The Purpose of the Magna Carta essays

The Purpose of the Magna Carta essays The penning of the Magna Carta, (Great Charter), was birthed from an angry peoples desire to limit the power of a despotic king. The charter established a standard to which even the king was held, and would be a foundation for future nations and their governments. In 1199, the King of England, Richard, died. He left behind no established heir to the throne but the candidates were either Arthur of Brittany or John, and since Arthur was only nine at the time, the people opted for John. King Richard left behind a mass of property, particularly in Aquitaine, England, Ireland, and Normandy. When John took the crown he faced many problems, for example the communications system was slow and dangerous. Thanks to that system, however, the king was alerted of the new French king, Phillip Augustus, plan to attack Johns property in France, and he was able to react. King Phillip was resentful of John, because he felt that Arthur should have gotten the crown. Problems escalated when King John broke the feudal law by marrying an heiress who was already engaged to one of his vassals. The heiress appealed to the French King and set a trial but when King John refused, he was ordered to forfeit all of his property in France. The inevitable war started in 1202. The King of England wouldnt stay with a decisive military plan and ended up losing all of his property in Normandy and the support of all his barons and nobles when, in a drunken fit, he murdered Arthur of Brittany. Over the next ten years, he created a lot of contention with the countries around him, and even within his own people. Beginning when John first took the crown, an accumulation of things led up to an inevitable disaster. He was involved in many various quarrels with the barons and plots to overthrow the king were circulating. His battle against Phillip Augusus also caused problems, and in the end, the odds were stacked against him. The final straw was whe...