his opulent mansion or the killing of his employees. All of these dramatic events had occurred in just two days, and in that short time, England had changed.
At this point, Wat Tyler was willing to accomodate the King and quit London. He was convinced not to however, by another great Kentishman, Jack Straw. Straw told Tyler that the charters the King had signed were not stringent enough, they were too weak to be relied upon. Tyler met with the King, and a circle of his advisors but he soon came up against treachery as the Mayor of London, William Walworth made an attempt on his life. That he should make such an attempt, in the Tower of London, at this point under revolter's command beggars belief. But it is believed that if he had succeeded, then the fortress's small garrisson would have rallied and with the King at their head have been able to disperse the revolt. Instead, Tyler had the Mayor executed, and the remnants of the Tower's garrison thoroughly purged. The Tower was then razed to the ground, and Tyler established his base of operations in what was formerly Newgate Prison. With London secure, the story of the Revolt passed out of Kentishman's hands and into the counties where the lesser armies had dispersed with their message of the Law of Winchester...
[1] This isn't some 'Woo, yeah, modern democratic attitudes for the win' TL. These 'foreign mercenaries' have been misremembered by the historians of this world, and are in fact, nothing more than Flemish weavers, put to death for their accents and the crime of unEnglishness.
[2] The POD proper. There are some small tweaks before this, but the real change is a less trusting attitude that puts the King and his supporters in a far more vulnerable position.
Of course, the seeds of victory for the peasants was laid not in London, or even later in Warwickshire, but in Kent. And the man who truly turned the peasants from a rabble of angry farmers primarily concerned with their taxes into a proper revolting army was not Wat Tyler but John Ball. His barn-storming performance in Blackheath drew hundreds if not thousands more to the cause, and with demands that they return home rejected, the people of Kent spread the revolt and a great army gathered itself for the invasion of London.
The young king and his advisors had cloistered themselves in the Tower of London, an innocuous name for what was in fact a formidable fortress of great size and complexity. Attempts to negotiate were stymied by the King's refusal to leave his barge. His fears were not unfounded. The Kentish armies were large, if untrained and poorly armed. But the King had few men at his command and the cream of the English military guarded the frontier against Scotland or were abroad in either Ireland, France or Germany.
At the same time that the Kentish army crossed the Thames into London, with the intention of seizing the Tower, lesser armies from Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk had surrounded the city from the North. A revolt of Londoners also broke out, aiding the armies in their campaign. The Kentish army hunted down those who had perpetrating crime against the peasantry, a list including bishops, advisors and officials. John Fordham, the Keeper of the Privy Seal was seized and executed. Foreign mercenaries were rooted out[1], the prisons were opened, and the Tower was surrounded. The King and his advisors were prisoners within their own fort.
The fortress' garrisson opened the gates as the King decided to negotiate, and soon afterwards, the peasants took control of the Tower. Here, they put to death those who had worked to destroy their liberties, looted the armoury and massively improved their own arsenal and kept the King and those close to him under house arrest in the Tower[2]. Wat Tyler only now asserted himself as leader of the Kentish revolters, and directed those from other counties to return home, and spread word of the King's agreement to their demands throughout England.
Wat Tyler notably began the destruction of those who opposed him in the city. Cleverly he had removed the non-Kentish armies and their commanders who could potentially challenge his policies. The legal system was assaulted, foreign saboteurs were killed where they could be found, and the hated John of Gaunt was killed one thousand times in his absence, either through the death of his son Henry, the sacking of his opulent mansion or the killing of his employees. All of these dramatic events had occurred in just two days, and in that short time, England had changed.
At this point, Wat Tyler was willing to accomodate the King and quit London. He was convinced not to however, by another great Kentishman, Jack Straw. Straw told Tyler that the charters the King had signed were not stringent enough, they were too weak to be relied upon. Tyler met with the King, and a circle of his advisors but he soon came up against treachery as the Mayor of London, William Walworth made an attempt on his life. That he should make such an attempt, in the Tower of London, at this point under revolter's command beggars belief. But it is believed that if he had succeeded, then the fortress's small garrisson would have rallied and with the King at their head have been able to disperse the revolt. Instead, Tyler had the Mayor executed, and the remnants of the Tower's garrison thoroughly purged. The Tower was then razed to the ground, and Tyler established his base of operations in what was formerly Newgate Prison. With London secure, the story of the Revolt passed out of Kentishman's hands and into the counties where the lesser armies had dispersed with their message of the Law of Winchester...
[1] This isn't some 'Woo, yeah, modern democratic attitudes for the win' TL. These 'foreign mercenaries' have been misremembered by the historians of this world, and are in fact, nothing more than Flemish weavers, put to death for their accents and the crime of unEnglishness.
[2] The POD proper. There are some small tweaks before this, but the real change is a less trusting attitude that puts the King and his supporters in a far more vulnerable position.