MAGNA CARTA
A basic document that states the liberties guaranteed to the English people, the Magna Carta proclaims rights that have become a part of English law and are now the foundation of the constitution of every English-speaking nation. The Magna Carta, which means “great charter” in Latin, was drawn up by English barons and churchmen, who forced the tyrannical King John to set his seal to it on June 15, 1215
King John's cruelty and greed united the powerful feudal nobles, the churchmen, and the townspeople against him. 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. At last he met with the nobles and bishops along the south bank of the Thames in a meadow called Runnymede and affixed his seal to the Magna Carta.
In many of their demands the barons and bishops who forced the Magna Carta on King John quite naturally acted in their own best interests. Careful provision was made for limiting royal taxes and assessments, for reforming laws and judicial procedures, and for suppressing the misuse and extension of forest law. In addition, the Magna Carta provided certain guarantees for the people as a whole. The document has a total of 63 sections. Although much of it deals with feudal rights and duties, it also includes provisions that protect the rights of the church, merchants, and townspeople. One of the sections protecting merchants reads, translated from the original Latin: “All merchants shall be able to go out of and come into England safely and securely and stay and travel throughout England for buying and selling free from all evil tolls, except in time of war and if they are of the land at war with us.”