What is Jacqueria? This is one of the most mass protests of the peasantry in world history. In a short time of the uprising, under its banners were about 100 thousand people. Including, in addition to the peasants themselves, the urban poor and artisans who are not indifferent to the future and the fate of the Motherland.
Background. The background of the uprising
To answer the question, what is Jacquerie, you need to go back 700 years and understand what kind of situation prevailed in the world. At the turn of the XIII-XIV centuries in Europe there was a rather turbulent situation. There were wars, revelry, a plague raged. The royal power was still very weak to cope with large feudal lords. Therefore, the crown depended on the mood of the landowners.
In 1348, a new wave of plague began, which, according to various estimates, carried away from 1/3 to ½ of the population of France. There were fewer working hands, so the value of labor increased, but a decision was made to prohibit raising wages, which also left an imprint on the internal situation. That is why the world has learned what Jacqueria is.
In addition, there was a bloody war with England, and in the middle of the XIV century, France was defeated. The battle of Poitiers, held in 1356, became an immediate prerequisite for the uprising. The French were utterly defeated, and their king was captured and forced to sign a disadvantageous peace when almost half of the territory of France went into English use. That is why the world has learned what Jacqueria is.
Reasons for the Rebellion of Jacqueria
The defeat at Poitiers and the events that followed him, the plight of the common population, the struggle for the French throne ... These are the main reasons for the rebellion of Jacquerie.
After the defeat at Poitiers, the General States were convened to solve internal 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 citizens. Etienne Marcel was at its head. In addition, the Dauphin, the heir to the throne, Carl, bent his “line”. Everyone wanted to take power in their own hands. The General States wanted to get rid of royal power, while the Dauphin, on the contrary, wanted to preserve it as a direct heir. The feud began.
In order to understand what Jacqueria is, one must determine the place of the peasantry in the life of the state. It was mentioned above that the population was reduced as a result of the plague and the increase in the value of labor due to a decrease in labor. From this moment the peasantry begins to realize its significance in the state system and openly show it. But in the midst of the power of the propertied population and wealthy strata, the peasantry was given the nickname "Jacques the simpleton." The peasants were treated with mockery and some kind of superiority. By the way, it was this humiliating nickname that gave the name - the rebellion of Jacquerie.
Course of the uprising
The uprising began with the fact that the peasants in Bovezi in one of the battles with the Dauphin troops killed several knights, in response to coercion to work to strengthen the approaches to the city. The result was the wrath of the heir to the throne, released to the whole peasantry. The territory covered by the uprising turned out to be the whole of northern France. The 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 rebellion of Jacquerie began in 1358. In a short time, several tens of thousands of people passed under his banners. Some chroniclers call the figure 100 thousand people, which shows the scope of the movement. The uprising threatened royal power in the person of the Dauphin and the General States.
E. Marcel even entered into an alliance with Kale, however, if the latter knew how this alliance would end, he would never have made it. Etienne, in addition to the contract with Kalem, conspired with Charles the Evil (in fact, with the enemy, who was an English feudal lord). Karl Evil summoned Guillaume to negotiations, and he, without even taking hostages for a guarantee, guided by the support of Marcel, went alone to conclude an agreement with Karl. As expected, Kalya was seized, tortured for a long time, and finally executed. The uprising without an organizer abruptly subsided and after a few months completely subsided. The reasons for Jacqueria 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 their actions: executions were everywhere in active regions of the uprising, Dauphin minions committed violence against civilians, and the massacre lasted several weeks. But at the same time it cannot be said that the uprising passed unnoticed. The powers that be 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 relating to the army. As a result, France began to gain major victories over the British invaders and Charles V managed to free almost the entire territory of the invaders.
Thus, Jacquerie gave a powerful impetus to the comprehensive development of the French state.