King Richard was more responsible than King John for the collapse of the Empire

KING JOHN AND RICHARD Richard died in 1199 after a decade of reigning amongst England, Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony; Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Maine and Nantes and Overlord of Brittany. John succeeded him as heir over Arthur of Brittany (their nephew, son of Geoffrey) on 6th April 1199 and ruled until October 1216. When Richard received the Angevin Empire from his father Henry II, he became in charge of a vast amount of land with great revenue. At the time of Henry II’s death, the revenue of England was about £22,000, by Richard’s death 10 years later the revenue of England had greatly decreased due to Richard’s heavy extortion and taxation of the people and country. Whether for crusade, supplies or castles. Chateaux Gaillard cost £15,000-£20,000 to build within two years. FALL OF THE ANGEVIN EMPIRE Many historians blame John for the loss of the Angevin Empire. After all, when Richard took over from Henry it was all still there, and when John took over from Richard it was all still there. But on John’s death, it had been torn apart. However it does not follow that it was solely John’s fault. The Empire was formed and fallen between 1135 and 1216. On many occasions lands were lost, but often recovered. John’s reign saw the biggest loss of land without recovery – because he was financially unable to. John was unable to fight for his lost lands, however much he did or didn’t want too. Richard’s reign had left his lands crippled and dry from the amount of money taken from them. John couldn’t go to war without money; he needed it for supplies, transport, weapons and men. So an already heavily taxed England had to be taxed again, because of Richard’s escapades. (Crusade, Ransom). Richard’s death also happened to occur in the middle of a battle between England and Philip over Chateaux Gaillard, which Philip later won and gained an advantage point on the Norman Vexin. During Richard’s reign many decisions were made that proved fruitless for his Kingdom, as an absentee king he could hardly know everything that was going on and what needed to be done. In 1190 William Longchamp was installed as Justiciar over the land to oversee the government and running of it. Longchamp proved very unpopular among the people, a foreigner he was distrusted, further so as he did not speak English. He was forceful and pushy, marginalising the other attendants Richard had appointed over the country. This poor choice led many to criticise Richard and his leadership. Longchamp was so unpopular he ran away in disguise finally reaching the continent in 1191/1192. Richard’s absentee Kingship meant that England was constantly under confusion. Having spent only six months in England and most of that time being spent preparing to leave, his people and nobility distrusted him, choosing instead to favour John which led to his rebellion in 1194 whilst Richard was held ransom in Austria. Richard also made it unclear who his heir would be, many accounts had it that it was John or Arthur and so on his death it was a race. John won and became installed as the next king of England  to be sure of his throne as Arthur kept claiming his right he was disposed of. This led to enmity between John and his lands and people who didn’t want to associate with someone who had killed his nephew. As such, his nobility didn’t trust him and he was seen as sneaky and devious. The loss of Normandy in 1204 was great, but there was nothing John could have done, still trying to recover his empire from an economic downturn he didn’t have to resources to retaliate. When he did have the resources however, he did. But he continually faced multiple issues, he needed to make sure England was secure before he went off to fight for other duchies or counties. John was an activist, he planned carefully his attacks and defence systems, he might not have the same military prowess and tactical knowledge that Richard has, but he knew what needed doing. John gambled, he relinquished his hold on the unwieldy Angevin Empire to concentrate on the lands closer to home; England and Ireland. He knew by continuing fighting he would lose even more and that he could not afford. By allowing the Empire to fall apart, John ensured that the lands left that he ruled could be made stronger and used to a better purpose. By being a present King instead of an absentee one, he was confident he could unite the lands he ruled and be the King Richard was not.  

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