The Poll Tax was first brought into Britain in the 14th Century by the child King Richard II.

It was raised three times, in 1377, 1379 and 1381. It was slightly different in each year it was raised.

In 1381 it was levied across the population on an equal basis. Every person in England aged 15 or over had to pay one shilling. This was seen as extraordinarily inequitable by the peasants in particular.

If you were well off, a shilling was nothing. However if you were poor a shilling was extremely difficult to pay.

There had been resentment among peasants for some time about how the country was ruled. The Black Death which killed between a third and a half of the population between 1349 and 1351 had led to a growing demand for labour.

The government tried to control this by passing the Statute of Labourers Act 1351 which meant that it was very difficult to change employer, and wages were held at old levels.

The setting of the tax in 1381 at 3 groats (a groat was 4 pence, therefore the tax was 12 pence or a shilling) caused all the built-in frustrations to well up in one go.

The revolt was led by John Bull, Wat Tyler and Jack Straw, three famous names in England even today. For example, you will find a Wat Tyler Road in Blackheath and a Jack Straw pub in Hampstead.

A common cry of the peasants’ revolt, first introduced by the priest John Bull, was:

When Adam delved and Eve span who was then the gentleman?

The revolt was eventually put down, but only after significant damage and death. John of Gaunt, who was the Regent for the child King, had his London palace, the Savoy, burnt down.

A number of other buildings in London were burnt, the Tower of London was successfully stormed, and the Lord Chancellor who was also the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Lord Treasurer were both executed by the mob.

Margaret Thatcher failed to learn from the example of the 14th Century, and tried to introduce the Poll Tax in the late 1980s.

This led to the Poll Tax Riots in 1990, and was a major in factor in Thatcher’s downfall later in the same year.

Peter the Great had a similar go at a Poll Tax, instead he called it a Soul Tax. This was in 1718, and if you didn’t believe that you had a soul because you were an atheist, you didn’t have to pay it. Instead you had to pay religious dissenter tax which amounted to exactly the same sum.