CHAP. XVII. RICHARD II. [Years after Christ, 1377-1399.] Richard of Bordeaux was the only surviving child of Edward the Black Prince, and was proclaimed king on the -death of his grandfather. There was no regent appointed; but the young king's three uncles took the direction of affairs upon themselves. John of Gaunt, the eldest of the three had a high spirit, and great ambition. Being a man of activity and exertion, he had had, even in his father's lifetime, great authority in the state. The duke of York was well meaning but indolent, and of slender capacity. The duke of Gloucester was turbulent, bold and meddling; but John being the oldest, had the chief sway in their councils. Yet he soon showed himself ill qualified to be the leader of affairs, and plunged the country into great distresses by several unprofitable expeditions both into France and Scotland. A. D. 1381. A poll-tax of a shilling a head, levied on all persons throughout the kingdom above the age of fifteen, raised the discontents of the lower orders of the people to the greatest pitch. This tax was very oppressive in that age, when a shilling would buy ten times as much food as it will now buy, and was therefore equal to ten shillings at present, and very few poor people could earn a shilling. One of the persons employed to collect this tax having been killed in a quarrel with a tyler at Deptford, called Walter, a crowd collected; and from this small beginning a serious disturbance broke forth. Wat Tyler, as he is called, took upon himself the command of the insurgents, and sent messages into the neighboring counties, inviting Who was Richard II., and who were directors of English affairs during his minority? What tax was levied upon the English people in 1381, and why was it very oppressive? Who instigated the oppressed people to rebellion? the common people to join together, to shake off the yoke of servitude, and to take vengeance on their oppressive masters. The people willingly obeyed the summons, and leaving their employments, hastened to Blackheath, the place of rendezvous, burning the houses and plundering the estates of the nobility and gentry as they passed. The mob, when assembled at Blackheath, amounted to 300,000 men. Wat Tyler and another man, called from his business as a thresher, Jack Straw, were appointed leaders, and they all set off towards London. The king's uncles were absent from the kingdom; and this insurrection was so sudden, that no preparations had been made for checking it. The' king, with his mother, and a small number of the nobility, took refuge in the Tower of London. It is needless to repeat all the violences of this mob, but it is but justice to the courage of the young king to relate that he determined to meet these enraged people and hear their grievances. The next day, June the 14th, the king, with a few unarmed attendants, left the tower, and proceeded to the appointed place, where he found about 60,000persons assembled. The king, in a gentle manner, askeď them what they wanted. They replied, "they wanted the freedom of themselves and children." The king promised that their desire should be granted, and that, if they would return to their homes, he would give them charters for their freedom. Immediately thirty clerks were set to work to write these charters, which were given to all who demanded them, and immediately the mob dispersed, and every one returned peaceably and contentedly to his home. The freedom for which they asked was, probably, exemption from certain services to the superior classes, and from the slavery from which the people of England were not then entirely exempted. In the meantime Wat Tyler, with Jack Straw, and the How did the insurgents proceed? Did Richard manfully meet the insurgents? Did the king satisfy the insurgents? What was the freedom which the English people demanded ? most desperate of the party, instead of going with the others to meet the king at Mile-End, had broken into the Tower of London, and murdered the archbishop of Canterbury, the lord chancellor, and many other persons whom they found there. Their design was to seize on the young king, to murder all the nobility, and to plunder and then burn London. On the following day, June 15, these desperate men were stopped in their mad career. The king was passing through Smithfield, attended by the lord mayor and about sixty horsemen. Wat Tyler met them with 20,000 of the insurgents, and, riding up to the king, behaved with so much audacity, that Walworth, unable to endure the sight of this clown's insolence to his sovereign, drew his sword, and felled him to the ground with a blow. The rioters seemed for a moment stunned with surprise by the loss of their leader; and before they had time to recover themselves, the young king, with astonishing presence of mind, rode up to them, and said: "My friends, be not concerned for the loss of your unworthy leader. I will be your leader." And turning his horse, he rode into the open fields at the head of the multitude, who seemed to follow him unconsciously, and without knowing why. A cry, meanwhile, had arisen in the city. that the king had fallen into the hands of the rebels, and instantly some thousands of brave men flew to his rescue. When they appeared, the mob, seized with a panic, fell on their knees before the king, imploring his pardon, which he granted them, on condition that they dispersed and returned to their homes. This they all did: and thus the insurrection melted away, like snow in a sudden thaw. Richard's conduct during this disturbance naturally led his people to imagine that he had inherited the courage and vigor of mind of the Plantagenets: but the fair promise which he had thus given was soon blighted. He betrayed, as he advanced in age, a weakness and frivolity which made him totally unfit for the government of a king What happened at Smithfield, June 15th, 1381? What admirable presence of mind was exhibited by Richard II? What was the end of the insurrection? Did Richard II. sustain the character he manifested in youth? M* dom. His person was extraordinarily beautiful: he loved pomp and show, hated business, and was very fickle. When the ferment of the insurrection was over, and the country was restored to tranquillity, Richard revoked all the charters of freedom which he had given, and compelled the bond-tenants to return to their state of villanage, and perform all their accustomed services to their lords. During the next five years nothing material occurred, and the chief business of the parliament was to keep a check on the duke of Lancaster, who wanted to drain England of men and money to prosecute the claim on the crown of Castile which he possessed in right of his wife, who was daughter of Pedro the Cruel. It was long be. fore he could prevail on the parliament to grant the necessary supplies. Lancaster raised a large army, and, A. D. 1386. taking the duchess and his three daughters with him, sailed for Spain. He landed at Corunna, and his troops were suffered to overrun the province of Gallicia without much opposition; for the king of Castile, who was son of Henry of Trastamare, trusting that the same causes would destroy the forces of the duke of Lancaster which had formerly been so fatal to those of the Black Prince, avoided meeting him in the field. This enterprise did not obtain the crown of Castile, but after much fruitless fighting, Lancaster withdrew his claim, and married one of his daughters to the king of Portugal, and another to the prince royal of Castile, the daughter of Henry Trastamare. The duke was well pleased at having thus secured the crown to his posterity, and returned to England in 1389. During the three years of Lancaster's absence, Richard, by his abuse of the royal power in displacing the officers of the government, and putting in their places his own idle favorites, had made himself exceedingly unpopular. The parliament had also made great stretches of power; had From 1381 to 1386, what occurred in England? What army, for the conquest of Castile, was raised by John of Gaunt? What was the result of Lancaster's expedition? Did Richard II. lose his popularity with the English nation? condemned and imprisoned one of the king's chief favorites, Michael de la Pole, earl of Suffolk, and obliged the king to sign a commission of regency to fourteen noblemen, thus divesting himself of all authority. The duke of Gloucester was at the head of the party against his nephew, and, not contented with reducing him to be a mere cypher, determined to destroy every friend that remained to him. Richard, though he had assembled around him so many vicious characters, had still preserved his respect for sir Simon Burleigh, a good and venerable old man, who had been appointed his tutor by the Black Prince, by whom he had been greatly esteemed. Neither that circumstance, nor Burleigh's age and virtue, could preserve him from the malice of Gloucester, who procured his condemnation on a pretended charge of high treason. And though the queen of Bohemia, Anne, remained on her knees three hours before the inexorable Gloucester, entreating for his life, he was executed as a common traitor. De la Pole and a few others saved their lives by a timely flight. The rest of the king's favorites were put to death. In this year was fought the battle of OtA. D. 1388. terburn, between the English and Scots, in which Lord Douglas was killed, and Henry Percy, better known as Harry Hotspur, was taken prisoner. It was an engagement of no material consequence, but Shakspeare has made it celebrated. After a quiet submission of about a year and a half to his uncle's tyranny, Richard suddenly roused himself into exertion, and asserted his own right to hold the reins of government. He took the great seal from archbishop Arundel, a creature of the duke of Gloucester, and gave it to William of Wykeham, and acted with so much sense and vigor, that Gloucester and his party were thunderstruck, and relinquished their assumed authority. duke, however, was not of a character to submit patiently; The Who plotted the destruction of Richard, and who was his best friend? How was sir Simon Burleigh treated? What battle was fought by the English in 1388 ? Did Richard ever act with energy? |