Crowning Achievement

     With the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the loss of Roman political and educational traditions during the Dark Ages, conflict ignited with every coronation, declaration, and decree whether between kingdoms, peoples, or tribes. During some of the darkest days of the Dark Ages, Charles Martel, a Mayor of the Palace for the Frankish Merovingian kings, fought off a Muslim invasion force that kept lands north of modern Spain from Islamic control. The grandson of Charles Martel, Charlemagne (Charles the Great) eventually held the legitimate title of king and sought an expanse in control of European lands. A great conqueror from a family of competent leaders, Charlemagne earned a reputation as a man of ambition and  strong character and as a man who sought to establish a new permanent empire.
     The legacy of Charlemagne extends into history, religion, politics, education, and the nearly every conflict between the great powers of Europe over the last twelve hundred years. His influence resulted from the power of his birth, ambition of his mind, strength of his will, and conviction of his heart, but his lasting appeal grew from his title of "emperor" and the unification of a huge swathe of Europe under his reign. While in Rome securing the power of pope from dissenters, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as emperor. The Frankish kings had long been defenders and protectors of the pope, the Bishop of Rome, while Byzantine emperors placed their forces in conflict against the burgeoning Islamic caliphates. With the Frankish king at hand and the Byzantine emperor unreachable and uninterested, Leo III strategized to create an emperor in Europe and a powerful friend to the papacy.
     Charlemagne's coronation during Christmas mass in St. Peter's Basilica, Rome in 800 A.D. changed the future of the world macroscopically. For centuries, European rulers justified their claims to the throne by heredity linked to Charlemagne. To strengthen this connection in the minds of subjects and contestants to the throne, several emperors chose Christmas Day for their coronation ceremonies. The day, the most important Christian day after Easter, also emphasized that the ruler had the favor of God indicating that to rebel against a him was to go against God. Though many Holy Roman Emperors sought coronation by the pope in Rome, Charlemagne's crowning emphasized his dominance throughout the region at the time.

     Charlemagne's influence led others to mirror his example and flaunt their power in a way reflective of the past and strengthen the claim to power by drawing similarities to Charlemagne. His grandson, Charles the Bald, was also crowned in Rome on Christmas Day, 875, but died two years later. Otto II was crowned emperor in 967, the last true emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
     Other than those two men with strong bonds to Charlemagne and significant influence on the course of history, the other coronations seem almost inconsequential, but of thousands of individuals crowned through European history, few could pretend the prestige of Charlemagne's might. In the year 1000 A.D. Stephen I became the first king of Hungary at his Christmas coronation. Henry III of the Holy Roman Empire was crowned in 1046, and William I, the Conqueror, was crowned King of England in Westminster Abby in 1066 just months after the Battle of Hastings. With the Crusades becoming increasingly important, Boudouin I was crowned king of Jerusalem in 1100, Roger II earned crowning as king of Sicily in 1130.
     All these coronations of kings and emperors occurred on Christmas Day, but many coronations could not wait until Christmas because the ruler had to solidify power claims immediately to ward off rivals. As history wore on and Charlemagne's direct impact became diluted, fewer Christmas coronations were attempted, but Charles II was crowned King of Scotland in 1651. That so many were able to link their power to Charlemagne and Christendom is a testament to the legacy of European kingship.
     While Christmas is traditionally a religious celebration, men never stop living. Natural disasters, battles, and significant political events have all occurred on Christmas Day, just another day in the year. Clovis, King of the Franks, baptized himself on Christmas in 498. This event linked the Frankish realm to Rome and secured Christianity in Europe as a legitimate force in post-Roman politics. Without this Charlemagne would not have been crowned in Rome by a pope.
     Christmas is a special time of year and has been celebrated as the birth of Christ since the fourth century. This day marks the anniversary of Charlemagne's, Otto the Great's, William the Conqueror's, and Emporer Hirohito's coronations, the 1717 flood Deltawerken, and the resignation of Mikhail Gorbachav as General Secretary of the U.S.S.R. Nearly every country and culture celebrates Christmas in some fashion from religious services, religious holidays, gift exchanges, and seasonal traditions. May you all enjoy your holiday whenever you celebrate it.

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Agatha Tyche

Water Trains

     The cheapest way of shipping large quantities of marketable goods or military supplies is over water. Because of buoyancy reducing the object's weight, rivers are the bloodlines of civilization and ocean access is one of the most important factors in determining a nation's economic status. The United States has huge navigable coasts with protected harbors in the Atlantic Ocean for trade with Europe and Africa and the Pacific Ocean for trade with China, India, and Japan. The appreciation of ocean access has only become fully acknowledged recently. While ancient Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, and the Chinese all used waterways for shipping and military purposes, little is known if the ancients realized that trade is what created a nation's economic might and that trade is controlled through water.
     After European ascendance with colonies on every continent, England became a huge proponent of naval power. Though the Dutch East India Company established control over spice islands before the British, the British did it better, bigger, and longer. Controlling the oceans without a challenge for well over a century, the British demonstrated that oceanic power controlled trade and led to a prosperous empire.
     As the Industrial Revolution sparked the mass production of goods, producers needed to expand market reach to sell surpluses never conceived of before. Britain developed a man-controlled inland shipment system built around manipulation of rivers to aid shipping routes: canals. Within a few years, canals threaded over the English countryside from small supply villages to the massive factory hubs of the great cities. The United States joined in the canal race, and the Erie Canal, one of the longest ever built, demonstrated the vast improvements offered by these waterways. Before the Erie Canal, goods from the Great Lakes to New York City took two weeks on wagon roads. When the canal opened in 1825, shipping prices dropped to ten percent pre-opening price and the travel time halved.

     Mostly forgotten in the modern age because of the effectiveness, greater speed and decreased terrain limitations of the locomotive, canals changed the landscape of industrializing countries by easing trade and transport and developing lock systems. The lock system for canals leveled long stretches of ground that sped railway creation for trains just decades later.
     Canals still have an important impact on the global economy. The modern Suez Canal, completed in 1869, linked Britain with her Asian colonies, notably India. The British protected this artery from Napoleon and through both world wars. The other major modern canal, the Panama Canal, was built by the United States in 1914 to link the east and west coast of the country by halving the time of sailing around the Cape Horn. Both the Suez and Panama Canals are vital for international trade in the modern era while many smaller canals are now abandoned or only used as tourist attractions and for recreational use.
     Though the longevity of the canal boom was shorter than a human life time, the huge improvements on the speed and quantity of trade to previously isolated areas opened the world to the full effects of the Industrial Revolution and to the power of change. The canal made it possible for man to think of large-scale geological change to achieve his needs over the long term, and from that, civilization has not looked back. Though most of the tracks for the water trains have long been locked, the trade history still flows freely.


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Agatha Tyche