Jack Cade
Encyclopedia
Jack Cade was the leader of a popular revolt
in the 1450 Kent
rebellion during the reign of King Henry VI
in England
. He died on the 12th July 1450 near Lewes
. In response to grievances, Cade led an army of as many as 5,000 against London
, causing the King to flee to Warwickshire
. After taking and looting London, the rebels were defeated in a battle at London Bridge
and scattered. Promised pardons and reforms, many of the rebels were instead declared traitors, and Cade was killed in a small skirmish on 12th July 1450.
and his death on the way to France.
In the spring of 1450, Cade organized the issue of The Complaint of the Poor Commons of Kent
, a manifesto listing grievances against the government — grievances not only of the people but of several MP
s, lords and magnates. Because Cade was the man organizing the common people’s complaints and trying to get the King to fix the problems, people gave him the nickname “John Mend-all” or “John Amend-all,” although nobody is sure if he chose the name himself or not (Carroll 491).
The first complaint was that Cade’s followers from Kent were being blamed for the death of the Duke of Suffolk when really they were not to blame. Despite the fact that people were aware of the peasants’ anger towards the Duke—and also that those peasants had been attempting to purge England of corrupt higher officials—the Bill of Complaints dismisses the idea that the rebels were responsible (Simons 176). Cade’s list of complaints goes on to charge King Henry VI of injustice, in that he chose not to impeach his underlings and Lords even though they were guilty of treason or unlawful acts. In essence, the rebels were angry due to the injustices in the government and decided to revolt against the King unless he agreed to fix and punish the wealthy men who deserved it (Simons 179).
A cause of the rebellion that was not listed in Cade’s bill of complaints was the anger many Englishmen felt over the fighting against France in Normandy. Norman soldiers, French armies, and even roaming English soldiers were attacking the coastal areas in England such as Kent and Sussex as the battles overseas continued. After the final loss of Normandy, rumors emerged in the coastal regions of England that France was planning on attacking England further. These fears and continuous unrest in the coastal counties inspired many of the Englishmen to rally in an attempt to force the King to address their problems or abdicate his place on the throne so that someone more competent may take his place (Mate 673).
In early June, about 5,000 rebels gathered at Blackheath
, south-east of London
. They were mostly peasants but their numbers were swelled by shopkeepers, craftsmen, a few landowners (the list of pardoned shows the presence of one knight, two MPs and eighteen squires) and a number of soldiers and sailors returning via Kent from the French wars. While the King sought refuge in Warwickshire
the rebels advanced to Southwark
, at the southern end of London Bridge
. They set up headquarters in The White Hart inn before crossing the bridge on 3 July 1450.
They stopped at the London Stone
, which Cade struck with his sword and declared himself Lord Mayor in the traditional manner (thereby also symbolically reclaiming the country for the Mortimers to whom he claimed to be related). He then led them on to the Guildhall
and then to the Tower to make the demands in full. James Fiennes, 1st Baron Saye and Sele
, the Lord High Treasurer was captured and beheaded, along with a few other favourites of the King including his son-in-law William Crowmer, a previous High Sheriff of Kent
and their heads put on pikes and made to kiss each other. Many of the rebels, including Cade himself, then proceeded to loot London, although Cade had made frequent promises not to do so during the march to the capital.
When his army returned over the bridge (which was regularly closed at night) to Southwark, the London officials made preparations to stop Cade re-crossing into the city. The next day, at about ten in the evening a battle broke out on London Bridge and lasted until eight the next morning, when the rebels retreated with heavy casualties.
(Lord Chancellor
) persuaded Cade to call off his followers by issuing official pardons, and promising to fulfill the demands in Cade's manifesto.
Although Henry VI had pardoned Jack Cade and his followers, the King put out the Writ and Proclamation by the King for the Taking of Cade shortly after the rebellion was over. This document voided the previously issued pardons. The King claimed that he revoked these pardons because the letters of pardon had not been approved by the Parliament. Furthermore, the document accused John Cade of murdering “a woman with child” while he was in Sussex, which the King used to discredit Cade (Simons 181). The King’s proclamation charged Cade with deceiving the people of England to assemble with him in his rebellion and stated that none of the King’s subjects should join Cade or help him in any way. A sum of 1,000 marks was promised for the body of Cade, dead or alive, delivered to the King (Simons, 182). Jack Cade fled towards Lewes, but was overtaken by Alexander Iden, a future High Sheriff of Kent
, who killed him in a garden in which he had taken shelter and went on to claim the reward.
Cade was not the only one prosecuted, but rather all of his followers and all the participants in his rebellion were sought out in a royal commission led by the Duke of Buckingham. This search for Cade’s rebels occurred in and around the area of the revolt: Blackhearth, Canterbury—which was on the road leading to London—and also the counties in which Cade had found many of his followers, such as the coastal areas of Sheppey and Faversham. The inquiries about the hidings of Cade’s rebels, performed by the many Bishops and Justices, were so thorough that in Canterbury (the first area searched by the commission) eight followers were quickly found and hanged (Simons 157).
The Jack Cade Rebellion was quieted and dismissed shortly after Cade’s death, but the feeling of rebellion in England did not die down so easily. For example, it inspired ideas of revolt in many other counties in England besides Kent. Many of Cade’s followers from the county of Sussex, such as the yeomen brothers John and William Merfold, organized their own rebellion against King Henry VI. Unlike Jack Cade’s revolt, however, the men in Sussex took Cade’s ideas a step further in that they made declarations to reform that were much more radical and aggressive (Mate 664). This animosity could have been due to the fact that the King had gone back on his proclamation of pardon for Jack Cade, which made many of the rebels distrust the King’s government.
The suspicion that the King wanted all followers of Cade dead inspired the rebels to take a more drastic view of the reformation of English rule. They stated that the men of Sussex planned on killing the King and all his Lords, replacing them with twelve of the rioters’ own men. These revolts organized by the young Sussex men rallied smaller numbers of followers than that of the Cade rebellion, but still had an effect on the societies in England. For example, all the riots and looting taking place in English counties gave people an excuse to go on rampages of destruction for their own personal gain while being absolved of blame by claiming that their behavior was a rebellion against the King (Mate 666).
The unlawful behavior of these later rebels can be seen as having been directly inspired by Jack Cade: he participated in similar behaviors during the initial riot (Bohna 563). These minor revolts did produce an amount of deaths and caused a shifting atmosphere of peace and then rebellion in England for years after the initial Jack Cade Rebellion. Also, the larger battles over the crown of England, known as the Wars of the Roses
, were clearly inspired by views of Cade’s rebels, especially since one of the requests in Cade’s manifesto, the Requests by the Captain of the Great Assembly of Kent, outright informs the King that the mass of rebels and followers wished for the Duke of York to be returned from exile and to take the place of the corrupt Dukes under King Henry VI’s rule (Simons 179).
Popular revolt in late medieval Europe
Popular revolts in late medieval Europe were uprisings and rebellions by peasants in the countryside, or the bourgeois in towns, against nobles, abbots and kings during the upheavals of the 14th through early 16th centuries, part of a larger "Crisis of the Late Middle Ages"...
in the 1450 Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
rebellion during the reign of King Henry VI
Henry VI of England
Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He died on the 12th July 1450 near Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
. In response to grievances, Cade led an army of as many as 5,000 against London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, causing the King to flee to Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
. After taking and looting London, the rebels were defeated in a battle at London Bridge
London Bridge
London Bridge is a bridge over the River Thames, connecting the City of London and Southwark, in central London. Situated between Cannon Street Railway Bridge and Tower Bridge, it forms the western end of the Pool of London...
and scattered. Promised pardons and reforms, many of the rebels were instead declared traitors, and Cade was killed in a small skirmish on 12th July 1450.
Origins
In the years preceding the rebellion, the animosity that the lower classes in England had for Henry VI grew. Surrounded by advisors that were considered ineffectual, corruption grew throughout the Kent area while taxes were continually raised to feed into the Hundred Years War in France. Henry VI favoured peace with France, and ignored advice from nobles that advised continued war. Internecine fighting in court eventually led to the banishment of William de la Pole, 1st Duke of SuffolkWilliam de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk
William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, KG , nicknamed Jack Napes , was an important English soldier and commander in the Hundred Years' War, and later Lord Chamberlain of England.He also appears prominently in William Shakespeare's Henry VI, part 1 and Henry VI, part 2 and other...
and his death on the way to France.
In the spring of 1450, Cade organized the issue of The Complaint of the Poor Commons of Kent
The Complaint of the Poor Commons of Kent
The Complaint of the Poor Commons of Kent was a manifesto issued by Jack Cade, a Kentish rebel in 1450, before his march on London. The 'popular grievances' from this manifesto were frequently quoted by the Yorkists during The Wars of the Roses, for propaganda purposes.-External links:* ,...
, a manifesto listing grievances against the government — grievances not only of the people but of several MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
s, lords and magnates. Because Cade was the man organizing the common people’s complaints and trying to get the King to fix the problems, people gave him the nickname “John Mend-all” or “John Amend-all,” although nobody is sure if he chose the name himself or not (Carroll 491).
The first complaint was that Cade’s followers from Kent were being blamed for the death of the Duke of Suffolk when really they were not to blame. Despite the fact that people were aware of the peasants’ anger towards the Duke—and also that those peasants had been attempting to purge England of corrupt higher officials—the Bill of Complaints dismisses the idea that the rebels were responsible (Simons 176). Cade’s list of complaints goes on to charge King Henry VI of injustice, in that he chose not to impeach his underlings and Lords even though they were guilty of treason or unlawful acts. In essence, the rebels were angry due to the injustices in the government and decided to revolt against the King unless he agreed to fix and punish the wealthy men who deserved it (Simons 179).
A cause of the rebellion that was not listed in Cade’s bill of complaints was the anger many Englishmen felt over the fighting against France in Normandy. Norman soldiers, French armies, and even roaming English soldiers were attacking the coastal areas in England such as Kent and Sussex as the battles overseas continued. After the final loss of Normandy, rumors emerged in the coastal regions of England that France was planning on attacking England further. These fears and continuous unrest in the coastal counties inspired many of the Englishmen to rally in an attempt to force the King to address their problems or abdicate his place on the throne so that someone more competent may take his place (Mate 673).
Rebellion
These assemblies and rallies started to take shape in May of 1450, when the rebels began to join together in an organized fashion and prepare to force themselves upon London (Bohna 563).In early June, about 5,000 rebels gathered at Blackheath
Blackheath, London
Blackheath is a district of South London, England. It is named from the large open public grassland which separates it from Greenwich to the north and Lewisham to the west...
, south-east of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. They were mostly peasants but their numbers were swelled by shopkeepers, craftsmen, a few landowners (the list of pardoned shows the presence of one knight, two MPs and eighteen squires) and a number of soldiers and sailors returning via Kent from the French wars. While the King sought refuge in Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
the rebels advanced to Southwark
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
, at the southern end of London Bridge
London Bridge
London Bridge is a bridge over the River Thames, connecting the City of London and Southwark, in central London. Situated between Cannon Street Railway Bridge and Tower Bridge, it forms the western end of the Pool of London...
. They set up headquarters in The White Hart inn before crossing the bridge on 3 July 1450.
They stopped at the London Stone
London Stone
The London Stone is a historic stone that is now set within a Portland stone surround and iron grille on Cannon Street, in the City of London.-Features:...
, which Cade struck with his sword and declared himself Lord Mayor in the traditional manner (thereby also symbolically reclaiming the country for the Mortimers to whom he claimed to be related). He then led them on to the Guildhall
Guildhall, London
The Guildhall is a building in the City of London, off Gresham and Basinghall streets, in the wards of Bassishaw and Cheap. It has been used as a town hall for several hundred years, and is still the ceremonial and administrative centre of the City of London and its Corporation...
and then to the Tower to make the demands in full. James Fiennes, 1st Baron Saye and Sele
James Fiennes, 1st Baron Saye and Sele
James Fiennes, 1st Baron Saye and Sele was an English soldier and politician, son of Sir William Fiennes and wife Elizabeth Batisford ....
, the Lord High Treasurer was captured and beheaded, along with a few other favourites of the King including his son-in-law William Crowmer, a previous High Sheriff of Kent
High Sheriff of Kent
The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions...
and their heads put on pikes and made to kiss each other. Many of the rebels, including Cade himself, then proceeded to loot London, although Cade had made frequent promises not to do so during the march to the capital.
When his army returned over the bridge (which was regularly closed at night) to Southwark, the London officials made preparations to stop Cade re-crossing into the city. The next day, at about ten in the evening a battle broke out on London Bridge and lasted until eight the next morning, when the rebels retreated with heavy casualties.
Aftermath
After this battle, Archbishop John KempJohn Kemp
John Kemp was a medieval English cardinal, archbishop of Canterbury, and Lord Chancellor of England.-Biography:Kemp was son of Thomas Kempe, a gentleman of Ollantigh, in the parish of Wye near Ashford, Kent...
(Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
) persuaded Cade to call off his followers by issuing official pardons, and promising to fulfill the demands in Cade's manifesto.
Although Henry VI had pardoned Jack Cade and his followers, the King put out the Writ and Proclamation by the King for the Taking of Cade shortly after the rebellion was over. This document voided the previously issued pardons. The King claimed that he revoked these pardons because the letters of pardon had not been approved by the Parliament. Furthermore, the document accused John Cade of murdering “a woman with child” while he was in Sussex, which the King used to discredit Cade (Simons 181). The King’s proclamation charged Cade with deceiving the people of England to assemble with him in his rebellion and stated that none of the King’s subjects should join Cade or help him in any way. A sum of 1,000 marks was promised for the body of Cade, dead or alive, delivered to the King (Simons, 182). Jack Cade fled towards Lewes, but was overtaken by Alexander Iden, a future High Sheriff of Kent
High Sheriff of Kent
The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions...
, who killed him in a garden in which he had taken shelter and went on to claim the reward.
Cade was not the only one prosecuted, but rather all of his followers and all the participants in his rebellion were sought out in a royal commission led by the Duke of Buckingham. This search for Cade’s rebels occurred in and around the area of the revolt: Blackhearth, Canterbury—which was on the road leading to London—and also the counties in which Cade had found many of his followers, such as the coastal areas of Sheppey and Faversham. The inquiries about the hidings of Cade’s rebels, performed by the many Bishops and Justices, were so thorough that in Canterbury (the first area searched by the commission) eight followers were quickly found and hanged (Simons 157).
The Jack Cade Rebellion was quieted and dismissed shortly after Cade’s death, but the feeling of rebellion in England did not die down so easily. For example, it inspired ideas of revolt in many other counties in England besides Kent. Many of Cade’s followers from the county of Sussex, such as the yeomen brothers John and William Merfold, organized their own rebellion against King Henry VI. Unlike Jack Cade’s revolt, however, the men in Sussex took Cade’s ideas a step further in that they made declarations to reform that were much more radical and aggressive (Mate 664). This animosity could have been due to the fact that the King had gone back on his proclamation of pardon for Jack Cade, which made many of the rebels distrust the King’s government.
The suspicion that the King wanted all followers of Cade dead inspired the rebels to take a more drastic view of the reformation of English rule. They stated that the men of Sussex planned on killing the King and all his Lords, replacing them with twelve of the rioters’ own men. These revolts organized by the young Sussex men rallied smaller numbers of followers than that of the Cade rebellion, but still had an effect on the societies in England. For example, all the riots and looting taking place in English counties gave people an excuse to go on rampages of destruction for their own personal gain while being absolved of blame by claiming that their behavior was a rebellion against the King (Mate 666).
The unlawful behavior of these later rebels can be seen as having been directly inspired by Jack Cade: he participated in similar behaviors during the initial riot (Bohna 563). These minor revolts did produce an amount of deaths and caused a shifting atmosphere of peace and then rebellion in England for years after the initial Jack Cade Rebellion. Also, the larger battles over the crown of England, known as the Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
, were clearly inspired by views of Cade’s rebels, especially since one of the requests in Cade’s manifesto, the Requests by the Captain of the Great Assembly of Kent, outright informs the King that the mass of rebels and followers wished for the Duke of York to be returned from exile and to take the place of the corrupt Dukes under King Henry VI’s rule (Simons 179).