Snappy Answers to History Questions VII

Why didn't the crusaders invade Egypt?

They actually did. The Fifth, Baron’s and Seventh Crusades each had a significant Egyptian component to them. The Baron’s Crusade in fact was defeated by the Ayyubid Egyptians at the Battle of Gaza in 1239. The Earlier Fifth Crusade (1217–1221) proved to be a failure and the Seventh (the first of Louis IX’s two Crusades) saw the Crusaders routed by the Egyptians at Mansurah and Fariskur (both in 1250).

Why was John Hus convicted of heresy?

The Czech Jan Hus was one of the early church theologians who was associated with the Bohemian Reformation and the Hussite Movement (named after him). He lived between 1372 and 1415 and was the predecessor to later Protestant reformers - Luther, Calvin and Zwingli.

His main heresy from the perspective of Rome was that he spoke out against Pope Alexander V and the Antipope John XXIII over the selling of indulgences. For his troubles he was excommunicated, exiled, then asked to recant (which he refused), imprisoned and then burnt at the stake. His famous line was "I would not for a chapel of gold retreat from the truth!".

After his death pro and anti-Hussite factions (largely championed by the Catholic Church) would clash in what became known as the Hussite Wars (1420–1431) with the followers of Huss eventually growing to become a majority in Bohemia and Moravia.

Hus was also critical of other aspects of the Catholic church including ecclesiology and the Eucharist.

Snappy Answers to History Questions VI

What were some of the mistakes made by Mao and Stalin?

There were a multiplicity of mistakes that were made by both. Most of which centered around their inability to appreciate their limitations, the innate belief that they were somehow on the correct side of history (like most Hegelians) and the most tragic of all the ransacking of their own countries (read about the Great Leap Forward and the Various collectivization programs in the USSR). Whether this was intentional or not the outcomes were deleterious. Each was a slave to their own hubris with millions of human beings paying with their lives for such such single minded evil.

Did Stalin start the winter war?

Yes he did. He took advantage of his non-Aggression Pact with the Germans and the fact that Britain and France were still engaged in the so-called Phoney War (having done very little to aid the Poles against the twin invasions from both Germany and later the USSR in September 1939) to push for territorial concessions from the Finns. When the Finns failed to comply he authorized military action, that with hindsight would prove to be very costly for the invaders

Why did Mao Zedong kill his people?

Mao espoused an ideology that placed the broader collective and the will of the people before everything else. By necessity this reduces individual beings to material widgets that can be discarded to fit the march toward the respective singularity. Once you strip human beings of the essence that makes them humans genocide is easily rationalized.

Who was the strongest of the Three Leaders; Churchill, Roosevelt or Stalin?

In my opinion Churchill was the strongest in terms of character but he was the leader of the weakest of the three powers. He therefore brought less cards to the table. Roosevelt had the powerful backing of the American economy and military fire power behind him but struggled with deteriorating health as the war ebbed to a close (impacting his judgement). He underestimated Stalin, who was by far the most calculating of the three. However Stalin erred consistently in many of his war decisions and was often baled out by the brave action of his generals (Zhukov, Rokossovsky etc). His propaganda exalted his real status but in reality the people of the Soviet Union paid in great number for many of his poor choices and indecision.