power and the people

• when did king john rule england

  1199 to 1216
• what king signed magna carta

  john
• what was some nicknames people gave to king john


  • ' lack land '
  • ' soft sword '
  • ' bad king john '
• what problems did king john face

  • he was in war with france and had to pay them money
  • he had argued with the pope as he didnt want Stephen Langton to be Archbishop of Cantebury so pope banned church services
  • poor war leader , 1204 lost normandy
  • high taxes ( scutage ) - john charged barons taxes to pay wars with france
• key events in king johns reign :

  • 1199 - john became king
  • 1204 - john looses control normandy
  • 1207 - john argues with the pope
  • 1214 - battle of bouvines - barons civil war agaisnt john
  • 1215 - john signed magna carta
• where did king john agree to the barons to sign magna carta


  runnymede , 15th june
• when was magna carta signed

  1215
• what does magna carta translate to

  greater charter
• what was some of the main points of magna carta


  • council of 25 barons - ensure king was following the rules
  • Someone accused of a crime could not be imprisoned or punished without having a trial first.
  • The king could not raise new taxes unless he had the agreement of the barons.
• how many laws did magna carta contain

  63
• what was the short term consequences of magna carta 


  • john agreed to avoid civil war but it soon began fighting with barons again and only ended when john died in 1216
  • Barons wasnt interested in the rights of ordinary people
  • Barons had reissued the magna carta in later years , which Henry III agreed to
• what was the long term impact of magna carta

  • as more people became free , it applied to more people so signficance increased
  • established more principles so the king had more responsibilities
  • symbol of power ( of people )
  • first step towards democracy
  • used as a basis for parts of the US constitution in 1788.
  • there is four remaining copies of the original Magna Carta document
• who describes king john as a tyrant

  matthew paris
• when was the time simon de montford

  1208 - 1265
• simon de montford :

  • complicated relationship with henry III
  • married henrys sister so fought on his behalf
  • henry put simon on trial many times
  • led Second barons war
  • became king for a little while henry was imprisoned
  • died at battle of evesham in august 1265
  • first to call commoners to parliament
• why was simon de montford angry with king henry III


  he kept putting him on trial
• how did the role of individual impact of magna carta 


  • prince louis arrival had showed john how serious the barons were , his desire for throne emphasised magna cartas power
• how did the economy impact magna carta

  barons had to pay high scutages if refusing to fight for king john as he was loosing land and war in france
• how did religion impact magna carta


  christianity was very important . john had fallen out with the pope and people had feared dying and going to hell
• what did the pope threaten while arguing with king henry


  ex - communicate with england
• what was the gascon campaign

  henry raised taxes to win back land his father ( john ) had lost in france . 1230 he took his army to brittany and gascon which he was defeated in
• why did henry fall out with the barons

  • high taxes
  • wars in france
  • disputes with pope
  • gascon campaign
• what was the consequences of P . O

  • barons held more power over the king
  • the king was limited in authority
• what was the main reason of opposition of provisions of oxford

  • barons became divided
• events of P.O :

  • 1261 - barons divided and king could see this and still refused to follow the provisions . Pope gave him permission to ignore , in disgust simon de montford fled to france
  • 1264 - barons asked simon to lead an army against the king ( battle of lewes ) king and his son was captured
• what was the result of battle of lewes


  simon de montford now became in charge of england :

  • so he formed a council of 9 people
  • reissued magna carta and provisions of oxford
  • HOWEVER barons felt simon had too much power and turned against him
• how does simon de montford attempt to get his supported

  1265 - first parliament , called meeting of great council which was different because he had invited merchants and burgesses from different countries
• what was the consequences of simons first call on parliament 


  • he called it without the barons knowing so they became furious and switched suport to henry III
  • 1265 Battle of Evesham Henry III defeated simon
• when did de montford force henry to sign P.O

  1258
• how was magna carta and provisions of oxford similiar

  • both show the king can be threatened with being replaced
• when was the peasants revolt

  1381
• what was the plague in 1348 that impacted peasants revolt

  black death
• how did the black death lead to peasants revolt

  • fewer workers ( had died from the black death ) so surviving workers demanded higher wages
  • lords became worried the peasants was getting too much power
  • 1351 - statue of labourers - peasants had to work from wages previous to black death , they would be branded or captured if demanded for high wages again
• how did the peasants react to the statue of labourers

  • they was angry
  • ignored the law
  • questioned the way the country was run
• timeline of peasants revolt:

  • may - refuse to pay poll tax
  • june - tax collectors killed and houses burnt
  • june - wat tyler become leader
  • june - killed archbishop of canterbury killed
  • june - enter london
  • june - wat tyler meets king but rebels still go crazy
  • june - smithfield , wat tyler killed , king promises to agree to demands
  • later years - king doesnt keep his promise but rebel leaders was killed
• who was john ball


  in leading up to peasants revolt he claimed everyone was equal and peasants deserved more
• what was the short term significance of peasants revolt


  • first time commoners had rebelled against royal power , scared king and nobles
  • rebellion had failed as richard went back on his promises and the rebels leaders were killed
• what was the long term significance of peasants revolt


  • peasants was never taxed so heavily again
  • wages kept rising for peasants
  • became freemen and could own land
• why reform for factories

  • reports on factories shocked people ( conditions )
  • people described factory workers as ' white slaves '
• why against reform in factories

  • would limit the amount of money income