04: Forcing the Hand
A/N: Hello all, I'm back with another Chapter! The Liberty army has triumphed over The Royal Militia. The peasants have gained superiority in the battle for England's destiny. Now, we shall find up how they follow up.
Forcing the Hand
1382
The Battle of Dorchester has been a key moment in the revolt. John Ball used this victory as proof of the revolt being ordained by God to liberate the people and the kings against the vile nobility. The movement comtinued to gain momentum as time went on. By 1382 the number of active participants spiking to 120,000 by February, with a reported 1 million in open support.
Richard II and his advisors were in a tough spot, they needed to keep the support of the nobles, lest he be overthrown, but not accepting the peasants demands would entail chaos, with deposition also a possibility. He needed to try and find a compromise that would keep both sides happy. The main army was still busy in France, and having to nring back the army to deal with the revolt would be rather embarrassing, not to mention that it would have taken time to get them back.
On the 6th February, the Revolters launched their second takeover of London. They had never fully left, making sure their influence remained. However, they had remained outside of London for the past few months, letting events play out for themselves.
Now however, the revolting peasants decided to launch another direct takeover of London. They stormed London, retaking control of important buildings like the Tower of London. They demanded that Richard, with all of his ministers, came out into the streets of London to listen to their demands.
The 15 year old boy eventually agreed, holding his arms in the air to show that he wasn't a threat. The two sides would then negotiate on the laws in the open, in front of a crowd of peasants, which had gathered to watch the event.
In what has become known as Magna Carta Rustici (Peasants Great Charter), the Peasants laid out their demands. They wanted; Abolition of Serfdom, abolition of the Poll Tax, Increased pay for all peasants, minimum wage, inforcement of the law for paying less than minimum, abolishment of maximum wages.
The two sides argued back and forth over several days, gathering thousands of onlookers in the process. Richard and the nobles wanted to stop this, but Roger Moors and John Ball were able to counter the nobles, demanding everyone be allowed to see and know. Eventually, the two sides came to a compromise. Serfdom was abolised, as was the poll tax. A minimum wage was established, but it was lower than what the leaders had wished for. Punishments were establish, however most of these were minor. Maximum Wages weren't abolished entirely, but were changed to be based on how much of a product was produced, the more produced, the higher the maximum wage was placed. The peasantry was fine with this arrangement, although added in that the minimum wage was also included in this, to make sure that the nobility could take advantage of this too heavily. This would mark the first moment in the slow transition of England from a feudal society, to a capitalist one.
The nobility and peasantry agreed to this, although reluctant to do so. Neither had gotten exactly what they had wanted, but it was good enough for the time being. Celebrations were had throughout England as peasants finally had at least some rights, some freedom. The Revolt had come to an end, for the most part, those that participated in the revolt remained in London for several months to make sure there was no trickery involved (at the request of Roger Moors). The active fighting was over. However that didn't mean that tensions were gone. The balance between Nobility and Peasantry was very fine, and the wrong move could see the two sides launch back into fighting once again.
Richard knew this, the Peasant Revolt had humbled the young king, showing him that his crown wasn't infallible; power could be snatched from him by both Nobility and Peasantry. He knew he would always have to walk the fine line between both sides.
The success of the Revolt would also have knock-on effects throughout Europe. Seeing the success of the revolt in England, many groups tried their hand at the same thing. Most of these didn't prove to be as effective as the English one, and were put down easily. One that did achieve some success was in France. The French saw the King's weakness as to why they were being invaded by England, as it was the succession crisis that led to the war to begin with.
Deciding to have their own revolt on the king, led by a man by the name of Bernard Monte, they rampaged through the countryside. This put King Charles VI of France between English Soldiers taking and Peasant Revolutionaries calling for his abdication. This allowed England further advantage in the war, although this was undermined somewhat, as the revolutionaries fought against the English with what ever chance they could get.
The English Peasant Revolt had lit a fire under Europe, paving the way for change in the system, change that would culminate over centuries.
A/N: And that is all for now, I hope you enjoyed. Now we are starting to see not only how this alternate Revolt has affected England, but also Europe as a whole. Not much to begin with, but it is the first piece. How will things advance from here? We shall see in time...
Thank you all for reading this TL so far, the feedback is aways appreciated. See you next Chapter!
Forcing the Hand
1382
The Battle of Dorchester has been a key moment in the revolt. John Ball used this victory as proof of the revolt being ordained by God to liberate the people and the kings against the vile nobility. The movement comtinued to gain momentum as time went on. By 1382 the number of active participants spiking to 120,000 by February, with a reported 1 million in open support.
Richard II and his advisors were in a tough spot, they needed to keep the support of the nobles, lest he be overthrown, but not accepting the peasants demands would entail chaos, with deposition also a possibility. He needed to try and find a compromise that would keep both sides happy. The main army was still busy in France, and having to nring back the army to deal with the revolt would be rather embarrassing, not to mention that it would have taken time to get them back.
On the 6th February, the Revolters launched their second takeover of London. They had never fully left, making sure their influence remained. However, they had remained outside of London for the past few months, letting events play out for themselves.
Now however, the revolting peasants decided to launch another direct takeover of London. They stormed London, retaking control of important buildings like the Tower of London. They demanded that Richard, with all of his ministers, came out into the streets of London to listen to their demands.
The 15 year old boy eventually agreed, holding his arms in the air to show that he wasn't a threat. The two sides would then negotiate on the laws in the open, in front of a crowd of peasants, which had gathered to watch the event.
In what has become known as Magna Carta Rustici (Peasants Great Charter), the Peasants laid out their demands. They wanted; Abolition of Serfdom, abolition of the Poll Tax, Increased pay for all peasants, minimum wage, inforcement of the law for paying less than minimum, abolishment of maximum wages.
The two sides argued back and forth over several days, gathering thousands of onlookers in the process. Richard and the nobles wanted to stop this, but Roger Moors and John Ball were able to counter the nobles, demanding everyone be allowed to see and know. Eventually, the two sides came to a compromise. Serfdom was abolised, as was the poll tax. A minimum wage was established, but it was lower than what the leaders had wished for. Punishments were establish, however most of these were minor. Maximum Wages weren't abolished entirely, but were changed to be based on how much of a product was produced, the more produced, the higher the maximum wage was placed. The peasantry was fine with this arrangement, although added in that the minimum wage was also included in this, to make sure that the nobility could take advantage of this too heavily. This would mark the first moment in the slow transition of England from a feudal society, to a capitalist one.
The nobility and peasantry agreed to this, although reluctant to do so. Neither had gotten exactly what they had wanted, but it was good enough for the time being. Celebrations were had throughout England as peasants finally had at least some rights, some freedom. The Revolt had come to an end, for the most part, those that participated in the revolt remained in London for several months to make sure there was no trickery involved (at the request of Roger Moors). The active fighting was over. However that didn't mean that tensions were gone. The balance between Nobility and Peasantry was very fine, and the wrong move could see the two sides launch back into fighting once again.
Richard knew this, the Peasant Revolt had humbled the young king, showing him that his crown wasn't infallible; power could be snatched from him by both Nobility and Peasantry. He knew he would always have to walk the fine line between both sides.
The success of the Revolt would also have knock-on effects throughout Europe. Seeing the success of the revolt in England, many groups tried their hand at the same thing. Most of these didn't prove to be as effective as the English one, and were put down easily. One that did achieve some success was in France. The French saw the King's weakness as to why they were being invaded by England, as it was the succession crisis that led to the war to begin with.
Deciding to have their own revolt on the king, led by a man by the name of Bernard Monte, they rampaged through the countryside. This put King Charles VI of France between English Soldiers taking and Peasant Revolutionaries calling for his abdication. This allowed England further advantage in the war, although this was undermined somewhat, as the revolutionaries fought against the English with what ever chance they could get.
The English Peasant Revolt had lit a fire under Europe, paving the way for change in the system, change that would culminate over centuries.
A/N: And that is all for now, I hope you enjoyed. Now we are starting to see not only how this alternate Revolt has affected England, but also Europe as a whole. Not much to begin with, but it is the first piece. How will things advance from here? We shall see in time...
Thank you all for reading this TL so far, the feedback is aways appreciated. See you next Chapter!
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