What is Jacquerie? This is one of the most mass actions of the peasantry in the entire history of the world. In the short time of the uprising, about 100 thousand people turned out to be under its banner. Including, in addition to the peasants themselves, the urban poor and artisans who are not indifferent to the future and fate of the Motherland.
Backstory. Background of the uprising
To answer the question of what a Jacquerie is, you need to go back 700 years and understand what the situation was in the world. At the turn of the XIII-XIV centuries in Europe there was a rather turbulent situation. There were wars, revelry, the plague raged. The royal power was still very weak to cope with the big feudal lords. Therefore, the crown depended on the mood of the landowners.
In 1348, a new wave of plague began, claiming, according to various estimates, from 1/3 to ½ of the population of France. There were fewer workers, so the value of labor increased, but a decision was made to ban wage increases, which also left an imprint on the internal situation. That is why the world knows what a Jacquerie is.
Besides this, there was a bloody war with England, and in the middle of the XIV century, France was defeated. The Battle of Poitiers, which took place in 1356, became the immediate prerequisite for the uprising. The French were utterly defeated, and their king was captured and was forced to sign an unfavorable peace, when almost half of the territory of France went into English use. That is why the world knows what a Jacquerie is.
Reason for the Jacquerie uprising
The defeat at Poitiers and the events that followed it, the plight of the common population, the struggle for the French throne… These are the main reasons for the Jacquerie uprising.
After the defeat at Poitiers, the Estates General were convened to resolve domestic political problems and external threats. The representative body decided to introduce new taxes, which placed a heavy burden on the shoulders of the peasantry and townspeople. Etienne Marcel stood at its head. In addition, the dauphin, the heir to the throne, Charles, bent his “line”. Everyone wanted to take power into their own hands. The Estates General wanted to get rid of royal power, while the Dauphin, on the contrary, as a direct heir, wanted to keep it. Civil strife has begun.
In order to understand what Jacquerie is, one should determine the place of the peasantry in the life of the state. Mentioned above was the fact that the population was declining as a result of the plague and the increase in the value of labor due to the decrease in labor. From that moment on, the peasantry begins to realize its importance in the state system and openly show it. But inAmong the powerful population and we althy strata, the nickname "Jacques the simpleton" was assigned to the peasantry. The peasants were treated with derision and some kind of superiority. By the way, it was this humiliating nickname that gave the name - the Jacquerie uprising.
Progress of the uprising
The uprising began with the fact that the peasants in Bovezi, in one of the battles with the troops of the Dauphin, killed several knights, in response to being forced to work to strengthen the approaches to the city. The result of this was the wrath of the heir to the throne, released on the entire peasantry. The territory covered by the uprising turned out to be the whole of northern France. An outstanding organizer of the rallying of the masses was Guillaume Cal, who had a military education, but was himself a peasant. Under his leadership, the uprising of Jacquerie began in 1358. In a short time, several tens of thousands of people came under his banner. Some chroniclers give the figure of 100 thousand people, which shows the scope of the movement. The uprising threatened the royal power in the person of the Dauphin and the States General.
E. Marseille even entered into an alliance with Cal, however, if the latter knew how this alliance would end, he would never go for it. Etienne, in addition to the agreement with Kal, conspired with Charles the Evil (in fact, with the enemy, who was an English feudal lord). Charles the Evil summoned Guillaume to negotiations, and he, without even taking hostages to guarantee, guided by the support of Marseille, went alone to conclude an agreement with Charles. As expected, Kal was captured, tortured for a long time, and finally executed. Rebellion withoutorganizer sharply declined and a few months later completely quieted down. The reasons for the Jacquerie were characteristic of many cities and states of Europe at that time, but it was in France that the uprising had such a grandiose scope and consequences.
Results and historical significance
Jacquerie was crushed by force. The knights did not constrain themselves in actions: executions took place everywhere in the active areas of the uprising, the dauphin's henchmen committed violence against the civilian population, the massacre lasted several weeks. But at the same time, it cannot be said that the uprising passed unnoticed. Those in power after Jacquerie began to reckon with the opinion of the peasantry and the urban poor. After the suppression, a series of reforms began - economic, political, social and changes regarding the army. As a result, France began to win major victories over the English invaders and Charles V managed to liberate almost the entire territory from the invaders.
Thus, Jacquerie gave a powerful impetus to the comprehensive development of the French state.
