4. When Flanders Rose Up in Revolt
The Flanders Peasant Revolt of 1323 – 1328 was a massive uprising of peasants and burghers in Flanders. It went down in history as one of the most violent insurrections of the Middle Ages. The rebellion was sparked by a recent imposition of onerous taxation by Flanders’ new ruler, Count Louis I. To make things worse, the count had also adopted unpopular pro-French policies. They were seen as detrimental to the financial interests of most in Flanders, whose economy revolved around trade with England.
The revolt was a class protest by peasants who had hitherto enjoyed self-government, a privileged form of land tenancy, and legal protections against aristocratic abuses. All of those rights were now threatened by the new ruler. The peasants found allies in the cities’ burghers. The urban dwellers’ struggle to keep and expand their hard-won liberties was also threatened by Flanders’ count, and his ally, the king of France. After a poor harvest in 1323, the revolt began with scattered rural riots that erupted late that year, when the peasants refused to pay taxes to Count Louis.
