SCIENCE AND REVOLUTION 



On the continent, the wars against the Turks had 

 kept the class struggle more under cover. But 

 along with the decline of the worldly power of 

 the church, there had come a mighty growth of 

 commercial cities. These had taken part in the 

 movements against the oriental rulers who were 

 cutting western commerce off from the resources 

 of India and Persia. Since the nth century, the 

 Mediterranean cities had tried to capture the 

 eastern ports, such as Alexandria, Jaffa, Tyre, 

 Constantinople, and to control the land routes to 

 India across Asia Minor. But the capture of 

 Constantinople by the Turks in 1453 settled the 

 question of the control of these ports and routes 

 in favor of the Turks. 



Cut off from the land route to the East, the 

 trading class naturally turned their thoughts to 

 the open sea in the West. The religious fervor 

 of the crusades had gradually given way to 

 frankly avowed commercial considerations, and 

 in the last crusades, it had not been so much a 

 question of saving the " Holy Sepulchre," as of 

 amassing wealth. And when the possibility of 

 gathering spoils had vanished beyond recall, the 

 desire to keep the grave of Christ in the care of 

 Christian hands had lost its dearest incentive. 



But an outlet had to be found for the irre- 



