History power and the people

• King John


  Became king after his brother died in 1199, unpopular from the start
• King John's nephew Arthur, the possible new king, was murdered. Some say John did it or ordered it.
• In 1204 John lost his land in Normandy to the French King. Spent the rest of his rule trying to win it back, costing huge amounts of money.
• Scutage tax


  A payment knights and barons could make instead of fighting for the king. The money was then used to fight wars in France.
• John called the Scutage tax 11 times since 1199, each time the barons had to pay more.
• In 1214 when John demanded more Scutage tax, the barons refused as they believed he couldn't win back his land. John was nicknamed 'Softsword' due to his poor battle records.
• John's conflict with the Catholic Church

  In 1207 Pope Innocent III appointed Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury, which John wasn't happy about as he wanted to appoint all churchmen to be on his side. The pope excommunicated John and banned all church services in England until John gave in.
• In 1212 the pope said it wasn't a sin to kill the king, so the barons began to plot to kill John.
• In 1214 France defeated England again at the Battle of Bouvines, which was the final straw. It became clear John couldn't get his land back.
• Barons meet John at Runnymede


  Barons led by Robert Fitzwaiter sent an army to occupy London, the London people came out in support. John knew they would fight but he wasn't prepared as he needed the barons to prepare an army for them. He had no choice but to negotiate.
• Magna Carta


  A document containing 63 promises the barons wanted John to keep, giving the barons more control
• Main clauses of Magna Carta


  • A baron's heir will inherit his land after paying the king £100
  • Scutage tax only paid if the barons agree to this
  • Anyone who is arrested entitled to a fair trial
  • The church is free to appoint its own bishops
  • A group of 25 barons monitor the king to make sure he follows Magna Carta
• John had no intentions of following the new rules in Magna Carta, he only signed it to stop the civil war.
• Barons' War


  Barons took control of London, barons asked kings of Scotland and France to help fight John, by November 1215 the advantages seemed to be with John as he had taken the strategic castle at Rochester and fought off rebellions in Scotland and Wales, but then more French troops arrived to help the barons and they began to take control, the barons even said French Prince Louis was the new king at St Paul's Cathedral (though he was never crowned)
• In October 1216, John died, his 9 year old son Henry became the rightful king. The barons decided Prince Louis wasn't needed and a group of barons would help Henry run the country until he was older, Magna Carta was reissued and Henry III had to follow the new rules.
• Tension between Henry III and his barons

  Henry was very strong-willed and unwilling to stick to the rules, he lived an extravagant lifestyle and ran out of money so charged the barons more taxes, he lost two major wars to France, the barons felt isolated from Henry as he listened to advice from his half-brother more from France, some of Henry's royal advisors were accused of being rich from the barons and receiving better treatment, Henry gave top jobs in the English Church to Italian clergy and gave lots of money to the Pope
• Simon de Montfort


  • Tried to limit the power of the king and give more to the barons, in 1252 the king put de Montfort on trial for using excessive force against French people when he was leading the king's army in wars, de Montfort felt betrayed and became the spokesman for the barons
• Provisions of Oxford


  A great council meeting where the king agreed the barons could rule the country jointly with the king, the council was to be made up of 24 men (12 appointed by barons, 12 by the king), royal castles were to be seized and given to Englishmen, foreign barons removed from power and kicked out of the country, all taxes decided locally, the barons now had most of the power and could make decisions without the king
• The Provisions of Oxford had a huge impact on royal authority, but some barons were not happy as they believed the reforms were interfering in their business and their influence over the king was lost.
• Henry returns to power

  Bickering between the barons meant Henry rejected the Provisions of Oxford, he wrote to the Pope asking for permission to cancel them, in 1261 the Pope confirmed Henry could appoint his own men to the Great Council, Simon de Montfort fled to France
• Battle of Lewes 1264


  After 3 years of Henry's revived rule, the barons had had enough and sent for de Montfort, de Montfort's men were victorious at the Battle of Lewes, Henry and his son (Edward) were captured and imprisoned, England had no king as de Montfort was basically the ruler
• De Montfort creates parliament

  In 1265 de Montfort called a great council meeting, inviting barons, knights and burgesses, meaning ordinary people were now having their voice heard, this became known as the 'commons'
• Battle of Evesham 1265


  The barons were worried about de Montfort's power, Edward had escaped captivity and raised an army to get de Montfort, Edward's army met de Montfort's at the Battle of Evesham, de Montfort was killed and his body cut to pieces, Henry ruled again until 1272, Edward took over and learned from his dad's mistake, calling parliament when he needed money and asking permission
• Causes of the Peasants' Revolt of 1381


  Unsuccessful wars under Edward III led to losses of land, earlier problems of floods, droughts and famine led to poor harvests and death of livestock, the Black Death killed 50% of the population leading to a shortage of workers so peasants demanded higher wages and lower rents, the Statute of Labourers passed in 1351 said all under 60 had to work and wages couldn't be higher than 1347 levels, angering peasants, the poll tax introduced by Richard II's advisors was seen as very unfair, many priests preached that the church was exploiting peasants
• Start of the Peasants' Revolt

  On 30th May 1381, tax collector John Bampton arrived in Essex, the peasants refused to pay, Bampton returned to London feeling threatened, on 2nd June Essex rebels joined forces and threatened the chief justice when he came to collect tax, the villagers beheaded Bampton's men and burnt down houses that supported him
• Peasants march to London


  On 7th June, peasants in Kent went to Maidstone, the rebels marched to London, they heard Wat Tyler speak and made him their leader, they freed John Ball from prison, on 12th June the rebels set up camp outside London, King Richard II hid in the Tower of London but agreed to meet the rebels
• Rebels enter London


  On 13th June the rebels entered through the city gates, burnt down John of Gaunt's Savoy palace and killed foreign merchants, the king offered to meet them the next day
• Wat Tyler meets the King

  On 14th June, Wat Tyler met the king and told him the rebels' demands, the king promised to pardon all who took part in the revolt and make all villeins freemen as long as the peasants went home, but some rebels killed the Archbishop of Canterbury
• End of the Peasants' Revolt

  On 15th June, Richard met Tyler again, Tyler wanted full change to the system of law and for church land to be given to the people, the king agreed, Tyler returned to the rebels and the king's men killed Tyler, the king rode to the rebels and said "will you shoot your king?", the peasants followed, the revolt was over, Richard did not keep his promise, rebel leaders were all hanged and John Ball's head was stuck on a spike on London Bridge next to Tyler's
• Causes of the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536

  Henry VIII's religious reforms, including making himself head of the Church of England and the dissolution of the monasteries, angered many, especially in the north where the monasteries had helped the poor, there was also anger at Henry's advisors like Thomas Cromwell who were seen as leading the king astray, there were also rumours of new taxes and poor harvests that raised food prices
• The Pilgrimage of Grace

  In October 1536, a rebellion by Christians broke out in Yorkshire, the rebels, led by Robert Ashe, demanded Henry restore the monasteries, recognise the Pope as head of the Church, and dismiss Cromwell and other advisors, the rebels captured key locations across northern England, Henry sent the Duke of Norfolk to negotiate with the rebels, who agreed to draw up a list of demands for the king, Ashe was invited to spend Christmas with Henry who reassured him, but news that Henry was strengthening his army led the rebels to strike again, they were forced to surrender, 216 leading rebels were executed including 38 monks and 16 priests
• Causes of the English Civil War

  Religion was still a problem, there was a strong anti-Catholic mood in the country, Charles I was accused of being too close to Catholicism, the Archbishop of Canterbury William Laud introduced new prayer books that were seen as too similar to Catholic worship, many said Laud favoured Catholics
• Cromwell was strengthening his army in the north and Henry had no intention of sticking to his word, so the rebel strived
• Castles in Hull, Beverley and Scarborough were attacked, gave Henry excuse to cancel pardons and hunt down leaders

  Jan 1537
• 216 leading rebels were caught and executed, including 38 men and 16 priests, some even hanged
• Aske was called to London and arrested, later hanged in chains in York on 12th July 1536
• Charles I became king in 1625, religion was still a problem
• There was a strong anti-Catholic mood in the country
• Charles was not Catholic but was accused of being too close to Catholics, with many worried about the influence of his Catholic wife
• William Laud was made Archbishop of Canterbury in 1633 and he thought people should worship in a similar way to Catholics, introducing a new prayer book