The Magna Carta: The Magna Carta was a signed document that limited the king's powers. During the middle ages, King John was forced to sign this document. King John had to sign the Magna Carta because otherwise he would've been forced to resign from his throne as the king. King John: First off, King John was the ruler of England. Have you ever seen the classic movie Robin Hood? Well if you have or haven't, one of the characters is King John(the thumb sucking lion). In Robin Hood, King John takes the throne from his beloved brother, King Richard. King John is also known as the "evil" king of England. The people of England often questioned his ways of ruling and wanted their dear King Richard to come back to them. Of course, one of the horrible things King John did was always raising the taxes. The people were pushed to their limits with all the money they had to give to King John. In fact, King John was filthy rich, forced courtesy of the poor tax payers. If the townsfolk fell too far behind on their taxes, they were thrown in jail. After a while, King Richard returned to the thrown. King John was removed of his crown. I guess that's what happens when taxes get too high.