Cade’s Rebellion Flashcards
When was it
May to July 1450,
Why was he known as ‘the Captain of Kent’
indicates the loyal following he developed in that
part of the country.
What alias did he use in the hope of falsely giving the impression he was a family connection of Richard,
duke of York, whose mother had been a Mortimer before her marriage.
He also used the alias of John Mortimer
The revolt started in Kent, partly as a result of local grievances against
two powerful men in that region, Lord Saye and William Crowmer.
Who was Crowmer
the local sheriff and noted for his corruption
Who was Lord Saye
A man of greater national significance, being the king’s treasurer, but also held a local reputation for violence and avarice.
What was a key trigger of the revolt
corpse of the murdered duke of Suffolk was washed up on the shore in Kent, there were rumours that Save and Crowmer had threatened widespread destruction in the region
in revenge for the attack,
The fact that the people of Kent feared these men enough to take the dangerous course of
action (open rebellion) indicates
the very poor level of law and order maintained in the area and the widespread assumption that powerful supporters of Suffolk habitually acted outside the law without redress from
the king.
The unpopularity of Henry’s government was such that the
uprising swifly spread from Kent to
Surrey, Sussex, Middlesex
and Essex.
Although not personally led by Cade, there were other
risings and riots that occurred at the same time in
the Midlands,
the South and the West, which appear to have been inspired by
the widespread insurrection in the South.
Other riot not led by Cade
On 29 June in Wiltshire,
for example, Bishop Aiscough of Salisbury, the king’s confessor
and a leading adviser during many of the unpopular decisions of
the 1440s, was dragged from his church during Mass and brutally
hacked to death by a mob.
In addition to concerns about law and order, Cade’s rebels were
also motivated by
complaints regarding high taxation to fund the spectacularly unsuccessful war with France. Lost Normandy 1450. And Evil councillors patronage
Why was Saye particularly unpopular
he had become
extremely wealthy and powerful under Henry VI and, secondly, he
was the king’s treasurer at a time when it was
widely suspected that financial corruption in government had led
he misuse of taxes intended for the defence of France, thereby
Contributing to England’s defeat in Normandy.
How did Cade’s rebellion begin?
The rebels marched on London and set up camp just outside the
city, at Blackheath on 11 June.
What was the King’s initial response
Initially, Henry sent a delegation
led by Archbishop Stafford and Cardinal Kemp to try and calm
the situation, but this was rejected by Cade and so the king
marched against the rebels on 13 June, only to find the camp
deserted.
Later in the month, what happened near Sevenoaks
Rebels ambushed a group of the king’s men, killing Sir Humphrey
tafford and William Stafford. This was an important act of
defiance to Henry’s authority
What made the act of defiance worse for the government
there was mutiny in the ranks of
the royal army, with some of the king’s former soldiers rampaging
around London attacking the property of those they claimed were
‘enemies of the realm’.
In an attempt to appease the mob, after the mutiny
Henry
ordered the arrest of Lord Saye and had him placed in the tower
During mid- to late June the situation worsened considerably, with rebels gaining more support. What did Henry do as a result
On 25 June
therefore, the king fled to Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire, while
most of his council took refuge in the Tower of London for their own safety
What did the king fleeing do
Heartened by their opponents’ apparent cowardice.
Cade’s supporters returned to Blackheath four days later, after
which they briefly took and controlled the capital, ordering and
carrying out the execution of Lord Saye.
Hiw did Henry compromise
Horrifed by the situation
unfolding, Henry agal sought to address the rebels’ grievances
by ordering a commission to investigate their complaints.
What indicates how far
Henry VI’s government had alienated its own supporters.
the ranks of Cade’s army had been increased by some
Retainers of the king and his nobles who decided to betrav their
masters and support the
cause. This group, of course, included
many men who had fought in the English army in France and
were bitter about recent defeats in Normandy
What did the increase in Cade’s army due to this meam
This rise in numbers also made the rebellion a far more serious threat to
law and order, as the men were seasoned veterans, accustomed to
looting
Medieval
chronicles are notorously unreliable concerning statistics but the
fact that one contemporary believed Cade’s ‘army’ to be
46 000
strong indicates the perceived danger of the threat, if not the
precise figures
