# UK Constitution and Government/Plantagenets


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`<big>`{=html}`<big>`{=html}The Plantagenets
(1154-1399)`</big>`{=html}`</big>`{=html}

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## Henry II

With the death of King Stephen, Henry Plantagenet took the throne as
King Henry II. He already had control over the duchy of Normandy; he had
also inherited Anjou from his father Geoffrey. Furthermore, he acquired
many territories from his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine. Henry thus had a
vast territory when he came to the throne; as King of England, he took
over Ireland.

Henry II made other remarkable achievements in England. He established
courts throughout England and introduced trial by jury. Furthermore, he
reduced the power of ecclesiastical courts. The Archbishop of Canterbury
and Lord High Chancellor, Thomas à Becket, opposed the King\'s attempt
to take power from the Church. At a confrontation between the two in
1170, Henry II famously said, \"Who will rid me of this turbulent
priest?\" Four of his knights took him literally, and in December
murdered Becket.

Henry, however, did not have good relations with his sons. In 1170, his
eldest son Henry was crowned, and is known as Henry the Young King. In
1173, the Young King and his brothers revolted against Henry II,
planning to dethrone him and leave the Young King as the sole ruler in
England. In 1174, the revolt failed, and all of the brothers
surrendered. Later, in 1189, Henry II\'s third son, Richard, attacked
and defeated him. Henry II died days after his defeat, and Richard,
nicknamed \"the Lionheart,\" became King.

## Richard I

Richard the Lionheart is often portrayed as a hero, but he did not do
much for England. In fact, he spent almost all of his time outside the
nation, and did not even find it necessary to learn English. He is most
famous for his fighting in the Crusades, a holy war seeking to assert
Christian dominance over Jerusalem.

## John

Richard\'s successor was his brother, John Allin. Henry II had granted
John the lands of Ireland, so when John came to the throne, the titles
Lord of Ireland and King of England were united. However, though Ireland
became a dominion of the Crown, several lands on the Continent,
including most of Normandy, were lost during John\'s reign.

King John was very unpopular with the nation\'s magnates, the barons,
whom he taxed. A particularly resented tax was the scutage, a penalty
paid by barons who failed to supply the King with military resources. In
1215, after John had been defeated in France, several barons rebelled.
Later in that year, John compromised and signed the *Magna Carta*, or
Great Charter. It guaranteed political liberties and provided for a
church free from domination by the monarchy. These liberties and
privileges, however, were not extended to the common man; rather, they
were granted to the barons. Nonetheless, the document is immensely
significant in English constitutional history as it is a major
indication of a limitation on the power of the Crown.

King John, however, broke the provisions of the Charter later, claiming
that he agreed to it under duress. In the next year, when he was
retreating from a French invasion, John lost England\'s most valuable
treasures - the Crown Jewels - in a marsh known as The Wash. His mental
and physical health deteriorated, and he later died from dysentery.

## Henry III

John was succeeded by his son, Henry, who was only nine years old. Henry
III, despite a reign that lasted over half a century, is not a
particularly memorable or noteworthy monarch. Nonetheless, a very
significant political development occurred during Henry III\'s reign. In
1258, one of Henry\'s opponents, Simon de Montfort, called a Parliament,
the forerunner of the modern institution. It, however, bears little
resemblance to the modern body, as it had little power.

Simon de Montfort, who was married to Henry III\'s sister, defeated and
imprisoned his brother-in-law in 1264. He was originally supported by
Henry\'s son Edward, but the latter later returned to his father\'s
side. Edward defeated de Montfort in 1265 at the Battle of Evesham and
restored Henry III. In 1270, the ageing Henry gave up most of power to
his son; two years later, he died, and Edward succeeded to the throne.

## Edward I

Edward I was the monarch who brought the entire British Isles under
English domination. In order to raise money in the war against the
rebellious Wales, Edward instituted a tax on Jewish moneylenders. The
tax, however, was too high for the moneylenders, who eventually became
too poor to pay. Edward accused them of disloyalty and abolished the
right of Jews to lend money. He also ordered that all Jews wear a yellow
star on their clothing; that idea was later adopted by Adolf Hitler in
Germany. Edward also executed hundreds of Jews, and in 1290 banished all
of them from England.

In 1291, the Scottish nobility agreed to submit to Edward. When Queen
Margaret I died, the nobles allowed Edward to choose between the rival
claimants to the throne. Edward installed the weak John Balliol as
monarch, and easily dominated Scotland. The Scots, however, rebelled.
Edward I executed the chief dissenter, William Wallace, further
antagonising Scotland.

## Edward II

When Edward I died in 1307, his son Edward became King. Edward II
abandoned his father\'s ambitions to conquer Scotland. Furthermore, he
recalled several men his father had banished. The barons, however,
rebelled against Edward. In 1312, Edward agreed to hand over power to a
committee of barons known as \"ordainers.\" These ordainers removed the
power of representatives of commoners to advise the monarch on new laws,
and concentrated all power in the nobility. Meanwhile, Robert the Bruce
was slowly reconquering Scotland. In 1314, Robert\'s forces defeated
England\'s in battle, and Robert gained control over most of Scotland.

In 1321, the ordainers banished a baron allied with the King, Hugh le
Despencer, along with his son. In 1322, Edward reacted by recalling them
and attacking the barons. He executed the leader of the ordainers, the
Earl of Lancaster, and permitted the Despencers to rule England. The
Despencers declared that all statutes created by the ordainers were
invalid, and that thereafter, no law would be valid unless it had
received the assent of the Commons, representatives of the commoners of
England. However, the Despencers became corrupt, causing them to be very
unpopular, even with Edward\'s own wife, Isabella. In 1325, Isabella
went to France, and in 1326, she returned, allied with Roger Mortimer,
one of the barons Edward had defeated. The two killed the Despencers and
forced Edward to resign his crown to his son, also named Edward. Edward
II was imprisoned and later killed.

## Edward III

Since Edward III was a child, Isabella and Roger Mortimer ruled England
in his stead. When Edward III became eighteen, however, he had Mortimer
executed and banished his mother from court. In 1328, when Charles IV,
Isabella\'s father and King of France, died, Edward claimed France,
suggesting that the kingdom should pass to him through his mother. His
claim was opposed by Philip VI, who claimed that the throne could only
pass in the male line. Edward declared war on Philip, setting off the
Hundred Years\' War. The British claim to the French throne was not
abandoned until the nineteenth century.

## Richard II

Richard II succeeded his grandfather, Edward III, in 1377. Richard II
was only about ten years old when coming to the throne. Even as an
adult, Richard II was a rather weak king. In 1399, he was deposed by his
cousin, Henry of Bolingbroke, and probably murdered the next year.

