OBEY THE KING
In the year 1210, King John of England had an idea. For many years the Royal Forest was available to all who paid the usage fee. Paying this tribute to the crown allowed nobleman and peasant alike to hunt, fish, and frolic on the regal property. The king, looking to reduce the strain on this resource and increase the empire’s income — much needed income to help support the war with France — decided to raise the usage fee and restrict the use of the forest to the upper classes. To carry out this decree, he appointed Thomas Mulberry as Royal Forester. However, it wasn’t long before Thomas realized he had a problem. The king expected a certain amount of revenue each month, but there simply weren’t enough customers among the upper classes to maintain the projected revenues. In order to keep to the crown’s budget, Thomas decided to allow use of the forest by some of the local peasants at…
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