Magna Carta (Civ3)/Civilopedia

The Magna Carta, or Great Charter, is one of the most important documents in the history of Western civilization. In 1215, King John of England 
demanded more money from his vassal lords. The royal treasury was depleted from crusading in the Holy Land and from defending royal claims in France, and 
thus John levied taxes not just on secular barons but on the church. This caused the barons and bishops to unite, and they insisted that John accept limits on 
his power in exchange for such heavy demands. John saw that he had no choice and signed the document, binding himself and all future English kings to respect 
certain freedoms and liberties of his subjects. The concept of "due process", whereby a royal or other government official could not imprison or fine a defendant 
without first going through a previously approved procedure, first appeared in the Magna Carta, and it is now a fundamental element of Anglo-American law and considered essential 
to any free society's justice system. It also forbade the king from employing foreign mercenaries -- a rule that was perhaps respected more in the breach than the observance in later times -- 
and, perhaps most shockingly, it articulated the right of a king's vassals to overthrow him if he violated the promises made in the Magna Carta. These ideas influenced 
legal and political thinkers for centuries after the original Magna Carta was signed.