In what way did the Magna Carta aim to limit King John's power?

The Magna Carta, signed in 1215, aimed to limit King John's power primarily by establishing certain rights related to feudal payments and the relationship between the Crown and its subjects. One of the key provisions laid out in the Magna Carta was a focus on limiting the financial demands that the king could place on his vassals and subjects. This included making stipulations about taxes and feudal payments, ensuring that they could not be imposed arbitrarily and needed to be reasonable and based on customary practices.

By instituting these limitations, the Magna Carta served as a critical step in the development of constitutional governance and the legal principle that the monarch's power was not absolute, but subject to the law. This early document laid the groundwork for the later evolution of common law and parliamentary democracy in England, reflecting an emerging consciousness regarding the rights of subjects against the arbitrary rule of sovereigns.