King John was born on 24 December 1167. John was a younger son of Henry II and he was not expected to become king. His father conquered Ireland and in 1185 John was sent to that country. The expedition was a failure and John returned to England in December. It was an inauspicious start.
Henry II died in 1189 and John's older brother became King Richard I. King Richard was killed in 1199 and his brother John became king of England.
As king of England John proved to be a failure. Between 1202 and 1204 the king of France managed to capture most of the lands in France held by John. Afterwards John was given the nickname soft sword.
Furthermore in 1205 King John began an argument with the Pope over who should be the new Archbishop of Canterbury, John's choice or the Pope's. As a result in 1208 the Pope place England under an interdict, which meant that religious services could not be held. In 1209 he excommunicated King John. Finally, in 1213, John was forced to submit.
Meanwhile King John alienated many of his subjects. They claimed that he ruled like a tyrant ignoring feudal law. He was accused to extorting money from people, selling offices, increasing taxes and creating new ones whenever he wished. Matters came to a head after John tried to recapture his lost lands in France in 1214 but failed. The barons patience was exhausted. Finally in 1215 civil war broke out. In June 1215 King John was forced to accept a charter known as Magna Carta at Runneymede. The charter was meant to stop the abuses. It stated that the traditional rights and privileges of the church must be upheld. It also protected the rights and privileges of the aristocracy. Merchants who lived in towns were also mentioned. However ordinary people were overlooked.
However Magna Carta did uphold an important principle. English kings could not rule arbitrarily. They had to obey English laws and English customs the same as other men. Furthermore Magna Carta laid down that no free man could be arrested, imprisoned or dispossessed without the lawful judgment of his peers or without due process of law.
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