The Templars Lands 'Overseas' (Outre Mer)

Jerusalem, centre of the world
The primary theatre of the Knights Templar was the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which was for the Christians back then the centre of the world. Which had to be held at all costs.
This is important to know. Many maps in the middle ages had either Jerusalem or Rome in the very centre. This was not meant as a real map, they have to be considered more as small encyclopediae. That is why in ancient maps, either Rome or Jerusalem is in the very centre.

Therefore the Templar Rules determined the headquarters to be established in Jerusalem. Everything that happened under the banner of the Order was fully dedicated to that task in the East. All the lands in the new Kingdom were called: 'the lands overseas' or, "Outre Mer" (across the sea).

Donations
After the Council of Troyes, a wave of donations came rolling into the 'Outre Mer'. And every Templar gave away all his possessions to the Order. This changing of ownerhsip was to support the Battles for the Holy Places. To fully legitimise this, a fully dedicated organisation came to life in Europe.

At first the donations formed a riff-raff of land, buildings, ownerships, tax, fishing rights etc. By buying and selling this was structured as best as possible to a large number of relatively structured companies, mostly agricultural, called: "preceptories" or "houses".

The General Rule was, that a third of the profit (called: "responsorium") was annually donated to the Headquarters.

Knights Templar, pioneers in many areas
Better than local authorities, the Knights Templar had a wider perspective about the world, and on top of that they were powerful. That enabled them an unusually broad horizon in terms of policy. This went hand in hand with a dominating strive for profit. The needs of the armies in the East was difficult to satisfy. This led to Knight Templars being pioneers in many areas like: breeding grain and cattle, trading wool, building dykes, mills, irrigation etc.
They modernised local politics, agricultural methods, trade, moneytransfer etc. They were very flexible in their behaviour as long as the single purpose - profit in the interest of the war in the Holy Land- was served. The Order was a Middle Age Multinational which led a purely colonial policy in relation to their possessions in Europe itself.

Other areas (covered in new blogs) where Templars were revolutionary are:
-transport and travel
-shipyards
-preceptories

One other area to be covered will be the inhabitants of the preceptories.