How Did The Crusades Affect The World

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The Crusades are thought to be a major event that affected European history. They had a huge influence on how the world progressed into the present. After Alexius I, the Byzantine Emperor sent a letter to Pope Urban II in 1093 saying that his empire was taken over by Seljuk Turks, who were Muslim, Pope Urban II decided to fight back and take the Holy Land, Jerusalem, back from the Muslims that were living on that land. These Crusades had many positive and negative effects on the world.
In 1095 Pope Urban II launched a series of Holy Wars which were called the Crusades. He believed that the Holy Land should be under Christian control. There were 14 Crusades from 1095 to the 1290s’ against the Muslims. Pope Urban II persuaded and promised …show more content…

They failed the initial mission, but accomplished much more. The Crusades started a legacy of religious hatred between Muslims and Christians. During the Crusades the killing between each other was absolutely terrible. This caused tension and hatred to build between Christians and Muslims which still exists between some people today. When the Crusaders got back from the wars they brought back fabrics, spices, perfumes, art and many other quality items. Bringing all of that back to Europe made trade skyrocket. The new trading immensely increased which was very good for the economy. A new economic class surfaced after the Crusades. Instead of just being poor or rich there was now an in between. The new class,middle class/ bourgeoisie, consisted of shopkeepers, artisans, merchants and traders. As trade grew people didn’t want to go back and forth from traders back to the manors, so towns were developed. Many people on the manors during the feudal system left and went to live in the towns. The towns soon became very crowded and …show more content…

The ones that fought in the Crusades usually became more powerful while the ones who didn’t fight, lost their land. With all of the new economic, political and social stability the Pope’s power and wealth increased. The Crusaders brought back more knowledge to share which peaked peoples interests for exploration and learning about something other than Christianity. Some people even left Western Europe to explore more of the world. Banks were created since the economy now relied on money. The creation of the banking system caused the need for insurance and credit slips. Banks made access to money easier for the common people. One very bad effect of the Crusades was the deadly plague. The plague was brought to Western Europe by infected rats on the ships leaving the Middle East. The plague killed off ⅓ of the population in Western Europe. Due to everyone being so close to each other in the towns, the plague spread like wildfire. Even though the deaths were tragic they opened up more opportunities for jobs for the living. All these good and bad effects pushed Western Europe a little closer into the Renaissance, which was their golden

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