JCC
(Joint Crisis Committee)

AGENDA ITEM: Establishment of Magna Carta

Henry II of England and Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine’s youngest son John Lackland or Jean sans Terre —there are disputed records but it is generally accepted that he was known as “Lackland” because he was not expected to inherit any significant land or his loss of lands in France and failure to recover them— became Henry’s favourite son following the Revolt of 1173–1174 by Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry the Young King, Richard the Lionheart and Geoffrey, getting rewarded with the Lordship of Ireland and other fiefs. After the death of heir apparent Henry the Young King, Richard Lionheart became the King of England following his father’s death in 1189. While he was participating to the Third Crusade, John Lackland attempted a failed rebellion against his brother’s officers, albeit he was not crowned king until his brother died in 1199.

As usual, the matter of succession to the English throne was disputed; the Norman law favoured John Lackland —who was supported by the most of the English and Norman nobility, and his mother Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine— as the only surviving son of Henry II, while the Angevin law favoured John’s brother Geoffrey’s son Arthur I of Brittany —who was supported by the nobles of Breton, Maine and Anjou, and King Philip II of France— as he was the only son of Henry II’s elder son. In the year 1200 John and Philip II signed the Treaty of Le Goulet, acknowledging John’s rightful succession to Richard the Lionheart as the heir of his possessions in France and Philip II’s legitimate rights as the feudal overlord of these lands, and John giving up on his alliances. As John did not share Richard’s wrathful militaristic nature, English chroniclers called him John Softsword. John’s numerous failures in France and his incompetent rule, unsuccessful conquest attempts for the continental lands, which led to more loss of land, and heavy taxes caused him to lose the favour of his barons and allies; eventually leading to a rebellion. With the confrontation in 1215 he was forced to meet the demands of the barons and rebels, signing the Magna Carta. When John broke his oath with the blessing of the Pope, the First Barons’ War broke out, in which John died during the war, in year 1216.

Under Secretary General: Mirata Deva

contact mail: miratadeva2@gmail.com