Crusades
Scott Simigian, Daxton Davidson, Allen Rust
Overview
The Beginning
In 1095 CE, Pope Urban II wanted to regain some of Christian holy lands. Also, a preacher, named Peter the Hermit, wanted to spread Christianity thought Europe as well as Western Asia. As they worked together, Peter worked endlessly to gather an army of knights as well as enthusiastic peasants from around the regions. The armies included men as well as women, and set out to fight without much organization. A reason why the attack gained so much support was that Pope Urban II promised salvation to those who fought in the wars. They made their way to the Greece, then ultimately Palestine, where they failed miserably in their attempt to take the land. A result of lack of supplies, training, and strategy combined to lead the crusaders totheir demise.
Social
Some major effects from the crusades ranged from spreading the religion, to increasing trade. The whole concept of the crusades were to reclaim the holy land, which in turn created awareness in the lands they traveled along with regions beyond that. With salvation promised to those who fought, this alone created huge populations to join the cause.
Increase in pride for religion:
On top of the increased external awareness for Christianity, internal views on Christianity increased also. With people from all around the region gone to the fights, families, villages, and friends all were directly tied into the war. Also, this unified the decentralized area by creating a common goal, to take back what was their promised land.
Economical
1st crusade:
With help from the Normans, the first crusade made much progress and claimed a lot of territory for the cause. As the crusaders took cities such as Jerusalem and Antioch, they increased relations and trade with indigenous people. This came in handy to hav gag cure bases and to be able to trade with the. Even after the battles.
4th crusade:
Although the 4th crusade went terribly off course, leading them to Constantinople, it did increase trade and economy. As the crusaders noticed economic strategies and goods, the fighters returned home with much new knowledge from the outside world. Since Byzantine was such a hub for trade, this made relations between the two regions much better and gave Europe much better access to the outside world.
Political
The crusades made a big difference in the unification in Medieval Europe. With villages coming together with a common goal, this gave them a central feeling. Also, with Pope Urban II and Peter the Hermit, this gave a lot of power and control to the church.
External Power:
Especially in the 1st crusade, the efforts earned a lot of respect for Medieval Europe. As they gained control of a few cities, they gained jurisdiction of many areas other than their homeland. Even in the 4th crusade, the fighters gained Constantinople and gained some political power there as well.