King John
In 1199, King John became king of England. John fought the king of
France. He wanted to control Normandy. He needed money to pay for
the war so he made a new tax. People did not like the new tax and the
war went badly. In 1204, the French took control of Normandy. Then in
1214, John fought the French again. But he lost again. The French
told John to give them £40,000. So John introduced another new tax.
The Barons
The barons were very powerful people in England. They owned a lot
of England’s land. They also gave soldiers to the king. The king
usually asked the barons to agree to new taxes. But John did not ask
the barons about these taxes, so the barons were very angry. They
thought John was too powerful. They also thought he was not a good
leader.
They decided to fight the king. The barons were very strong and
John was very weak. The barons took control of London.
Magna Carta
The barons wanted to limit the king’s power, so they made
him sign a document. The name of the document was the
Magna Carta. Magna Carta means the Great Charter.
On 15th June 1215, John signed the Magna Carta at
Runnymede, near London. The Magna Carta was a list of
63 promises.
After Magna Carta, the king could not do what he wanted.
Magna Carta protected the people and the barons.
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