King John: Good or bad leader?

By Oliver- 9/1/26

Who was King John?

King John was born on the 24th December 1166 and died in 1216. He was the youngest son of King Henry II and became king after the death of his brother, Richard the Lionheart. He married Isabella of Angouleme and had 5 children. He was nicknamed "John Lackland" because he inherited little land. 

Fun Fact!

King John was know as one of the worst and most unsuccessful monarchs the country has ever seen!

Timeline

1)-1204

Lost French territories

2)-1204

Raising taxes

4)-1215

The Magna Carta

5)-1215

Civil war and death

1)​​​ 1204 King John lost territories in France, such as Normandy this is mainly due to his poor management, lack of military tactics and financial mismanagement.

2) After losing territories in 1204 he began to raise taxes to help finance regaining his land. This included taxing high ranking Baron , introducing forest laws that would be easily broken and a tax on the Jewish community.

3) From 1205 King John had an 8 year battle with Pope Innocent III over the appointment of the next Archbishop of Canterbury and ultimately control over the church. England was an extremely religious country and controlling the church provided power and financial gain.

4) The Magna Carta. After power struggles with the church and raising taxes King John caused unrest and rebellion amongst his Barons. King John was forced to sign the deal which reduced the Kings power and ensured that the king himself had to abide by laws, it protected the rights of the Church, the barons and prevented the King from unfairly raising taxes.

5) In 1215 King John still disagreed with the Magna Carter which caused a civil war amongst his people. This unrest pushed the Barons to invite Prince Louis of France to attempt to take control of England. It was at this time that King John ended up dying of a common illness called dysentry which was caused by stress and exhaustion, leaving his son Henry III to take the throne.

Was King John a good or bad leader?

I believe that King John was a terrible leader, there seems to be a lot more negative accounts of his reign than there does positive.

• Lack of military tactics, leading to the loss of territories.
• Losing the battle for power of the church.
• Upsetting his Barons through greed.
• Introducing unfair laws and taxes upon his people.

A difference of opinion

Medieval view

Most medieval accounts of King Johns reign were written by members of the church, who of course have a negative opinion of him due to his power struggle with the Pope.

Of course the people of King Johns reign would be unhappy with the loss of territories in Northern France and the fact he 'unfairly' raised taxes to try and raise funds to win them back.

Modern day opinion

Modern day accounts take a more considered judgement on his reign, this started in the Tudor times who supported his views that the Crown should have more power and rights than the people.

Modern historians today can also appreciate that King John was faced with a lot of debt when he was given the crown which made the loss of territories in France inevitable.

My OPINION

Due to all the facts that I have stated so far, I think that King John was a bad king I would not have liked to be alive during his reign. on top of everything on my previous slides, there have also been stories written about him starving prisoners and apparently he killed his nephew. So, overall I think he was a very cruel king.

King John rap on next slide

My Rap

King John became the king in 1199,

His brother died young so then it was his time to shine,

With money running low and all the trouble down in France,

Poor King John didn't stand a chance,

After losing to France and fighting with the Pope,

All the Barons were losing hope,

Then came the Magna Carta,

The Civil War starter,

​Prince Louis forced an entry,

Then the hated King John died of dysentry.