15 June 1215: Magna Carta is sealed, curtailing the power of the king

On this day in 1215, King John submitted to the demands of England’s rebel barons and affixed his seal to the Magna Carta, assuring the rights of ‘free men’, and subjecting the king to the law of the land.

Magna Carta: Law, Liberty, Legacy
(Image credit: Tolga Akmen/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

King John, as anyone familiar with the tales of Robin Hood can tell you, was a very bad egg.

His brother and predecessor, Richard, was keen on war, and spent most of his time abroad fighting. That was expensive. But at least he tended to win.

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Ben Judge

Ben studied modern languages at London University's Queen Mary College. After dabbling unhappily in local government finance for a while, he went to work for The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh. The launch of the paper's website, scotsman.com, in the early years of the dotcom craze, saw Ben move online to manage the Business and Motors channels before becoming deputy editor with responsibility for all aspects of online production for The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News websites, along with the papers' Edinburgh Festivals website.

Ben joined MoneyWeek as website editor in 2008, just as the Great Financial Crisis was brewing. He has written extensively for the website and magazine, with a particular emphasis on alternative finance and fintech, including blockchain and bitcoin. 

As an early adopter of bitcoin, Ben bought when the price was under $200, but went on to spend it all on foolish fripperies.