King John I, the Magna Carta and the First Barons’ War (1215-1217)

Question 1

What caused the rebellion to erupt;

Answer 1

• King john; demand too much money in taxes
• If barons can’t pay they go into debt
• King john uses debts to control barons and give cruel punishments

Question 2

What happened and how did this challenge the power of the monarchy;

Answer 2

• Magna carta was made and said king is not above law

- Magna carta puts limits on royal power

Question 3

How significant was this challenge to the monarchy? Compare to the other two

Answer 3

• Challenge was significant
• Not as significant as King Henry III, Simon de Montfort and the Second Barons’ War (1264-65)
• That challenge created the long term impacts of creation of parliament
• In this challenge King John turned his back on the Magna Carta and there ended up only being a short term impact of before the magna carta was said to be illegal.

Question 4

What happened?

Answer 4

King John’s cruelty and greed united the powerful feudal nobles, the church leaders, and the people against him. He demanded too much money in taxes. While the king was waging a disastrous war in France, the leading barons of England met secretly and swore to compel him to respect the rights of his subjects. When John returned, they presented him with a series of demands.
John tried to gather support in order to avoid giving in to the demands, but almost all his followers deserted
him. Too weak to resist the barons and bishops, at last he met with them along the south bank of the Thames River, in a meadow called Runnymede. King John affixed his seal to the Magna Carta on June 15, 1215.