MAGNA CARTAThe Magna Carta and Parliament
Henry's son John became king of England in 1199. King John increased taxes in England and punished his enemies without trials. English nobles began to rebel against the king. In 1215, the nobles met with King John at Runnymede, a nearby meadow. There they forced John to put his seal on a document called the Magna Carta, or the Great Charter. The Magna Carta placed limits on the king's power. The king could collect taxes only if a group of nobles called the Great Council agreed Magna Carta, is one of the most famous documents in the world. Originally issued by King John of England (r.1199-1216) as a practical solution to the political crisis he faced in 1215, Magna Carta established for the first time the principle that everybody, including the king, was subject to the law. Although nearly a third of the text was deleted or substantially rewritten within ten years, and almost all the clauses have been repealed in modern times, Magna Carta remains a cornerstone of the British constitution. Most of the 63 clauses granted by King John dealt with specific grievances relating to his rule. However, buried within them were a number of fundamental values that both challenged the autocracy of the king and proved highly adaptable in future centuries. Most famously, the 39th clause gave all ‘free men’ the right to justice and a fair trial. Some of Magna Carta’s core principles are echoed in the United States Bill of Rights (1791) and in many other constitutional documents around the world, as well as in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the European Convention on Human Rights (1950). - See more at: http://www.bl.uk/magna-carta/articles/magna-carta-an-introduction#sthash.yi0pwdVf.dpuf Wider Scope |
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