why was king john so unpopular?

Answer 1

for a number of reasons.

1) differences with the Pope/church
2) losing control of British occupied france
3) High taxes to pay for War

see more below

History Learning Site > Medieval England > King John
King John was born in 1167 and died in 1216. Like William I, King John is one of the more controversial monarchs of Medieval England and is most associated with the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215.

John was born on Christmas Eve, the youngest son of Henry II and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine. As a child, John tended to be overshadowed by is older brother Richard. Like his father, John developed a reputation for violent rages which lead to him foaming at the mouth. Henry left no land to John when he died so John was given the nick-name John Lackland. In 1189, all of Henry's territory went to his oldest son, Richard I, better known as Richard the Lionheart.

In 1191, Richard left England to embark on the Third Crusade. He left John in charge of the country. John's reputation as a leader had been severely dented as far back as 1185 when Henry II sent him to Ireland to rule. John proved to be a disaster and within six months he was sent home.

In 1192, Richard was imprisoned by Duke Leopold of Austria as he returned from the Crusades. John tried to seize the crown from his brother but failed. In 1194, when Richard finally returned to England, John was forgiven by his brother.

In 1199, Richard was killed in France and John became the king of England. His reign started in an unfortunate way. In 1202, John's nephew, Arthur of Brittany, was murdered. Many in Brittany believed that John was responsible for his murder and they rebelled against John. In 1204, John's army was defeated in Brittany and John had no choice but to retreat. His military standing among the nobles fell and he was given a new nickname - John Softsword. The defeat in north France was a major blow for John and a costly one. To pay for the defeat, John increased taxes which was not popular with anybody other than John and his treasurers.

John also succeeded in falling out with the pope in 1207. John quarreled with the pope over who should be Archbishop of Canterbury. The pope excommunicated John and put England under a Church law that stated that no christening or marriage would be legal until the time the pope said that they would be. Church law said that only christened people could get to Heaven while children born out of marriage were doomed to Hell. This placed people in England under a terrible strain and they blamed one person for this - John.

In 1213, John had to give in and surrender the spiritual well-being of the whole country to the pope. However, the pope never fully trusted John and in 1214, the pope proclaimed that anybody who tried to overthrow John would be legally entitled to do so. In the same year, John lost another battle to the French at Bouvines. This defeat resulted in England losing all her possessions in France. This was too much for the powerful barons in England. In 1214, they rebelled.

John was forced to sign the Magna Carta at Runnymede in 1215. This guaranteed the people of England rights that the king could not go back on. In 1216, John tried to go back on the Magna Carta but this only provoked the barons into declaring war on him. By 1216, John was ill. During the war, he suffered from dysentery. He also lost all of his treasure when he tried to take a shortcut across a stretch of water in the Wash, Lincolnshire. As the tide rose faster than he expected, his baggage train was engulfed. Just a few days later, John died and was succeeded by Henry III.

Despite the obvious failings of John, there is still some evidence that he was not as bad as some have tried to make him out to be since his death. It certainly was not uncommon for kings to have their names tarnished when they were not alive to defend themselves!

The picture of a monster, put forward by Roger of Wendover and Matthew Paris must be rejected forever. John had the administrative ability of a great ruler but, from the moment he began to rule, rivals and traitors tried to cheat him out of his inheritance. As he wrestled with one problem, more enemies sprang upon his back.
William Stubbs written in 1873.

Answer 2

Actually a propaganda exercise, to put Richard Lionheart in a better light. Richard nearly bankrupted England fighting in Palestine but as a crusader could do no wrong.Also John was a great advocate of trade and the signing of the Magna Carta is the initial step towards English Democracy. Obviously john was the better King but not charismatic enough and in 1192 Richard captured Jaffa opening Jerusalem to Christian pilgrims again so remains a hero

Answer 3

King John of England (1167 -1216), the youngest son of Henry II. John ruled during King Richard 1's absence during the Third Crusade. Disgraced for intriguing against Richard, John nevertheless succeeded him as King The loss of vast territories in France (1204-05) and heavy taxation made him unpopular. In 1215, he was compelled to sign the Magna Carta, and his subsequent disregard of the terms led to the first Barons' War.

Answer 4

Possibly the best window into King John of England is the example on display in the movie 'The Lion in Winter,' little known Nigel Terry perfectly captured the personality of John, a truly repellent toad whose coarse manners & crude nature appalled his fellow nobles as well as the common folk.
Yet it must be noted that by this point in history the English were throuroughly sick of the Plantangenets and would have turned on King Richard if he had lived long enough to earn their hatred.

Peace...

Also King John was a poor administrator, kept poor counsel, playing people against one another, - - - the best way to view John the historial figure is to read books about his mother Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Answer 5

.l Think king John was unfairly judged by history. He was regent for Richard(the lion hart)who was king.Richard was born in France and died in France.Where he is buried.lt was Richard's philandering that caused Regent John to impose unpopular taxes.Even later when Richard was ransomed by Saladin.lt was King John who had to raise this enormous ransom.Which bankrupted England.Richard returned to England,thanked John and the court,then left for his beloved France Funnily enough Richard is remembered as a good king.He'd be lucky if he spent two years of his entire life there,All he did was fight crusades and live abroad at the expence of the English people.Poor John had to bankroll him. He Richard was probably the worst king of England. With the blaim falling on his benefactor. John

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Answer 6

King John, better known as 'Bad King John' was a complete and utter unmitigating bastard. He taxed the people into depressing poverty so that they starved. He forced 'freemen' to work as 'serfs'.

He was so bad that even the Barons sickened of him in the end. The Barons and the Church forced upon the King the Magna Carta - signed with the illiterates X at Runnymede by the King.

Long live the people and the Booze Barons.

Answer 7

1

Answer 8

As seen above he was the worst of a very unsavoury bunch.

By the way, he did NOT sign the Magna Carta.
He had his seal set to it.
Then he totally ignored it.

Answer 9

He wanted to go to war with Iraq

Answer 10

Erm because he wanted war

Answer 11

This was Victorian propaganda to make Richard I look better.