The royal government's response was reactionary, passing legislation to fix wages and prices, to prevent labourers from breaking contracts and to restrict the peasantry's access to luxury goods. To finance the wars against France, the Crown found increasingly novel ways of raising revenues: in 1377 a ‘Poll’ tax was instituted, to spread the cost across a wider segment of the population. Whilst it succeeded in raising far more revenue, it was inevitably unpopular. Nor did the extra money change the fortunes of the war – a second, and then a third round of taxes was levied, leading to more widespread evasion. King Richard II's commissioners – sent to identify defaulters and to reprimand those local officials who were failing to impose the tax – were met with resistance. In Essex,…
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Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy (Digital) - 1 Issue, WSS 134