A. C. 1450. headed, without any form of trial; and, in the evening retired to the Borough of Southwark. For fome days, he continued the practice of entering the city in the morning, and quitting it at night, that he might not give umbrage to the burghers, with whom he lived at firft in very good understanding. But, at length, the infurgents having plundered fome houfes, and committed other outrages, Cade, one morning, found the gate of the bridge fhut and fecured against him. Endeavouring to force his way, an engagement enfued between the rebels and citizens, which lafted all day, and was not interrupted until the combants could fee no longer to fight. The archbishop of Canterbury, and the chancellor, who had taken refuge in the Tower, being informed by their emiffaries of the difpofition of the infurgents, who were dif heartened by this check, and heartily tired of rebellion, drew up an act of amnesty, confirmed by the fanction of the great feal, and found means to publish it by night in the Borough of Southwark. The effect of this expedient was so sudden and furprifing, that by day-break, Cade saw himself abandoned by the greater number of his followers, and retreated to Rochefter, where the reft of them difperfed, notwithstanding all his remonftrances and artful fpeeches, in which he endeavoured to perfuade them, that the pardon was ineffectual, without the authority of parliament. Thus deferted, Cade was obliged to fly alone into the wolds of Kent; and a price being fet upon his head by proclamation, he was difcovered, and flain by Alexander Eden, who for this fervice was recompenced with the government of Dover castle. Fabian. Stewe. The French While the peace of England was interrupted by king expels this infurrection, the war continued in France; but, the English ftill to the difadvantage of the English. The queen mandy and perceiving, that the diffatisfaction of the people from Nor Guienne. proceeded in a great measure from the misfortunes A. C. 1450. of the English arms in that kingdom, had made an effort to retrieve her credit, by fending a reinforcement of four thousand men, under the command of Sir Thomas Kyrle, who landed at Cherbourg in Normandy; and proceeded for Caen, where the duke at that time refided. In his march he was joined by feveral small detachments from English garrifons in that neighbourhood, and took Valognes, after a fiege of three weeks. The conftable of Richemont informed of these operations, affembled a body of feven thousand men, and posted himself at Fourmigni, to intercept the English in their route. Kyrle, tho' greatly inferior in number, attacked them without hefitation; but, after an obftinate engagement, his troops were defeated, and he himself remained in the hands of the enemy. This reinforcement being destroyed, the duke of Somerset was obliged to keep within the walls of Caen, and fee the French extend their conquests without oppofition. The towns of Vere, Bayeux, St., Sauveur le Vicomte, Valognes, Avranches, and Tombelaine, surrendered almoft without resistance; and, upon the feventh day of June, the city of Caen was invested. The garrifon confifted of four thousand men inured to fervice; but, the duke capitulated to furrender the place, if not relieved by the first day of July, on condition, that the garrifon fhould be at liberty to retire with their effects to England. Falaife being invested at the fame time, Sir Andrew Trollop, who commanded the garrifon confifting of fifteen hundred men, capitulated on the fame conditions; and the reduction of Cherbourg, the garrison of which fubmitted on the twelfth day of Auguft, finished the intire conquest of Normandy. In the month of September, the count de Dunois was fent with a detachment into Guienne, where he reduced Bergerac, Jenfac, Mont ferrand, A. C. 1450. ferrand, St. Foy, and Chalais, before the end of the campaign. In May he took the field again; and in the course of that month took Montguyon, Blay, Bourg, Fronfac, Libourne, and Castillon in Perigord and Bourdeaux was furrendered by capitulation, because not relieved before Midfummer. This was the cafe with all the places in that neigh: bourhood. Dax was reduced by the counts of Foix and Armagnac, the lord of Albret, and other Gascon barons; and Bayonne, which was blocked up by fea and land, fubmitted on the twenty-fixth day of Auguft. Thus, the whole province of Guienne fell under the dominion of Charles, after it had been united three hundred years to the crown of England. The towns were well affected to the English government; but, the great lords, tempted with the hope of preferment at the court of France, co-operated with the efforts of Charles; in wrefting this country from the king of England, who was now difpoffeffed of every foot of land which his ancestors had acquired in France, except Calais and its dependencies. Hift. de Charles VII. The duke of: Somerfet to the Tower. When the duke of Somerfet returned to Engcommitted land, the parliament was fitting, and the outcry against him was fo loud and univerfal, that the commons could not help taking fome notice of his conduct. They accordingly prefented an addrefs to his majefty, défiring, that the regent might be committed to the Tower, until his behaviour in France could be properly examined. Henry did not think it prudent to refuse the requeft of the commons at fuch a juncture; and the populace were fo transported with joy at the news of the duke's commitment, that they went immediately to his house, which they pillaged: and, notwithstanding a proclamation iffued to disperse them, continued in a body, doing abundance of mischief, until fome of their leaders were apprehended, and hanged in terrorem. The com mons then petitioned Henry, to remove from his Á. Č. 1459. prefence Edmund duke of Somerset, Alice dutchefs dowager of Suffolk, William Bothe bishop of Chefter, John Sutton, lord Dudley; and others; but, Henry amused them with an equivocal answer. Then they brought in an act of attainder for corrupting the blood, and confifcating the lands of the late duke of Suffolk; but, this act was rejected by the king: and the humour of the commons growing every day more and more obftinate, the parliament was diffolved, without having granted any fupply: Immediately after their feparation, the Rot. Parla duke of Somerfet was released, and fucceeded Suffolk in the miniftry, as well as in the queen's favour. York The court was now involved in great perplexity A. C. 145‡. and uneafiness about the duke of York, who was Intrigues of supposed to have excited the late infurrection, and the duke of to be employed in hatching other more dangerous schemes against the government. The fudden death of Cade had prevented any confeffion, of which they might have taken the advantage to the prejudice of Richard, whom they could not now arreft without incurring the imputation of injuftice; but, as they were apprehenfive of his raising an army in Ireland, to fupport his title to the crown, the king iffued orders to the fheriffs of Wales, Shropfhire, and Chefhire, to affemble each his different poffe, and oppose his landing. This was a very impolitic precaution, as it not only published his apprehenfion of the duke of York, which it was his intereft to conceal; but, it alarmed the duke fo as to put him on his guard, and furnished him with a plaufible pretext to take arms in his own defence. As the duke had not yet formed any digefted project, nor taken the leaft step that could be conftrued into a misdemeanour, he wrote a letter to Henry, complaining of his fufpicion as injurious No. C and A. C, 1451 and calculated for a pretence to ruin his character and fortune. He received a mild answer from the king, who promifed, that he fhould have fatisfaction; but in the mean time the orders were not recalled. Tho' Cade's enterprize had not fucceeded, the duke of York did not fail to reap confiderable advantages from that infurrection. The great number of people who joined or favoured that cause, plainly demonftrated, that the nation was full of malcontents; and, that the title of the houfe of March was ftill remembered with regard. He conceived fresh hopes from these confiderations; believing, that if the very name of a perfon belonging to that family had armed fuch a number in his caufe, he who was a prince of the blood royal, and the lawful reprefentative of Mortimer, could not fail to raife the better part of the kingdom in fupport of his pretenfions. That he might not, however, ruin his project by too much precipitation, he refolved to confult his friends, before he would engage in an enterprize of fuch moment; and, when the term of his government in Ireland was expired, he embarked for England, in order to confer with them upon this fubject. Notwithstanding the vigilance of the fheriffs, he landed without oppofition, and repaired to London, where his adherents waited for him with impatience. The principal of these were, John Mowbray duke of Norfolk; Richard Nevil earl of Salisbury, in right of his wife, daughter to him who was flain at the fiege of Orleans; his fon Richard Nevil, afterwards earl of Warwick, by his marriage with Anne Beauchamp, daughter of that earl who died in France; Thomas Courtney, earl of Devonshire, the fon in-law of the duke of Somerfet; and Edward Brook, baron of Cobham. The duke of The court being on a progress to the western counties, these confederates had an opportunity of concerting their meafures without moleftation; and York retires to Wales. the |