25. A Twelfth-Century Monarch Laid the Foundation For Britain’s Future Success
When England – and later Britain – became a great power, then a globe-spanning empire over which the Sun never set, it did so on a foundation laid by King Henry II in the medieval era. The legal system created by the first Plantagenet monarch all the way back in the twelfth century provided a degree of stability and predictability that was rare in the medieval world, and rarer still as subsequent jurists and future governments strengthened and solidified it. Much of Britain’s future success as a trading, industrial, and imperial giant, rested upon the foundations laid by Henry’s twelfth-century legal reforms.
English – later British – entrepreneurs, secure in their property and trusting their legal system, could conduct business with a confidence that gave them an edge over foreign competitors operating in less secure and stable investment environments. The future British Empire, built on commerce, owed much to Henry. That he managed to do that despite having to frequently fight his own family who, as seen below, raised rebellion after rebellion against him, was astonishing.
