Jack Cade's Rebellion of 1450

Book excerpt: Jack Cade's Rebellion of 1450 was one of the most important popular uprisings to take place in England during the Middle Ages. It began as an orchestrated demonstration of political protest by the inhabitants of south-eastern England against the corruption, mismanagement, and oppression of Henry VI's government. This is the first full-length study of Cade's revolt to be published this century. Harvey charts the course of the rebellion and its associated troubles during the early 1450s, and explores the nature of the society which gave rise to these upheavals. She uncovers the identities of the rebels, explains their actions, assesses their relations with the magnates, and examines their achievements, illuminating the eventual collapse of Henry VI's reign into the War of the Roses.