In 1451 a commission was sent to inquire into treason in Sussex since the previous year, when Jack Cade had led a rebellion. Two participants in these protests were to be examined. It was alleged that not only had they ridiculed the king, Henry VI, as an idiot, they had also suggested that he should be replaced. It is clear that discontent was focused more on national politics than on local grievances, and that peasants were aware of the implications of defeats in France and corrupt government at home.
