The Study on Western Civilizations - Coursework Example

Western Civilization The study of history can often teach much more than the series of events that occurred to bring us to our current state of being. While it is important to understand one’s roots and how one’s civilization has evolved, it is equally important to know what mistakes were made in the past that led to particularly horrible disasters and recognized successes. For example, throughout history, particularly in Europe, religion has played a significant role in shaping the direction of entire countries, often plunging them into war over differences in philosophical opinion. These became more violent as connections were made between church and state, linking the church with an avenue to power and control that has proven disastrous on many occasions. Two events in history that stand out as particularly relevant to today’s students are the Massacre on St. Bartholomew’s Day and the Sack of Magdeburg. From first-hand accounts of these events, much can be learned about the reasons why the framers of the United States Constitution placed so much emphasis on the need for a separation between the church and the state and how failure to maintain this separation can lead to disaster even in modern times. The account of the Massacre on St. Bartholomew’s Day recounts specifically the killing of Coligny, who was, at the time, the leader of the Protestant forces. Not much background is provided regarding the reason for the massacre within the account as it is mostly confined to the night Coligny was murdered and the days following when the people made sport of his body. Within the first paragraph of the account, it is mentioned that the action was carried out under the full sanction of the queen mother, but that the orders were given in the name of the king, which was part of the reason why Coligny didn’t recognize until it was too late that the riot in the streets was coming for him. In general, it is revealed how the Guise family gained access to the house and relatively easy access to Coligny himself, who had woken during the early part of the skirmish but felt it was something unrelated to himself. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late for him to save himself, but the account reveals that he died at peace after having said his prayers and sent his doctors away over the roofs so they would not be killed along with him. What was perhaps most disturbing about the account was the grotesque way in which his body was treated following his death by sword. He was thrown out the window to be examined and pronounced dead by the duke of Guise, mutilated some more and thrown into a stable while more killing occurred. Then they beheaded the corpse, mutilated him some more and then dragged him by the heels through the city streets to the riverside where some children threw him in the water. However, the bloodlust wasn’t yet satisfied and he was fished out again and hung by the ankles from a gibbet, where he remained for several days. Finally a fire was built underneath him to burn him, but the flames never touched the body, which was finally rescued from this horrid display by friends. Otto von Guericke, the Burgomeister of Magdeburg, describes the destruction of his city in 1631 as another conflict between the Catholics and the Protestants. What is not mentioned in the description is that the city was considered to be a Protestant stronghold and had already repelled at least one attempt at outside control before the events described here. However, it is hinted that the cause for the attack was based upon religious grounds as it is mentioned that the imperial army was working in conjunction with the forces of the Catholic League. What emerges as most telling about this event was that it must have been a massacre. The author describes how the city’s one general was shot early on and fires that sprang up within the city made it difficult to keep the men organized. Von Guericke indicates that “some of the soldiers and citizens did try to make a stand here and there, but the imperial troops kept bringing on more and more forces – cavalry, too – to help them” (von Guericke, 2001). Through his poetic language, “Thus in a single day this noble and famous city, the pride of the whole country, went up in fire and smoke” (von Guericke, 2001), the author manages to convey a deep sense of the loss and utter destruction that occurred. The author’s decision to end his account with a listing of the material wealth that was taken out of the city and sold for pennies on the dollar elsewhere has a tendency to sour the sympathy, though. After his description of the human lives lost and the brutal way in which these lives were taken, the concentration on the wealth seems disrespectful somehow. However, had he never written about them, the extent of the pillaging might not have been understood. As a result of these and other conflicts that occurred on European soil before the great colonization of America, those individuals who found themselves in a position to make up new governments were leery of allowing the state to organize religion in any way. When Magdeburg fell, it was because of a combined effort of the state and the preferred state religion at that time. There was no tolerance offered between Catholics, whom the Protestants felt had become the Anti-Christ, and Protestants, about whom the Catholics held similar views. As the leaders of each religious group vied for power and control of secular issues, as well as contended over which religion was the ‘right’ religion, these types of extreme violence continued to erupt. The same can be said for the Massacre on St. Bartholomew’s Day in that the Protestants then in power under the sanction of the King were undermined and wiped out by the Catholics, with the full support of the King’s mother, Queen Catherine, who was herself concerned about losing power. As it was primarily Protestants that came to settle in America, hoping for a new land in which they might be able to practice their religion free from these types of conflicts and primarily Catholics who perpetrated these events, it is unsurprising that the framers of the new government would stipulate that there should be no connection between the church and the state. Only by removing the religious question from the hands of the leaders was it felt that the type of division and violence that had been seen earlier in Europe’s history might be avoided. There are many ways in which these European conflicts are similar to conflicts occurring in the world today. To begin with, it is a religious difference much like that experienced between the Catholics and the Protestants that has kept much of the Middle East in conflict as the Shi’ites fight against the Sunnis. Another area in which this kind of division can be found is in the conflict between Israel and Pakistan, in which one religious group has forced their way onto land previously occupied by another culture group without any tolerance or compassion for where that other group should go. In both of these situations, neither side is willing to grant any tolerance for the other, making attempts at finding peace nearly impossible. Expanding the view slightly to include political ideologies, it can be seen that the actions of the United States are very similar to the actions of the Catholics in the invasion of an area that does not subscribe to the same political views and its attempt to force compliance and agreement upon the people. Much like the way in which Coligny was hung as a graphic example of what religious non-compliance will earn, Saddam Hussein was hung as a graphic example of what political non-compliance might earn. This is not to say that the two men were similar in any other way, but they were both killed not as a result of their actions as much as by the ideology they represented in an attempt to change the will of the people, whether they needed their wills changed or not. While the accounts of what has happened in the past are disturbing enough, discovering the details behind both of the massacres examined and realizing the senseless loss of life that occurred, it is more disturbing to realize that we seem completely incapable of learning from the past mistakes of our ancestors. Our forefathers recognized the importance of separating the concept of religion from government as a means of introducing stability into government and removing a major source of contention. However, our current leaders don’t seem capable of heeding this concept as they boldly rush in to force ideological change upon a people without first understanding anything about how they feel. While this isn’t as much a religious as a political difference, the approach they take to the issue is the same form of mindless insistence upon their way as the ‘right’ way and all other ideologies are necessarily wrong. What makes the situation even worse is that there are graphic examples of just this kind of idiocy occurring in numerous places around the globe as one religious faction fights mindlessly with another religious faction in an endless bid to gain total domination over the other. Works Cited De Thou. “The Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Day.” Readings in European History. J.H. Robinson (Ed.). Boston: Ginn, 1906. (Hanover Historical Texts Project, 2001). Von Guericke, Otto. “The Destruction of Magdeburg.” Readings in European History. J.H. Robinson (Ed.). Boston: Ginn, 1906. 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