History: Magna Carta

when was the magna carta signed

12th June 1215 Runnymede

why didnt people like King John

• his personality

• war

• taxes

• religion

what was wrong with John’s personality

• killed his own nephew (arthur)

• after his mistakes he refused to listen to people and punished them harshly e.g throwing monks out of the monastry

what happened with the wars

• went to war 2 times against the french king and lost both times

• he lost family land, crown jewels and barons land

• 1204 he lost normandy

• 1214 - battle of bouvines and it was the last straw

what was wrong with King John’s taxes

• raised taxes just so he could pay for war (scutage)

• he demanded more military service from knights

• lost land and money from the barons in france

what was the problem with religion

• took control - making Stephen Langton archbishop

• the pope disagreed and so he banned the church for 7 years

• peasants feared they would go to hell and blamed John

why was the magna carta significant in the short term

• it started to apply to barons however not to peasnants so it had limited success

• it was the first document forced on to an english King to make them change

• set a precedent

why was the magna carta significant in the long term

• set a precedent that the king was no longer above everyone else and had to follow the same laws

• still in use today e.g. fair and free trial

• provided the foundations for the human rights act

how many clauses were in the magna carta

63

how many clauses are still in use today and give an example

3

• everyone has a right to a fair and free trial