Jack Cade (possibly named John Mortimer) was the leader of a popular revolt in the 1450 Kent rebellion which took place in the time of King Henry VI in England. Popular revolts in late medieval Europe were uprisings and rebellions by (typically) 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. Sometimes also known as... // March - French troops under Guy de Richemont besiege the English commander in France, Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, in Caen. ... For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ... Henry VI (December 6, 1421 – May 21, 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 (though with a Regent until 1437) and then from 1470 to 1471, and King of France from 1422 to 1453. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

Some sources suggest Cade was of Irish origin but raised in Sussex where he is alleged to have murdered a woman in 1449. He escaped to France but returned to live in Kent under an assumed name. Sussex is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. ... Events January 6 - Constantine XI is crowned Byzantine Emperor. ... For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ...

In the spring of 1450 Kentish peasants protested against what they saw as the weak leadership of King Henry, unfair taxes, corruption and the damaging effect of the loss of France and, in a clever move, issued The Complaint of the Poor Commons of Kent, a manifesto listing grievances against the government—grievances not only of the people but of several MPs, lords and magnates. 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. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ...

In early June about 20,000 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—unfortunately for Henry—a fair number of soldiers and sailors returning from the French wars via Kent. While the King sought refuge in Warwickshire the rebels advanced to Southwark. They set up headquarters in The White Hart inn before crossing London Bridge on 3 July. For other uses, see June (disambiguation). ... Blackheath is a suburb of London, divided between the London Borough of Lewisham and the London Borough of Greenwich. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... A detailed map Stratford-upon-Avon Kenilworth Castle Warwickshire (pronounced // or //) is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in central England. ... For other places with the same name, see Southwark (disambiguation). ... The White Hart (hart is an old word for stag) was the personal badge of Richard II, who derived it from the arms of his mother, Joan The Fair Maid of Kent, heiress of Edmund of Woodstock. ... For other uses, see London Bridge (disambiguation). ... is the 184th day of the year (185th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

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. The Lord Treasurer was captured and beheaded, along with a few other favourites of the King, 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 the army returned to Southwark for the night, the London officials made preparations to stop Cade re-entering the city. The next day, at about ten in the evening a battle broke out on London Bridge, lasting until eight the next morning when the rebels retreated, having suffered heavy casualties. London Stone 111 Cannon Street London The London Stone is an ancient stone, that is said to be the place from which the Romans measured all distances in Great Britain. ... Mortimer is a popular English name, used both as a surname and a given name. ... The Guildhall The Guildhall complex in c. ... For other uses, see London Bridge (disambiguation). ...

After the battle, Archbishop John Kemp (Lord Chancellor) persuaded Cade to call off his followers by issuing official pardons and promises to fulfill the demands written in Cade's manifesto. John Kemp (c. ... The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor and prior to the Union the Chancellor of England and the Lord Chancellor of Scotland, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom, and its predecessor states. ...

However, a week after the peasant forces disbanded, Cade learned that the government regarded him as a traitor and had issued a reward for him dead or alive. He was subsequently killed in a skirmish near Heathfield, East Sussex on 12 July 1450, after which his body was taken to London and quartered for display in different cities, his preserved head ending up on a pike on London Bridge (along with those of other leaders of the rebellion). The Parish of Heathfield and Waldron is in East Sussex, some 16 miles from the coastal town of Eastbourne and 17 miles from the historic spa town of Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent. ... For other uses, see London Bridge (disambiguation). ...

Despite all the rebels being pardoned, thirty-four were executed after Cade's death.

Cade appears as a character in William Shakespeare's play Henry VI, Part 2. It is one of Cade's followers, in discussion with Cade, who speaks the well-known line, "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

References

Wikisource has original works written by or about:

Jack Cade

• I.M.W. Harvey, Jack Cade's Rebellion of 1450, Oxford UP, 1991. ISBN 0-19-820160-5
  • Reviewed by Joel T. Rosenthal, Speculum, Vol. 69, No. 1. (Jan., 1994), pp. 161-163. Available online at JSTOR.
• Jack Cade's Rebellion on britainexpress.com