25. Contemporaries’ Poor Perception of King John Helped Advance Civil Liberties
King John ruled from 1199 until his death, and his reign was a disaster. Before him, his father and elder brother had cobbled together and defended the Angevin Empire – a collection of territories stretching from Ireland to the Spanish border. John lost the Duchy of Normandy to the French king, resulting in the collapse of that once-mighty empire. On top of that, he got into a dispute with Pope Innocent III, which led to John’s excommunication in 1209.
Between the preceding, his high-handed treatment of English nobles, and high taxes, John’s barons finally had enough of his misrule. They rebelled, and in 1215, forced him to sign the Magna Carta Libertatum (“The Great Charter of Liberty”). The document promised protections from illegal imprisonment and curbed the king’s powers in a variety of ways. It applied to the barons, not to commoners, but its principles of due process and limiting the king’s absolute authority by law were the first steps towards civil rights.
