The Norman conquest of England in 1066 established William the Conqueror as the new king after he defeated the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings. Several centuries later, King John's oppressive taxes and loss of lands in France led his nobles to force him to agree to the Magna Carta in 1215, which established certain legal rights and limitations on royal power. This document helped pave the way for the development of parliamentary democracy in England.