In 1964 Malawi joined the Commonwealth of Nations.
In 1189 King Henry II of England died and his son Richard became Richard I of England.
Their was much controversy over which son would succeed Henry II when he died of a burst stomach ulcer but it was his third son Richard, who had already proved himself a great military leader that became King on the 6th of July 1189 and had his coronation on the 3rd of September that year. Richard the Lionheart, as he became known, led his own army at the age of 16 and successfully crushed a rebellion against his father. Henry II and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine had five children but the first, William, died as an infant. Their second son Henry, known as Henry the young king, was crowned king on the 14th of June 1170, while his father was still King of England. This was a French tradition that Henry allowed to take place but this was not enough for the young King. Soon after he and two of his brothers, Richard and Geoffery left for France and in 1173, with the help of the French King Philip II, they led a rebellion against their father Henry II. The only one of Henry II’s sons not to take part in the rebellion was John and Henry favoured John to succeed him for the crown. But when Henry the young King died on the 11th of June 1183 (aged 28), Richard was next in line for the throne.
Richard the Lionheart a Philip II of France agreed to fight Saladin for Jerusalem in the Third Crusade (1189-1192). The belief in the divine right of Christians was very strong in Europe at the time and this led to hatred towards bother religions including massacres of Jews and continuous fighting of Muslims for the holy land.
Richard I spent less than a year in England during his reign as king and he heavily taxed the English and sold titles to any Englishman with enough money to pay for his holy war. Richard was somewhat successful taking territory including Acre and Joppa but not in taking Jerusalem. The alliance of French King Philip II and Richard ended when Philip was refused half the Kingdom of Cyprus, and soon the French King returned home. With several indecisive battles between Richard and the Muslim leader Saladin a truce was made between them.
Richard began his long journey home to England by ship but was forced to land in Venice due to bad weather. He was captured and imprisoned by Duke Leopold of Austria who then gave him to Henry VI of the Holy Roman Empire. Henry VI ransomed Richard for 150,000 marks. This was a huge sum even for a king and in order to save him his mother forced the church to sell everything of value while taxes on the English were increased once more. Richard was finally released on the 4th of February 1194.
While fighting the crusade Richard left William Longchamp in charge of England, but Longchamp had to continuously contend with Richard’s younger brother John. John was aided by King Philip II of France in his plans to take the English throne and as soon as Richard was released he headed for England and was crowned a second time. Within a month of arriving home Richard left for France to battle with Philip II. During the Siege of Chalus castle Richard was mortally wounded and died on the 6th of April 1199. His Brother John became King John I of England and he spent much of his reign also at war with Philip II for his French lands. While fighting King Philip II, King John taxed the people heavily and by now the noblemen of England had had enough. They marched on London and forced King John to sign the ‘Magna Charta’, which is Latin for great charter. This document became the cornerstone of law and liberty in the English speaking world.
