The Crusades
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 Chris
This offered crusaders freedom, adventure, and the possibility of economic gain. tians to join him in a Holy War to reclaim the Holy Lands as an act of Christianity. 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 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 prospect of wealth and expansion were an added bonus. 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. He kept in mind the materialistic and economic prospects of the venture. This opened up the Mediterranean Sea for Christian shipping and provided trade with the Near and Far East. This was an opportunity for European expansion. 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 expansion of the Christians into the Mediterranean Sea and trade in the East was probably considered worth far more than the lives lost fighting the war. The opportunity for social advancement and the possibility of increasing wealth were very tempting to the crusaders. He appealed to the interest of the people by offering them salvation if they rescued the Holy Land from the Muslim people.
Common topics in this essay:
Land Muslim,
Finucane Crusades,
Church East,
Ronald Finucane,
Mediterranean Sea,
Holy Lands,
Eberhard Mayer,
,
Sea Christian,
Urban II,
mediterranean sea,
development crusades,
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Acceptance Essays
