The governing classes of England, who at this time were
mainly landowners, believed that the workers were taking an unfair advantage of
the situation. So in 1351 A.D. Parliament passed a law fixing the maximum wage
in different occupations and punishing with imprisonment those who refused to
accept work when it was offered to them. The fact that Parliament had to
reenact this law thirteen times within the next century shows that it did not
succeed in preventing a general rise of wages. It only exasperated the working
classes.
THE PEASANTS' REBELLION, 1381 A.D.
A few years after the first Statute of Laborers the
restlessness and discontent among the masses led to a serious outbreak. It was
one of the few attempts at violent revolution which the English working people
have made. One of the inspirers of the rebellion was a wandering priest named
John Ball. He went about preaching that all goods should be held in common and
the distinction between lords and serfs wiped away. "When Adam delved and
Eve span, who was then the gentleman?" asked John Ball. Uprisings occurred
in nearly every part of England, but the one in Kent had most importance. The
rioters marched on London and presented their demands to the youthful king,
Richard II. He promised to abolish serfdom and to give them a free pardon. As
soon, however, as Richard had gathered an army, he put down the revolt by force
and hanged John Ball and about a hundred of his followers.
