World History

Uncle Joe

(60,265 posts) Wed May 1, 2024, 05:26 PM May 2024

The people are revolting - the history of protest

The people are revolting!

Struggling against the powerful is a tradition that stretches back generations. Change is often presented as a gift granted by the powerful, but it has much to do with the struggle and sacrifice of those from below.

From wealthy barons taking on an arbitrary king to the demands of the 99% today, protest has changed the world. It is as powerful a weapon of change as it has ever been.

1215
Unlocking the power of protest

Back in the 13th Century, many of the English were serfs who were at the mercy of feudal lords.

Many barons – descendants of the 1066 Norman invaders – resented being subjects of such a powerful monarchy. In an attempt to make peace, what became known as Magna Carta gave these barons legal protection against arbitrary monarchical rule. Most English people were left without individual rights and the barons ended up launching an insurrection against King John anyway. Magna Carta was later appropriated by those resisting authority, not least during the 17th Century English civil war.

1381
The Peasants’ Revolt

It was one of the great revolts of medieval Europe, only three decades since the Black Death, and many English subjects were angered by the poll tax.

Led by Wat Tyler, rebels marched from Kent and Essex to London. Some leaders even challenged the existence of the class system. When assembled at Blackheath, Lollard priest John Ball preached equality for all. The Archbishop of Canterbury and key royal officials were killed, but King Richard II reasserted the Crown’s control. Promises made were later reneged on, and Wat Tyler was killed, along with hundreds of others. But feudalism was on its way out, and the plight of many peasants did improve.

(snip)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/articles/zdpdgwx