The "Magna Carta" was signed today

History is one of the main travel motivators so I’d like to share this historic occurrence with you. Check back here often as I’ll share historical data which can act as trip planning tool for you.

King John of England reigned from 6 April 1199 until his death in 1216. In the first hundred years since the Norman conquest of England, the monarchy had become very powerful. This power was too much so for the liking of the lords and barons subject to King John's taxes.

In open rebellion, and with the support of France and Scotland, a group of English barons entered London on June 10th, 1215 and demanded the King sign the "Articles of the Barons" which become known as the Magna Carta. King John attached his Royal seal to the document on June 15, 1215 under threat of open civil war.

The Magna Carta greatly limited the powers of the King in theory, though in practice much time would pass before any English king would feel the brunt of the document's force. Among its most important provisions was a prohibition against unlawful imprisonment, the forerunner of the modern doctrine of habeas corpus.

For many of us the first trip abroad to the United Kingdom and/or Ireland is a great fit.

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