Psychoeconomics: globalization, markets, crisis - стр. 40

With the building of caravels, active colonization of other peoples began, bases in Africa became feasible, and thus slave trade began. The discovery of America in 1492 and of a sea route to India around Africa by Vasco da Gama in 1498, given previous successes in maritime trade, created the economic and sociopsychological mechanism for satisfying the need of strong, active and capable individuals who were inclined to take risks and increase their social and other status.

Eighty years passed between the execution of the Knights Templar and the economic mechanism that directed the energy of bold, venturesome, and strong individuals to seize new lands and become rich outside of the countries where they lived. How then at this time did the rulers of Europe control the slowly growing opposition, with the strong and active individuals of each new generation? This involved a whole series of measures, which were found in different countries for each new generation. Otherwise the elite or even the country itself might cease to exist. In this situation the elite organized themselves with greater rapidity and enthusiasm than the protests of the masses. Considering the growth of protests by the subjects, the third-generation elite greatly desired to submit to the strong elites of other countries, for it was better to be a vassal to someone stronger but preserve your wealth, than to risk losing everything and simply be hanged. Either hang your opponents with the help of the elite of other countries, or be hanged.

With the increase in the population size despite the limitation of land in the Middle Ages, an historically tested mechanism was worked out for preventing protests by strong, capable, warlike individuals. It included:

– Periodic organization of campaigns (approximately one Crusade per generation, but not less than one expedition in three generations) by such people for long distances to seize land, property, and valuables. Loyalty was thus assured of these people to the rulers of the countries where they were born and lived, along with loyalty to the church.

– Directing the aggressiveness of these people against neighboring countries, within Europe and to the extent possible, beyond the bounds of Europe. This heated up the wars within Europe, but ground down the aggressiveness of such people through their self-destruction or through satisfying their need for power or wealth by capturing these from neighboring states.

– The destruction of the paramilitary groups that no longer submitted to secular authorities and could no longer live off wars with neighboring countries. Members of these groups looked with lust upon the wealth of the kings and aristocrats of the country where they were situated, and at neighboring states. Therefore not only the execution of the Knights Templar, but also wars with its members became socially and psychologically accepted. This unified the elite of different states in the struggle with potential adversaries of their sovereignty. Thus, Poland smashed and subordinated the Teutonic Knights during the Thirteen-year War (1454-1466). The process, begun by the French King Philip the Fair at the end of the thirteenth century, was completed. Thirty years of war! Victory was only achieved with the change in the generations of the warring sides.