Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years' War
In 1435 Bedford died and sworn enemies Charles VII and Phillip, Duke of Burgundy joined forces to get the English out and with Henry VI reluctance to wage war and to maintain peace by marrying Margaret of Anjou. Charles had no intention of peace and used cannon and sieges to retake France and Normandy culminating in the defeat of the English at the Battle of Castillon in the last English territory of Gascony ending the hundred years war.
Peasants' Revolt
Another factor in the revolt of 1381 was the conduct of the war with France. In 1337 Edward III of England had pressed his claims to the French throne, beginning a long-running conflict that became known as the Hundred Years' War. Edward had initial successes, but his campaigns were not decisive. Charles V of France became more active in the conflict after 1369, taking advantage of his country's greater economic strength to commence cross-Channel raids on England. By the 1370s, England's armies on the continent were under huge military and financial pressure; the garrisons in Calais and Brest alone, for example, were costing £36,000 a year to maintain, while military expeditions could consume £50,000 in only six months. Edward died in 1377, leaving the throne to his grandson, Richard II, then only ten years old.