At the dawn of the 14th century, the Templar Order was in serious trouble. Continual losses in the Holy Land had weakened the Order's prestige throughout Europe. It's financing activities, which had brought it such wealth, was drawing the eyes of the French king. Finally, the Order's private nature was turning the public against it.
Order records show that Grand Master Jacques de Molay was aware of the growing storm against the Order. He was also aware that King Philip of France was looking for an excuse to get rid of the Order in order to escape the high debt that the king had created during his wars with the English. Both king and grand master meet in Paris on June 24, 1307 where Jacques offered the king a tempting deal. In exchange for canceling the king's debt and the monetary assets of the Order, the king was to provide ships and supplies to the Order for a crusade. After a few days of debate, the king agreed to the deal. French records from King Philip's reign show that he believe that the cost of both ships and supplies was less than the cost of forcibly dismantling the Order.
The next year for the Order was spent preparing for the 'Great Templar Crusade' as Molay's proposed crusade became known throughout Europe. Originally, Molay wanted the crusade to be launched towards either Anatolia or Egypt with the ultimate goal of reconquering Jerusalem. However, the target of the crusade changed early in the planning stages to Mali. This surprising change was believed to have been caused by two reasons. First, rumors of the wealth and the number of people that were supposedly protected from invasion by the Sahara offered itself as a potential base from which the Order could expand and gain the resources needed to take on the Mamelukes and Mongols. Secondly, there was the desire for the Order to have its own land like the Hospitallers and the Teutonic Knights.
On April 15, 1308 the Order sailed from Bordeaux to start its crusade. A week later, the Order's fleet stopped in Lisbon where it took on additional men and supplies. When leaving Lisbon the Order's had the following personnel: 1,746 knights with horses, roughly 2,500 squires, around 10,000 sergeants and foot soldiers, an estimated 1,000 support personnel, and the ships' sailors. The support personnel of the crusading fleet includes doctors, blacksmiths, and priests. Livestock in the form of cattle, chickens, goats, and pigs were also brought along. Order records shows that this unusual transportation of live animals was done for several reasons. First, it was to assure the men that they'd have a christian diet in the face of rumors about what the people of Mali ate. Also, the Order wanted to be able to start food production quickly if the crusade took more time than hoped for.
Molay ordered the fleet to sail parallel to the African coast, but out of sight of land in order to avoid confrontations with the Moors. Poor navigational instrumentation of the time and two rough storms resulted in the fleet becoming lost. Opinions within the fleet on where they should sail became divided. Portuguese sailors from Lisbon proposed sailing east certain that such a course would return them to land. However, the french sailors proposed that the fleet follow the sea current to return to land. After several days of meditation, Molay decided to follow the advice of the french sailors.
On July 13, 1308 the Order fleet was in a state of near mutiny. By this point it was widely known that the french suggestion was in error. However, the fleet had not reversed course because they didn't have the supplies. At high noon the lookout on one of the ships, the precise ship is unknown because of differing accounts, spotted land. This was the island of Sarcalogos Misericordia* (Christ's Mercy). It was here that the Old World was to meet the New World.
*RL Hispaniola
Order records show that Grand Master Jacques de Molay was aware of the growing storm against the Order. He was also aware that King Philip of France was looking for an excuse to get rid of the Order in order to escape the high debt that the king had created during his wars with the English. Both king and grand master meet in Paris on June 24, 1307 where Jacques offered the king a tempting deal. In exchange for canceling the king's debt and the monetary assets of the Order, the king was to provide ships and supplies to the Order for a crusade. After a few days of debate, the king agreed to the deal. French records from King Philip's reign show that he believe that the cost of both ships and supplies was less than the cost of forcibly dismantling the Order.
The next year for the Order was spent preparing for the 'Great Templar Crusade' as Molay's proposed crusade became known throughout Europe. Originally, Molay wanted the crusade to be launched towards either Anatolia or Egypt with the ultimate goal of reconquering Jerusalem. However, the target of the crusade changed early in the planning stages to Mali. This surprising change was believed to have been caused by two reasons. First, rumors of the wealth and the number of people that were supposedly protected from invasion by the Sahara offered itself as a potential base from which the Order could expand and gain the resources needed to take on the Mamelukes and Mongols. Secondly, there was the desire for the Order to have its own land like the Hospitallers and the Teutonic Knights.
On April 15, 1308 the Order sailed from Bordeaux to start its crusade. A week later, the Order's fleet stopped in Lisbon where it took on additional men and supplies. When leaving Lisbon the Order's had the following personnel: 1,746 knights with horses, roughly 2,500 squires, around 10,000 sergeants and foot soldiers, an estimated 1,000 support personnel, and the ships' sailors. The support personnel of the crusading fleet includes doctors, blacksmiths, and priests. Livestock in the form of cattle, chickens, goats, and pigs were also brought along. Order records shows that this unusual transportation of live animals was done for several reasons. First, it was to assure the men that they'd have a christian diet in the face of rumors about what the people of Mali ate. Also, the Order wanted to be able to start food production quickly if the crusade took more time than hoped for.
Molay ordered the fleet to sail parallel to the African coast, but out of sight of land in order to avoid confrontations with the Moors. Poor navigational instrumentation of the time and two rough storms resulted in the fleet becoming lost. Opinions within the fleet on where they should sail became divided. Portuguese sailors from Lisbon proposed sailing east certain that such a course would return them to land. However, the french sailors proposed that the fleet follow the sea current to return to land. After several days of meditation, Molay decided to follow the advice of the french sailors.
On July 13, 1308 the Order fleet was in a state of near mutiny. By this point it was widely known that the french suggestion was in error. However, the fleet had not reversed course because they didn't have the supplies. At high noon the lookout on one of the ships, the precise ship is unknown because of differing accounts, spotted land. This was the island of Sarcalogos Misericordia* (Christ's Mercy). It was here that the Old World was to meet the New World.
*RL Hispaniola