Question

Document 5: Description of some of the effects of the Crusades.

Answer 1

In addition to the feudal states that the crusaders set up along the Syrian and Palestinian coasts, which managed to survive for about two centuries before the Muslims reconquered them, the crusaders left in the Middle East two legacies that continue to resonate. First, the long struggle between Islam and Christendom and the example of persecution set by Christian kings and prelates (bishops) left an inheritance of deep bitterness; relations between Muslims and their Christian and Jewish subjects worsened. Second, European merchants, primarily Italians, had established communities in the crusader states. After those kingdoms collapsed, Muslim rulers still encouraged trade with European businessmen. Commerce with the West benefited both Muslims and Europeans, and it continued to flourish.

Q: What were the positive and negative results that this historian argues is the legacy of the Crusades?