Why did the early battles of the civil war favor the south?

Due to the backing up of the Spanish and Portuguese. I believe they seemed to be more liberal toward the public at that time. And had a lot of money, whilst Britain, France, Dutch guys were opposite.

I'm not entirely sure since i'm British

He argued with the barons over increased taxes.

Explanation:

King John ruled England for almost two decades (1199-1216) and was well known as a heavy-handed ruler. He would often wage unnecessary wars and burden his subjects with heavy taxes to pay for them. King John begrudgingly signed the Magna Carta because he needed the barons to fight his battles and collect taxes