Question

I have a few questions on the Crusades

1.) What impact did the crusades have on trade and the economies of Europe ?

2.) Did any city-states benefit more than others, and if so, why ?

3.) How did the governments of European city-states and kingdoms change ?

4.) What impact did the crusades have on European social structure, especially feudalism ?

5.) How did Christianity's influence on society change because of the crusades ?

6.) What are the lasting impact of the crusades that can still be felt today ?

Answer 1

Here are the short answers (each question has a ton of info on them but I'll try and boil things down):

1) The Crusades opened up a lot of trade routes over time as ships that went out to the Holy Land would also return with exotic goods that were not easily available in Europe. The Knights Templar created what was essentially an early banking system based on credit, something that modern banks use today.

2) A number of city-states, particularly those in Italy like Venice, benefited from this trade because of their ships and the routes they controlled. They grew very rich by specializing in the sale of exotic silks, herbs, and other "treasures of the Orient".

3) Politics were messy. When the crusaders initially won gains in the Holy Land, new Christian kingdoms were set up to govern them. However, relations were eventually strained between the Byzantine Empire and the West. The West didn't trust the Byzantines and the Byzantines saw these poor armies as accidents waiting to happen because of the poor quality of the soldiers. Back in Europe, kings became more powerful as competing nobles went off to war -- and often never returned.

4) It caused all sorts of craziness depending on where you focused. Nobles often gave up their lands and wealth to go on crusades, lands and wealth that went to the Church or holy orders like the Templars. Feudal fights ceased to be a big thing for many European nobles since so many went off to fight in the Holy Land.

5) The Christian Church grew exceptionally powerful during the crusades, politically and wealth-wise, as nobles, peasants, and all sorts of other people gave up their wealth to join their call to reclaim the Holy Land.

6) The Great Schism between East and West Christiandom was one huge result, dividing the Church into Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox faiths when relations between Rome and the Byzantines were heavily strained especially after the Fourth Crusade when crusaders attacked the Byzantine capital of Constantinople to pay for their boats. Another is the bitterness that resulted between East and West over the Holy Land. Christian crusaders saw Muslims as heretics and Muslims saw the Christians as invaders, both sides slaughtering each other leaving deep scars that last all the way up to today.