Magna Carta
Magna Carta, pronounced MAG nuh KAHR tuh, is a document that marked a decisive step forward in the development of constitutional government and legal ideas in England. In later centuries, much of the rest of the world also benefited from it because many countries followed English models in creating their own governments. These countries include the United States and Canada. The Latin words Magna Carta mean Great Charter.
Magna Carta developed from the discontent of the English barons and church leaders with the rule of King John. Their unhappiness grew when John lost most of the English possessions in France in warfare lasting from 1202 to 1206. After John lost an important battle against France at Bouvines (in what is now western Belgium) in 1214, civil war broke out in England. John saw that he could not defeat his opponents' army, and so he agreed to a set of articles known as Magna Carta, or Great Charter, on June 15, 1215, at Runnymede, southwest of London.
In the charter, the king granted many rights to the English aristocracy. The ordinary English people gained little. But many years later, Magna Carta became a model for those who demanded democratic government and individual rights for all. In its own time, the greatest value of Magna Carta was that it limited royal power and made it clear that even the king had to obey the law.
Excerpt adapted from the "Magna Carta" article, The World Book Encyclopedia © 1999