The Effects Of The Crusades In Europe

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The Crusades were a series of religiously sanctioned military campaigns, called by the Pope, with the main goal of restoring Christian control of the Holy Land. The crusaders came from all over western Europe. The main series of Crusades occurred between 1095 and 1291, although many unnumbered crusades were taken up for various reasons. Although the Crusaders were succesful in taking the Holy land, they were unable to keep the land under Christian control. Crusades effected the English people politically, economically, and by exposing the Englishmen to new cultures. The Crusades had a significant influence in Europe in general, not just English people. At the time, the continent was united under a powerful Pope, but by the end of the 14th century, centralized bureaucracies (which have been defined as the foundation of the modern nation state) was flourishing in England, France, Spain, and other countries, due to the tyrannical dominance of the church during the Crusades. The Crusader society in the Kingdom of Jerusalem was also characterized by a culture of innovation, including political structures, governance, and taxation. The need to raise, transport, and supply the large armies led to a flourishing of trade throughout Europe. Many roads had been largely unused since the days of Rome, but the Crusades increased the traffic of merchans significantly as they began to expand their horizons. This was a direct result from not only the Crusades preparing Europe for travel, but also the want to travel after being reacquanted with the Middle East. These new trade routes brought many foreign products that were previously unidentified or extremely rare and expensive, such as a variety of spices, ivory, jade, diamonds, glass manufacturing techniques, early forms of gun powder, oranges, and apples. This need also brought up the need to maintain control of the Black Sea,

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