John became King in 1199 when his brother,King Richard I, died. To many John was cruel, greedy and ultimately a failure as King. Infact, John lost the English territory inFrance in 1205;
he unsuccessfully attemptedto regain France for the rest of his reign. He kept raising taxes to pay for his campaigns,but every time he went to France to fight, he lost.
he unsuccessfully attemptedto regain France for the rest of his reign. He kept raising taxes to pay for his campaigns,but every time he went to France to fight, he lost.
When he came to the throne, his reign wasfull of trouble. After a quarrel with thechurch King John was excommunicated in1209. John had refused to go along with thePope's choice as Archbishop of Canterbury.
By 1215, the nobility of England had enoughof paying extra taxation. The discontentedbarons rebelled and captured London in May1215. In June, the King met these barons totry and reach a peaceful settlement. The meeting took place at Runnymede on the river Thames. The King agreed to their demands by signing a document known as the MagnaCharta - Latin
for 'Great Charter'. Manypeople see the Magna Charta as a vital piece of English history where the rights of individuals are protected against the power of the King or Queen.
King John of England signing the Magna Charta
|
IMPORTANT
POINTS
OF
THE
MAGNA
CHARTA
|
MEANING
|
|
"The
Church
is
free
to
make
its
own
appointments."
|
The
Church
had
the
final
say
who
was
appointed
to
Church
positions
of
power.
|
|
"No
more
than
the
normal
amounts
of
money
can
be
collected
to
run
the
government,
unless
the
king's
feudal
tenants
give
their
consent."
|
The
King
was
not
allowed
to
demand
more
and
more
money
from
his
nobility.
|
|
"No
free
man
shall
be
seized
or
imprisoned,
or
stripped
of
his
rights
or
possessions...
except
by
the
lawful
judgement
of
his
peers."
|
Everyone
has
the
right
to
a
fair
trial.
|
King
John
signed
the
document
to
keep
peace
with
the
rebel
barons
-
to
buy
time
-
and
did
not
keep
to
what
he
agreed
to. Civil
war
thus
broke
out
in
England. The
nobility
called
on
the
French
to
invade. John
proved
himself
an
able
soldier,
but
died
in1216,
leaving
a
divided
country
-
still
occupied
with
French
invaders
-
to
his
nine
year
old
son,
King
Henry
III
.
King
John
was
not
a
total
failure. Recent
historians
have
praised
his
administrative
skills
and
his
success
on
military
campaigns
in
Scotland,
Wales
and
Ireland. However,
his
loss
of
France
together
with
the
mess
he
left
England
in
mean
that
King
John
will
always
be
seen
as
one
of
the
least
successful
rulers
of
England.
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