Crusades

Introduction:  Today we interview Pope Urban II. 

Question:  Why were there so many knights during the middle of the 11^th century?

Answer:  Well, around that time Europe was still in the Dark Ages.  We had just conquered the Vikings.  During the time when we were at war with the Vikings we needed a lot of military support to fend off the raiders, so we had a lot of left over knights.  Life was hard.  There was economic depression, disease and religious persecution.  The knights turned from honorable to thugs.  They were strong, violent individuals that were hungry for battle, but there was no battle to fight.

Question:  What did you do with the knights when there is no imposing threat?

Answer:  At first lords hired them.  They were rich enough to buy large armies.  Lords would have them attack the peasants and force them to accept the lords’ authority.  Castles were built to subjugate the people in the countryside.   

Question:  How did you control the chaos?

Answer:  The Church placed limits on who, what, and when to attack.  Missionaries would use relics, or religious objects, to instill the importance of the rules.  We would threaten them.  If they disobeyed our rules, the Saints which the relics coincided with would punish them.  We had two main proclamations.  They were “Peace of God” and “Truth of God”.  They basically meant that certain weak individuals should not be attacked by the knights and there were periods where there shouldn’t be any warfare.  They also had to chivalrous, brave and loyal.  The highest honor in knighthood was to save a damsel in distress.  Bishops would try to redevelop the energy of the knights who weapons but lack land. 

Question:  What led to the Crusades?

Answer:  In 1095, Seljuk Turks invaded the holy land; Jerusalem.  It was time to launch a Crusade.  I could picture Jesus’ house being defied and disrespected by the Muslims.  It made me sick and anxious.  The crusades were god’s will.  The first Crusade was the most successful.  In 1099 we captured Jerusalem and massacred the Jewish and Muslim residents.  Over the next 200 years there were 9 Crusades with no permanent conquests.  In 1187, Jerusalem fell to the Muslims.

Question:  What good came of the Crusades if there no permanent conquests?

Answer:  The Crusaders came back to Europe with knowledge, books, medicine, surgery and language.  Also they brought back ancient Greek ideas.  Extraordinary stone castles were built, military supplies lines transformed into merchant roads, roads were rebuilt and tourism boomed.  We finally exited the dark ages. 
http://www.oceansbridge.com/paintings/artists/recently-added/july2008/big/Pope-Urban-II-xx-Antoine-Rivalz.JPG

William the Conqueror

Introduction:  Today we interview William the Conqueror.

Question:  How did you become King of England and earn your title?

Answer:  In 1066, King Edward the Confessor died without an heir to his thrown.  A council of nobles chose Harold Godwinson, Edward’s brother-in-law to become the next King, but King Edward had promised me the thrown.  I am a descendant of the Vikings and was back then known as “William, Duke of Normandy” from France.  I received the Pope’s support.  To determine who got the thrown, a war was to be fought.  I quickly raised an army and sailed across the English Channel to England.  I fought Harold in the Battle of Hasting and was victorious giving me the title “William the Conqueror”.  I was crowned King of England on Christmas Day 1066.

Question:  Once King, what did you set out to do?

Answer:  I wanted to get control of my land.  I accomplished this by granting fiefs to Norman Lords and Churches, keeping land for myself, and monitoring where all castles are built.  I also had all vassals swear allegiance to me. 

Question:  What is a vassal?

Answer:  A vassal was a knight that would pledge allegiance to feudal lords, but I had them pledge allegiance to me instead.  This way I couldn’t be threatened. 

Question:  What is a “Domesday Book”?

Answer:  A “Domesday book” was the census of everything in my kingdom.  In 1086, I wanted to learn about my kingdom so I had a complete census taken.  The “Domesday Book” listed all people, property, buildings and livestock in my kingdom.  This helped me to create the first tax system.    

http://mhpbooks.com/mobylives/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/william-the-conqueror2.gif

Magna Carta

Introduction: The Magna Carta was a document signed by King John.  And here today we will discuss this important piece of paper with King John himself.

Question: What was the Magna Carta?

Answer:  I was sent the Magna Carta in 1215.  It was a legal document which basically stated that I, the King, had to follow laws too.  It also stated the Due Process of Law.  This basically means that there are certain rules the government must follow for fair and impartial trials.

Question:  Why were you sent it?

Answer: I personally thought I did a fine job ruling.  I had some loses, but doesn't everyone?

Question: Yes, I suppose.  But if you a good ruler, why would they send you this?

Answer: I guess not everyone appreciated the job I was doing.  The Barons rebelled against me and forced me to sign the document.  Along with what I said before, the document stated the Baron's state rights.  My legal system was questionable according to them.  They didn't like the taxes I made. 

Question:  Earlier you said you had loses.  Can you elaborate?

Answer:   I lost England some land in France when I lost the battle against King Phillip II.  I gave up Anjou and Normandy.  I also lost a battle with Pope Innocent III.  He excommunicated me because we didn't agree on who the new archbishop should be.  And then I lost the battle with the nobles when the forced me to sign he Magna Carta. 

Question:  I heard that you weren't following your own law.  Is this true?

Answer:  As I said before, the document stated I needed to follow the laws.  They probably wouldn't have made me sign a document with this in it if they weren't under the impression I was breaking the law.  I have no obligation to answer your question other than to say that the Barons were under the impression that I was breaking the law. 

Question:  Just to sum things up; you the Magna Carta states that you had to follow the law, have fair trials or Due Process of Law, and give the Barons state rights.  They sent you this because you broke the law and had an unjust legal system, according to the nobles.

Answer:  Yes, that sounds about right.

Reply:  Well, thank you for letting me interview you.

Response: No problem.

http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/images/king-john.jpg

Columbus Leaves Spain

Introduction:   We are interviewing Queen Isabella of Spain. 

Question:  Why did you finance Columbus’ voyage?

Answer:  Ferdinand and I had expelled all Jewish peasants in Spain because we wanted to strengthen Catholicism.  However, with the expulsion of these influential members of the community, we lost some of our most prosperous persons.  We hoped that this voyage would bring us wealth and stature. 

Question:  How did Columbus present his proposition?

Answer:  Christopher Columbus was an Italian navigator from Genoa.  He came to us with a proposition.  He wanted to reach the East Indies, or a group of islands in Southeast Asia.  He knew that the world was sphere, so he was well educated.  Unfortunately he underestimated the Earth size. 

Question:  Tell me more about the voyage.

Answer:  We gave him three small ships; the Nina, the Pinta, and Santa Maria.  They set sail on August 3, 1492.  They saw land on October 12.  They halted immediately and docked the ships.  The world was larger than he’d expected, so the voyage had been going on long enough for them to be low on rations.   He was under the impression he had landed in the Indies.  The natives there were called “Indians”.  He returned back to Spain in 1493 as a hero.  He didn’t know he had discovered a new continent.  Later Europeans explorers found out the route led to what is now known as America. 

http://christophercolumbusfacts.com/images/christopher_columbus.jpg

To Mr. Carleton:

Sorry that the posts are out of order.  I tried to repost and delete them, but it didn't work. :(  This is how the order should go;
Buddhism Comes to China
Confucius
Lao Zi and Taoism
Unification of China
Great Wall
Han Dynasty
T'ang Dynasty
Sung Dynasty
Mongols Take China
Zheng He
Hope you enjoy!

Han Dynasty

The Han Dynasty is starting to bother me.  It started in 206 BC and now its 220 AD.  They've been ruling for as long as anyone can remember and I'm tired of it.  The Chin dynasty was overthrown by peasants and now the government they've created is crumbling down.  It is said that in the beginning of the empire, life was easy.  Taxes were lowered, extreme punishment ceased and merchants were given new freedoms.  China's borders expanded past the Yangtze and Yellow rivers.  The government made Confucianism the official state philosophy and used civil service tests to select government officials.  Unfortunatly, quick developement comes with a price.  Now we just want something better.  Our resources are becoming scarce and the governement knows the people are angry about him now foreseeing this.  He's replaced the army of peasants and transformed it into a trained military.  He knows rebellion is coming.  Everyone has been migrating recently.  18 million in the last millenium.  Ontop of all this, the Yellow river has once again flooded, threatening out way of life.  Maybe I will migrate, too.  Or should I join the rising rebellion?  I'm not sure what to do. 
http://homepages.stmartin.edu/Fac_Staff/rlangill/HIS%20217%20maps/Han%20dynasty%20map.JPG

T'ang Dynasty

This is the year 618 CE.  It is the time of the T'ang dynasty and it is the golden age of poetry.  Some refer to this time as the Sui Dynasty. China's most beloved poet is living at right now by the name of Li Po.  His writing is the product of the silk road.  "All weath and power is like clouds."  That is my favorite quote of his.  His writing is so beautiful.  The capitol of this dynasty is Chang-an, but I have a feeling in the future they'll call it Xi'an.  Sadly, the T'ang dynasty could decline due to revolution.  I've heard people planning one.
http://homepages.stmartin.edu/Fac_Staff/rlangill/HIS%20217%20maps/Tang%20dynasty%20map.JPG