The Peasant's War was driven by famine, poverty, high taxes, and the teachings of which reformer?

• A. Famine, poverty, high taxes, and Luther's teachings
• B. Religious reform caused by Calvin
• C. Economic hardship with limited remedies by authorities
• D. Military leadership of Columbus

Answer: (A)

The situation shows how economic distress and new religious ideas can intersect to spark social upheaval. Famine, poverty, and heavy taxation created real desperation for many peasants, who sought relief from burdensome duties and privileges that kept them tethered to landowners. At the same time, Martin Luther’s Reformation offered a new way of looking at authority and change: scripture and faith, rather than inherited privilege, increasingly seemed to justify reform and questioned whether traditional rulers had a God-given right to impose harsh conditions on people. Peasants and townspeople drew on these reform-era ideas to argue that unjust social arrangements should be altered, not merely accepted. Luther’s writings gave theological language to challenge established authorities, contributing to the sense that reform was possible and legitimate, even as he later condemned the uprising and urged rulers to suppress it. That combination—economic strain plus reformist thought—best explains what fueled the Peasant War, rather than influences from Calvin, or unrelated figures like Columbus.