Читать книгу THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY - Steve Zolno - Страница 18

In Western Europe the millennium opened with a myriad of skirmishes and minor wars between fiefdoms that sent out their knights in battle against each other, although rarely in as chivalrous a manner as later portrayed in romances such as those of Chrétien de Troyes in his stories of the Knights of the Round Table.¹⁰⁰ Such ideals – about how to treat others with respect, particularly women – would establish rules of behavior and influence readers for centuries.

Christianity was founded upon principles of forgiveness¹⁰¹ and non-judgment.¹⁰² But once it had become the established religion in Europe it faced down numerous “heresies” that it believed challenged its absolute position as the representative of God on Earth. One reason for protests against the Church was that sacraments – and thus salvation – often were sold by priests who accumulated considerable wealth.¹⁰³

An attempt to free the Church from political influence came about under Pope Gregory VII, starting in 1073, who declared that he had the ultimate authority on earth, including the ability to depose kings.¹⁰⁴ He forbade the marriage of priests and outlawed the sale of Church offices. He separated the spiritual from the secular worlds, but with that opened new possibilities for the establishment of secular rule.

After the year 1000, what historians call “the rule of law” – a legal system where those who make the laws also are subject to them – became more firmly established in the West. Genuine rule of law is largely tied to economic growth and human creativity. States where people feel oppressed are less likely to create the trust needed for a robust economy. Rule of law also allows individuals to go about their daily lives – including holding and transferring property – without interference from government, except when they are challenged through legitimate governmental channels based on laws.

Many Western nations, if not actually democratic, witnessed progress toward recognition of the validity – and value – of individual human beings during this period, which moved the world in the direction of democracy. Some religious leaders, such as Francis of Assisi, were able to exert influence on the men and women of their time and subsequent times by inspiring them – via word and action – to acknowledge the holy aspect of God’s creation, including human beings, and thus treat each other with greater compassion:

Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance. Where there is patience and humility, there is neither anger nor vexation. Where there is poverty and joy, there is neither greed nor avarice. Where there is peace and meditation, there is neither anxiety nor doubt.¹⁰⁵

The Crusades began at the end of the eleventh century in an attempt to reverse Muslim successes in conquering much of the Middle East, Northern Africa, and the Iberian Peninsula – and to drive what the Pope considered infidels out of the Holy Land. Their stated intent was to spread the Christian principles of charity and compassion, but they practiced extreme violence, including the slaughter of those who got in their way including many Jews, Muslims and Christians. The first Crusade captured Jerusalem in 1099, but it was recaptured in 1187 by Saladin, the Muslim leader who commanded armies throughout the Middle East. Although the Crusades were not successful at reclaiming the Holy Land, working together toward a common cause increased the identification of many with the idea of a unified Europe.¹⁰⁶

Louis IX (later Saint Louis) of France went on two Crusades, financing the first by taking land from Jews. His grandson, Philip IV (le Bel) established an independent Papacy starting with Clement V in Avignon in 1309 after a tax dispute with Boniface VIII of Rome.¹⁰⁷ Philip also was the first to convene the Estates General in 1302, ostensibly an advisory body, composed of Clergy, Nobility and Commoners, but actually a means by which the king raised revenue. The Estates General met only periodically and when called.¹⁰⁸

By the twelfth century the Church had established a central canon law and moral authority that superseded the laws of many governments. In the Eastern Church, bishops continued to be chosen by rulers, which had the effect of localizing the laws.¹⁰⁹

English common law developed slowly after the conquest by William I of Normandy in 1066. William and subsequent kings traveled about the country enforcing laws that were intended to be fairly administered throughout the realm. Eventually a circuit of judges was trained to enforce these laws as equitably as possible.¹¹⁰

England had been organized into shires before 1066. The shire reeve (sheriff) became the ruler of each shire, as well as representative of the king. All freemen were required to attend meetings to discuss local issues, particularly grievances, in an effort to resolve them. This was a much more egalitarian model than existed in the rest of Europe at the time. A system called the hundreds (each composed of a hundred farm estates) led to the establishment of the jury system. Eventually royal courts replaced local jurisdictions.¹¹¹

Henry II, great-grandson of William, reigned 1154-89 and brought effective rule to England after a series of weak monarchs. His descendants – the Plantagenet dynasty – lasted two hundred years. He traveled throughout his empire to maintain and administer justice and expand English common law.¹¹²

In Western Europe, despite high birth mortality rates, women began to marry later and have fewer children than in other parts of the world. More were in the work force. Although western countries were far from totally democratic, women often were recognized for attributes other than just child-bearing. Women in England were allowed to hold and dispose of property.¹¹³

Education, for those who received it, was mainly the domain of the Church, which meant a considerable dose of religion along with writing and history.¹¹⁴ The center of European theological studies was Paris. Peter Abelard, in the twelfth century, taught the use of “ceaseless questioning,” via Aristotle, to approach God, and that an accurate description of God is beyond us because of the limits of language.¹¹⁵ Thomas Aquinas maintained, in the thirteenth century, that the existence of God can be apprehended by a mystical understanding that transcends reason: “And just as the soul exists wholly everywhere in the body, so God exists wholly in each and every thing.”¹¹⁶

Europe’s economy still was primarily agricultural, although poverty became less prevalent as the era of serfdom ended. When pilgrims came to town for religious feast days they also brought their wares to market. The large Gothic cathedrals with their spires and transepts reaching up to the heavens presented a respite from the routine labors of everyday life. They provided a glimpse of the holy for those who were awe-struck by the magnificent architecture that – along with the rituals performed within – represented God on earth.¹¹⁷

Along with a greater acknowledgement of people’s needs, a gradual increase in democratization took place. In many towns laws were administered by jurists who presided over disputes. Town lords ruled, but greater liberties were granted and exercises in self-governance were introduced, such as in the town of Nimes in France, which agreed to the election of counsels in 1198. Examples in England include the granting of “customs” – similar to a constitution – by Henry I to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and the granting of “royal privilege” to London in 1155.¹¹⁸

In Eastern Europe, Hungary became a Christian nation in the twelfth century, as did Poland and Bohemia. Eastern Europe in general became a Christian region, although the borders between countries there would not be stabilized for centuries.

The Mendicant orders – including the Franciscans founded by Saint Francis in 1206 – were determined to return to the original teachings of Jesus. They renounced the worldly wealth that had become common among monks and were determined to live on alms. But as often happens when inspirational movements evolve to become the established tradition, the mendicants became the chief prosecutors of heretics under the Inquisition.¹¹⁹

The Normans established settlements in the north of France – the region still called Normandy – and then conquered parts of the Italian peninsula. A descendent of the Normans, Frederick II, established a kingdom early in the 1200’s in Palermo where a multicultural community of Christians, Jews and Muslims led to increased general prosperity.¹²⁰

This was a relatively peaceful period in Western Europe, which encouraged the expansion of trade and improved prosperity throughout the region, from Italy to Spain to Germany, as well as areas outside the Christian realm, such as the Muslim lands in the south and Slavic tribes in Scandinavia. Southern England and Northern France specialized in textile production. Roads were still poor and taxes were imposed by local lords to pass through their lands, so trade was still far from “free.” Many bridges were built in this period, and rivers were used to transport goods wherever possible, including the Po, the Rhone and the Mosel. Sea trade was the slowest but cheapest means of transportation. The lack of a single currency also inhibited the expansion of trade, which gave rise to a class of merchants that arranged international loans. Taxes on sales transactions often were avoided by the wealthiest classes, which increased the financial distance between the wealthy and poor.¹²¹

In the 1200s an appreciation of human nature and reason – thus humanism – was beginning to be practiced in many newly established universities. This was the beginning of people thinking of themselves as having been created in the image of a Savior who God sent to earth and who suffered in the same way as people do. This was reflected in the art of the time in numerous paintings of the Crucifixion.¹²² Individual learning and growth in skills were beginning to be emphasized during this period, but laughter and joy also were encouraged, partly due to the teachings of Saint Francis. The appreciation and promotion of the individual who had a purpose in the present world – not just the world of salvation – had begun.¹²³

The Magna Carta of 1215 gave notice to kings in England that they could not simply confiscate land, although this eventually would still be done by some, such as Henry VIII, under the pretense of enforcing laws. This meant that to wage war a king would need to levy a tax, and was the beginning of the need for kings to work collaboratively with their subjects.¹²⁴ In 1265, a new type of Parliament began meeting at Westminster, composed not just of nobles but of knights and burgesses of local boroughs. This legislative body was the foundation of the House of Commons.¹²⁵

Knowledge based on experiment and discovery – not just belief – began to be developed. Chemistry began to replace alchemy and astronomy began to replace astrology. Roger Bacon initiated the “scientific method” by introducing optical and chemical experiments at Oxford and Paris, but he ran afoul of religious authorities and was forbidden to continue his work. William of Ockham developed the idea that knowledge only should be based on observation and described in the briefest and clearest way possible – thus “Ockham’s razor.”¹²⁶

Yet for hundreds of years the western world still was not free of belief in magic and superstition. Enlightened ideas did not penetrate to all levels of the population. Religious beliefs – including that of “original sin” – continued to supersede belief in science and block its path at many turns.¹²⁷

Ancient writings – particularly those of Aristotle – that had been preserved by Arabic scholars were passed on in the late twelfth century.¹²⁸ The need for improved record keeping due to the expansion of trade led to the establishment of schools that emphasized mathematical skills. A pioneer in this field was Leonardo Fibonacci, who traveled on business throughout Southern Europe in the early 1200s and used symbols that were originated by the Hindus and then passed on by the Arabs – what we now call Arabic numerals – starting with 0 and going up to 9, without which modern math would be impossible.¹²⁹

During the Middle Ages there were a number of revolts, led mainly by relatively well-off peasants – not the poorest – who believed that their rights and economic conditions were being threatened. In the cities, where many peasants had migrated, there was discontent due to increasing poverty, poor living conditions, and taxes, which led to trade unions and revolts from the 1200s up until the time of the French Revolution.¹³⁰

A generally growing prosperity allowed Europeans to begin reaching out to the rest of the world. The Venetian Polo brothers traveled and traded with Ceylon, the Mongols and possibly China. Merchants from Venice, Genoa and Catalan set out to import spices, with over a hundred mentioned in the chronicles of the time. They were used for medicinal purposes, embalming the dead, and of course for preserving and enhancing food. Citrus fruits and cane sugar also were imported which led to a higher standard of living.¹³¹

A more urban Europe emerged, centered around towns. People benefited from the trade that increasingly took place at the town centers, and more children benefited from schools that provided an education in basic skills.¹³² Universities flourished in such places as Bologna, Naples, Paris, Oxford, Cambridge, Lisbon and Salamanca, at first under the local bishops but eventually more independently of the Church. Their earlier teachings were influenced by Aristotle, who emphasized reason and inquiry over faith.¹³³

Book formats were revised and became more user-friendly. They began including chapters and indexes and were more widely available, thus leading to a broader democratization of knowledge. Parchment eventually was replaced by paper at a fraction of the cost. For the first time books were read by individuals for pleasure; one did not have to be of the noble classes in order to learn. Women were allowed to read devotional books. Encyclopedias also developed as compendiums of the state of knowledge.¹³⁴

Towns became the dwelling places of freemen – those freed from the encumbrances of feudal serfdom. Towns also reflected a concern for cleanliness – not always fulfilled – with the streets being paved, rubbish and waste water having a means of disposal. The few largest cities had populations of about 200,000, but the bulk of Western Europeans lived in small towns. There was as yet no appreciation of things natural; the woods were a place to be feared, but the beauty of the creation of towns was generally admired. Agricultural surpluses allowed more peasants to move to the towns as general prosperity grew amidst the increase in skilled craftsmen who could ply their trades in leather, clothing, barbering, metal working, jewelry, baked goods, meats, cheeses, spices, and medicines. Inns began to provide drink and food and a bed for travelers.¹³⁵ Thus the needs of the average person were increasingly addressed.

In England, local taxes were collected and used for creating town improvements such as roads and walls. This was a time of relative equality in which most town-dwellers were expected to contribute to civic expenses. The town was more democratic than the feudal model, although there was considerable inequality between classes – such as merchants and craftsmen – which grew throughout the Middle Ages. Nevertheless, the townspeople benefited from an economic flow that included an egalitarian encounter in the marketplace where many had something to trade in exchange for something they needed or wanted.¹³⁶ Despite many abuses, there was a growing sense of belief that the government and its laws were fair, including an increasing sense of national spirit.¹³⁷

Efforts at greater equality were not seen in most other European countries at the time, such as France, where the laws and courts continued to favor the local lords. This led to growing resentment among peasants that eventually exploded in the French Revolution. The area that became France was much less unified, as the King only had the ability to govern the area around Paris until later expansion; there was little unity of national spirit – or even language.

Jews in many Italian cities were confined to separate areas beginning in the eleventh century. Many magistrates insisted on this segregation due to Jewish customs and religious laws that also required living separately from Gentiles. In Venice, the Jewish area was called Il Ghetto. In Poland-Lithuania, cities such as Warsaw excluded Jews from the central town. They were forced to live on settlements on the outskirts, called shtetlin, or townlets. Jews were not allowed to reside in Russia in the late eighteenth century unless they converted to Christianity, but when that country took over parts of Poland in 1791 under Catherine “the Great,” Jews were forced to live in what was called the “Pale of Settlement” – mainly Poland, Lithuania, White Russia, and Ukraine.¹³⁸

The fourteenth century was marked by a series of disasters, including the Great Famine (1314-22), due to poor harvests resulting from cold and wet conditions, contributing to a rise in crime and theft, and the Black Death (1348-49), one of many plagues that killed millions in Europe. The plagues challenged the religious beliefs of those who wondered how the wrath of God could strike good people and sinners alike. Many thought that Judgment Day was imminent. They prepared for it by self-flagellation (in case they were the guilty ones) and the killing of Jews, who were less affected by plague, possibly due to stricter hygiene practices.¹³⁹ Many Jews fled to Poland, which became their main sanctuary in Europe.¹⁴⁰

In that time of plagues, art and books called Danses Macabre reflected the realization that death could strike at any time, with poems and artwork describing how people of any walk of life could be snatched from life. Some of this even was placed on the tombs and walls of cemeteries.¹⁴¹

Let’s go forward, gentle Merchant

And don’t bother to weigh

The merchandise they are asking for.

It’s madness to think about that anymore.

You must think about your soul.

Time goes by, hour after hour,

And all we can do is to use it well.

Merit and good conduct last. ¹⁴²

Throughout the fourteenth century wars continually devastated the populations of Europe. Men and women no longer were safe even in castles due to the introduction of gunpowder and cannons from China. Horses began to be used in warfare.¹⁴³ The long-term enmity between France and England had begun, and much of the territory that we now call France was periodically under the control of England. Roving bands of warriors raided villages, inflicting rape and murder, decimating the population.¹⁴⁴

In Russia, the town that later became Moscow was settled in 1146. Novgorod, an independent municipality in the far north that was ruled by an assembly of free citizens, lasted for centuries. It extended its influence in many directions and repulsed a number of invasions, including one by Sweden in 1240, under the leadership of the legendary Alexander Nevsky.¹⁴⁵ It eventually lost its wars – and independence – to Moscow in 1478, when Ivan III slaughtered its population.

The Ottoman Empire – a Muslim state named after its early leader Osman in 1302 – became more advanced than any European state due to its extensive ability to organize its vast expanse. The Ottoman Turks conquered much of the former Greek world starting in 1353, and then massacred the “flower of European chivalry” – members of the last Crusade – in 1396.¹⁴⁶

The Ottomans captured Constantinople (now Istanbul), the center of Eastern Christendom, in 1453 – which had resisted onslaughts from Barbarians and others for a thousand years – by adopting the use of the new technology of gunpowder and cannons. This sent fear throughout the Christian world.¹⁴⁷ By the 1500s the Ottoman Empire ranged from Western Asia to Europe, including North Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Western Russia.

Nationalism – identification with a country rather than a region – slowly increased. Leaders inspired their troops by oratorical, as well as military, skills. A major victory for the English was the Battle of Agincourt (in Northern France) under Henry V in 1415, later immortalized by Shakespeare who created a speech summarizing Henry’s inspiring words:

From this day to the ending of the world,

But we in it shall be remembered –

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;

For he to-day that sheds his blood with me

Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,

This day shall gentle his condition;

And gentlemen in England now-a-bed

Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here.

— Henry V, Act 4, Scene 3

Joan of Arc, who has become a symbol of insurrection in the face of oppression, was nineteen when, inspired by a vision, she managed to rally French troops against the English toward the end of the Hundred Years War. Although caught and burned at the stake in 1431, she was the inspiration for the eventual expulsion of the English from French soil. By the end of the fifteenth century, France began to emerge as a more centralized monarchy, with roughly the borders of the modern state.¹⁴⁸

In Western Europe wealthy merchants financed the construction of churches with elaborate religious artwork and hospices for the poor. This was encouraged by the Church in such places as Siena and Beaune for those wishing to guarantee their soul’s salvation.

The invention of movable type by Johannes Gutenberg in 1450 eventually allowed the diffusion of information and ideas to the common people. The printing of books developed slowly as they still were costly to produce. Mainly religious works were printed at first.¹⁴⁹ In the 1500s, 40,000 books were printed in France alone.¹⁵⁰

The period between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries in Western Europe was that of the greatest state building, gradually moving from rule by localized kings to larger administrative and tax systems that encouraged residents to think of themselves as members of nations rather than of their region. Wars needed to be financed almost continuously throughout this period, but wars that took place between nations also were instruments of state building.¹⁵¹

The Renaissance bloomed in Florence under the influence of the Medici family, who controlled the city from 1434 and who were great patrons of the arts. They restored churches, as well as building a hospital in Jerusalem, while advocating for the use of popular language to replace Latin. Though they ruled as despots, the Medici supported the creative potential of talented artists and craftsmen and spread education to the masses through the creation of libraries. The Renaissance then slowly spread to most of the rest of Western Europe.¹⁵²

Because of its emphasis on fine art and churches, Italy was one of the world’s first tourist destinations. Nevertheless, the Italian states engaged in interminable wars up until unification in the 1800s.¹⁵³ Within states there were ongoing feuds between families, including much treachery and even poisoning, as so poignantly portrayed by Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet.¹⁵⁴

In 1492 Spain expelled the Moors from their last stronghold in Granada, and compelled the Jews to convert to Catholicism or leave the country. The Sultan sent ships from Constantinople to collect Jews who wanted to continue living under tolerant Muslim rule.¹⁵⁵ As every Western school child knows, this also was the year of the first sailing of Christopher Columbus in an attempt to circumnavigate the globe; he landed in what he thought were the islands off India.

By the end of the fifteenth century gold and other precious metals were in great demand to meet expanding monetary needs. Early expeditions to Africa failed, but eventually gold was discovered in Sudan, south of Egypt. In 1444, an expedition of six Portuguese ships under Henry the Navigator sailed to islands off the coast of western Africa and seized 235 men, women and children, separating families and causing great distress among those captured. A court chronicler described the scene:

Some held their heads low, their faces bathed in tears . . . some groaned very piteously, looking toward the heavens fixedly and crying aloud, as if they were calling on the father of the universe to help them; others struck their faces with their hands and threw themselves on the ground.¹⁵⁶

Thus began the slave trade that would be an economic boon for some and ruin the lives of many others for the next four hundred years.

After many attempts by the Portuguese to sail from Europe to the Orient by working their way around Africa, Vasco de Gama navigated his way to India beginning in 1497.¹⁵⁷ Another Portuguese sailor, Fernando Magellan sailed to the Spice Islands in 1521 after going around South America, and his crew returned via the Indian Ocean after he was killed during the voyage. This proved that the world was round after all.¹⁵⁸ The Middle Ages came to an end in Europe with an expanding horizon of the world.

At the end of the fifteenth century China was an advanced and powerful nation, but did not expand its influence beyond its own borders. The Ming Dynasty, which was in power from 1368 until 1644, was the first to establish legitimate examinations for civil service positions, putting aside favoritism toward family and associates.¹⁵⁹

After successfully dominating and decimating the populations of the Americas and Africa, the European powers set their sights on Japan. The Portuguese arrived in the mid-sixteenth century. The rumored riches of Japan tempted the Europeans, but though embroiled in disputes between competing warlords, the Japanese were fierce warriors, well-organized and hard to conquer. Thus missionaries were sent to conquer their souls, but they were expelled in 1587 due to competition with the established Buddhist and Shinto worship. Rather than being subjugated, the Japanese adopted foreign technology. They imported gunpowder from China, eventually became manufacturers and exporters of muskets, and became adept at manufacturing lenses for scientific exploration. They adapted the potato for their own use, and exported silver for profit.¹⁶⁰

In 1853, Commodore Perry of the US arrived in Tokyo, and the feudal lords, who still clung to their traditional sword and archery warfare, realized that they needed to give it up if they were not to end up a Western colony like China. The American influence caused the Japanese to adopt American ways, such as a more centralized government and a modern educational system.¹⁶¹ In 1858, the country was opened to outside trade by a treaty with the US. In the 1880s Japan began producing textiles, particularly cotton, which became its main export.¹⁶²

While Europe was beginning the second millennium, the Western Hemisphere was populated by numerous civilizations in both the North and South. Anthropologists vary in their views of the earliest societies in America before the arrival of Columbus, but evidence keeps pushing the dates further back. Thanks to recent archeological research, a view that currently is gaining ground is that there may have been a series of migrations going back as long as 40,000 years or longer. Some researchers also believe that many of the areas that were found thinly populated upon the arrival of Europeans had hosted highly complex civilizations that had been decimated by the advance of smallpox before Europeans even set eye on them.¹⁶³

The native tribes of what became the Northeastern United States were successful at agriculture and engaged in long-distance trade. They were admired by the Europeans who first saw them in the sixteenth century as exceedingly healthy, strong and clean, probably due to an excellent diet, especially in comparison with the arriving Europeans who lived on rations and rarely bathed. Observers reported seeing large settlements. In the late 1600s, after a series of Indian wars in Massachusetts, the victorious Europeans sold thousands of natives into slavery which was a common practice throughout the colonies.¹⁶⁴

In 1370 the Aztecs founded Teotihuacán in Mexico and operated a succession of federations into the sixteenth century.¹⁶⁵ The native populations of Mexico developed advanced agricultural techniques, which included the cultivation of maize, tomatoes, squash, beans and avocadoes. When Columbus introduced maize to Europe, it became a staple in many countries, including its use for polenta in Italy. Research shows that these New World societies – with populations in the hundreds of thousands – also engaged in long distance trade with each other. Their culture included the use of mathematics and astronomy to mark the seasons. They also engaged in devastating wars with each other much like the Europeans.¹⁶⁶

By the late 1400s the Incas of Peru ruled an area larger than any large European state of the day. As they conquered other populations, they moved them from their lands and forced them into work camps to build roads and other projects. They built palaces and temples made of stones that fit together without mortar. This impressed the Europeans who were not capable of a similar feat. They also eliminated hunger in their dominions.¹⁶⁷