ichard became King of England in 1377 when his grandfather, King Edward III, died. Richard's father, the Black Prince, had died in 1376 and this had left Richard heir to the English throne. After his father's death Richard was brought up by his mother Joan. Joan had previously been married to the Earl of Kent and had other sons by this marriage as well. In 1377, King Edward III died and Richard became King of England. As he was only 10 years old at the time and too young to rule unaided his eldest uncle, John of Gaunt, became protector of both England and Richard. John of Gaunt and his brother Thomas Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester formed a councill with twelve members whose purpose it was to ensure that the country was governed until Richard was old enough to rule unaided. At this period of time the country was trying to recover from the effects of the Black Death that had led to the death of a large proportion of the population, not only in England, but across Europe as well. It was a time when England was at war with France and taxes needed to be raised pay for it. The Peasant's Revolt
In 1381 a series of revolts erupted in England protesting against the enforced collection of high taxes. Some tax collectors were killed as they tried to gather the taxes. Several separate revolts began in different parts of the country including Yorkshire and Kent but the separate rebel groups all headed for London to join forces under the leadership of the mysterious Wat Tyler. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Simon of Sudbury, was killed by the rebels. Richard II met the rebels twice in London, first at Mile End and then at Smithfield the following day. At this second meeting Wat Tyler was killed and the peasants were only prevented in escalating their violence by Richard himself. He bravely rode towards the rebels and promised that their grievances would be heard.
