The definition of the Golden Rule is that those with the gold make the rules. In
other words, those with the gold have the power as well as those with the power have the
gold. History books will discuss the general reasons for war such as freedom from
adversity or freedom from religion. But the real issue for any war is the thirst for power
and control; and the means to finance them are the economic issues.
Nations will endure years of fighting for power and control. France and England
fought each other for more than a hundred years to have control of the Channel trade
routes. 1 This century of warring was known as The Hundred Years' War and is the
longest war in record history. It began in 1337 when King Edward III invaded Normandy
and ended in 1453 when France won the Battle of Bordeaux. However, it was not a
hundred years of constant battle; there were periods of truces in between.
2
One cause for the Hundred Years' War was the claim to the French throne. The
conflict began when the direct line of succession died without a male heir and the nobles
decided to pass the crown to a cousin, Philip of Valois. But this left two other male
cousins equally deserving of the crown; Charles, King of Navarre and Edward III, King of
England. 3 Edward III claimed that he himself was deserving of the throne because his
mother was the sister of the late French king, while Philip VI was only a cousin. But
according to French law, no women could inherit the throne, nor could the crown be
inherited through a woman. 4
'Philip of Valois chances of becoming King of France had been remote and he had
not been...