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Wat Tyler

Reformers and Civil Rights Activists

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Wat Tyler (died 1381) was an English rebel leader who led the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, one of the largest popular uprisings in medieval English history. Marching with a large group of rebels from Kent to London, he led opposition to a regressive poll tax and demanded broader economic and social reforms, including an end to serfdom. The revolt briefly succeeded in occupying London and securing an audience with the young King Richard II, but during negotiations at Smithfield, Tyler was killed by officers loyal to the king, and the revolt collapsed shortly afterward. The uprising remains a landmark episode in the history of English popular protest.

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