Free CANNIBALS (True Crime) by Ray Black Page B

their grisly offering, that their fellow men had in fact been consumed in the natives.
    James Cook was one of the five men who had died on that shore and there was no way of knowing for certain if that pungent thigh had in fact belonged to him.
    However, several days later, the Hawaiians delivered yet another package, this time bundled in a feathered cloak. This parcel contained scorched limbs, a scalp with the ears attached and hair cut short, but what was most distinctive were the two hands that had been scored and salted, in an apparent effort to preserve them. Fifteen years earlier, a powder horn had exploded in Captain Cook’s right hand, leaving an ugly gash. When Captain Clerke studied the hands he noticed that this most distinctive cut remained clearly visible on the severed right hand delivered to the ship.

The First Crusade
    Deserted and so hungry, followers of the First Crusade (1095–1099) reportedly turned to cannibalism

     
    now we are travelling back in time to the 11th century to the time of the Crusades. The Crusades were holy wars which were fought by the Europeans who believed that they were upholding the Christian religion against the invasion of the Islamic religion. There were many crusades fought between the 11th and 13th centuries, but it was really only the First Crusade that had a successful outcome.
    It was a time when petty disputes between rulers were generally settled by equally petty wars. Although it was not a good time to live if you were a peasant, everyone was at least united by a common religion – Christianity. Everyone, that is, from the nobles in their castles to the peasants living in their ramshackled huts, conformed to their daily form of worship. The Pope, who was the head of the Church, was considered to be God’s representative on Earth, and his word was law. He even had enough power to challenge emperors, and this power spread even into the remotest villages. A succession of popes had been constantly fighting wars with the royal houses of Europe in an effort to obtain a unified Christian empire.
    In 1095 a fierce band of nomadic warriors known as the Seljuk Turks, who had recently converted to Islam, had advanced sufficiently to establish their own capital within 100 miles of Byzantium (or Istanbul as it is known today). Byzantium, however, was already the capital of the Christian Eastern Roman Empire. A state of panic was declared and Byzantium’s Emperor, Alexius, sent a message through to Pope Urban II asking for his assistance.
    Pope Urban II dreamed constantly of a united Christian kingdom which would extend from the Atlantic coast into the west Holy Land itself, and all under the jurisdiction of the Pope. So when Alexius asked for his help, Urban was only too pleased to come to his aid. The only problem was that Urban was not content with just defending the capital, he wanted to free the Holy City of Jerusalem itself. Jerusalem had long been occupied by the Muslims, but he saw it as an opportunity to demonstrate his power over the ruler of Europe.
    For a long time relations between Christian pilgrims and the Muslims had been peaceful. Muslim traders had provided food, transport and other essential services for the pilgrims, and the income this provided was useful to the local economy. However, with the arrival of the much more aggressive Seljuk Turks, the Christian pilgrimage became a dangerous affair.
    All different kinds of people responded to the call from the Pope to go on Crusade. He toured from the south to the west of France recruiting people and spreading the news that there was to be a large convention held in Clermont, a town in central southern France. This meeting was attended by hundreds of clerics, and on the very last day the Pope himself stood up and made a speech. He told of the atrocities committed by the Turks, and pleaded with all the Christians to join forces and make a grand Crusade to liberate Jerusalem.
    Many of the war-loving