The Crusades
What effect did the crusades have?
Answer:
The Crusades had various effects. They effected mainly the political situation, the commerce and the development of the cities it occupied.
Political Effects
The crusades had a very strong political influence on the lands they controlled. They helped to break down the power of the feudal aristocracy, and to give prominence to the kings and the people. The crusades weakened popes and nobles, and the Byzantine Empire. Most of the nobes who fought in the crussades, never returned. All their lands and bellongings, went to the crown.
The Commerce
One of the most important effects of the crusades was on commerce. They constantly demand for the transportation of men and supplies, encouraged ship-building, and extended the market for eastern wares in Europe. The products of Damascus, Mosul, Alexandria, Cairo, and other great cities were carried across the Mediterranean to the Italian seaports, whence they found their way into all European lands.
The Development
The crusades opened a new world, they developed both Material and Intellectually. Intellectually, they liberalized the minds of the crusaders, the crusaders enjoyed the advantages which come from travel in strange lands and among unfamiliar peoples. They went out from their castles or villages to see great cities, marble palaces, superb dresses, and elegant manners; they returned with finer tastes, broader ideas, and wider sympathies. The knowledge of the science and learning of the East gained by the crusaders through their expeditions, greatly stimulated the Latin intellect, and helped to awaken in Western Europe.
Materially, they gave to commercial enterprise, especially to the trade and commerce of the Italian cities.During this period, Venice, Pisa, and Genoa acquired great wealth and reputation through the fostering of their trade by the needs of the crusaders, and the opening up of the East. The Mediterranean was whitened with the sails of their transport ships, which were constantly plying between the various ports of Europe and the towns of the Syrian coast.
The Crusades: The Clash of Civilization | BBC History Documentary HD