Repeated outbreaks of the Black Death left English workers in short supply, letting them push for higher pay and better conditions. The crown responded with laws like the 1351 Statute of Labourers, which tried to freeze wages. In 1381 a flat poll tax of 12 pence per person fell hardest on poorer families, and crowds attacked tax collectors, burned records of their obligations and marched on London. The young King Richard II promised to abolish the poll tax and serfdom, then his forces crushed the revolt and reversed those promises.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.