The Crusades essays

The Crusades essays There are differing views on whether the Crusades were motivated by religion or were there also other factors. Hans Eberhard Mayer says that other factors were also important in the development of the Crusades, but the religious motivation was the strongest. Ronald Finucane counters that political, economic, and social factors also were responsible in the development of the Crusades. The crusades arose out of the feudal society of the eleventh century. Pope Urban II had called the Christians to join him in a Holy War to reclaim the Holy Lands as an act of Christianity. He appealed to the interest of the people by offering them salvation if they rescued the Holy Land from the Muslim people. He kept in mind the materialistic and economic prospects of the venture. This offered crusaders freedom, adventure, and the possibility of economic gain. The crusades were a defensive act against the flourishing Muslim faith, which Christians perceived as a threat to their own faith and way of life. The prospect of wealth and expansion were an added bonus. The original objective of the Crusade was to provide help to the Christian Church in the East, but the seed of greed was planted in the minds of men. The opportunity for social advancement and the possibility of increasing wealth were very tempting to the crusaders. This was an opportunity for European expansion. This opened up the Mediterranean Sea for Christian shipping and provided trade with the Near and Far East. I agree with Finucane in that the Crusades were probably more motivated by greed for territory and ignorance of another culture than religious reasons. The Muslims were a threat due to their mere occupation of the lands and for no other reason than that, they were persecuted and religion was the guise to carry out the acts. The expansion of the Christians into the Mediterranean Sea and trade in the East was probably considered worth far more than the lives lost fight...