Pope Urban II made a speech in Clermont, France in 1095, attempting to persuade the people to have crusade to fight for the Holy Land. Throughout the Christian world there was an overwhelmingly positive response to Urban's argument. The crusades appealed socially to younger sons and Knights who hoped to acquire status in the East that the West would not allow (CW, 279). Many others followed because they were promised to be freed of all their sin. Urban's speech was also religiously compelling because the Holy wars were directed at the Muslims in Spain, wanting to expel them from the Holy Land. They wanted to defend the Christian society. Politically, the wars were directed against heretics and political opponents in France and Italy.
Urban's speech was very well rounded. It appealed to many people in almost every social class. These crusades were joined by knights to peasant and included men as well as women and children. All of these people had different motives for their contributions (http://christianchronicler.com). For many people, the first crusade was an excuse to start attacking in the name of the Christian faith. For others, it was a desperate attempt for many of the knights to gain higher status. Some people had a focus on increasing their own power and wealth. And still, others participated because they were told that if they did, they would be freed of any punishment and sin that they had committed (CW, 277). These crusaders also enriched European life. For example, the crusades stimulated economic growth by bringing increased.
trade between cities that bordered the Mediterranean Sea.
Pope Urban the II's speech was also very appealing to the religious community. He told the people to "let the holy sepulcher of out lord and savior, which is possessed by unclean nations, especially arouse you, and the holy places which are now treated, with ignominy and irreverently polluted with the filth of the unclean" (http://www.
