The Crusades
The Crusades were a series of military expeditions to regain the Holy land of
Palestine and to regain riches. The crusades changed Italy in that it becomes a major
trading center because of to the Holy Land. Also they were 5 crusades, The First Crusade,
The second Crusade, The third Crusade, The Fourth Crusade and the Children`s Crusade
that were between 11-14 Century.
The First Crusade started from Lyon after they went to Genoa and finally they
finish at Jerusalem. Lyon is a big city with a trading center. Lisbon the capital of Portugal
stopped in land was a capital with many old monuments. Marseille It’s a great city and
there was where the bastille was found.
In the Second Crusade failed trying to unite their forces. Louis of France and
Conrad III king of Germany led separate their forces across Europe. At the city of
Damascus the two armies joined forces to fight the Crusades. At 1146 the Turks united
their forces; they started taking back cities that the crusaders had captured. At 1147 the
Second Crusade began.
The Third Crusade failed too. In 1187 the Muslim Leader Saladin gained control of
Jerusalem. The three European Lords led separate armies in the Third Crusade. Barbarossa
drowned on the way to the Holy Land, his army turned back. Phillip and Richard quarreled,
and Phillip took his army back home to seize English lands in France. Richard and the
forces under his command remained in the Holy Land, but they could not recapture
Jerusalem.
The Fourth Crusade failed too. Pope Innocent III gathered a group of French
knights for the Fourth Crusade. The Venetians persuaded the crusades to attack Zadar-a
trade rival to Venice-as they moved down the Adriatic coast; also they gained control of
Byzantine trade. They stole many things that were holy to the Byzantine Christians; the
Byzantines eventually regained the city, but they never regained their strength. Zadar was
a Christian city; however, the crusaders who attacked it were later excommunicated by
Pope Innocent III. Then in 1204, the crusaders attacked and looted Constantinople,
another Christian city.
The Childrens Crusade took place at the Holy Land. The Children Army from across
Europe decided to march to the Holy Land and regain it for Christian Europe, The young
crusaders lacked adequate training, equipment and supplies. The army of the children was
little more than a hungry and disorganized mob. The pope sent some of them back home.
The crusades continued until 1291, when the Muslims captured the city of Acre. Acre was
the last Christian stronghold in the Holy Land and, with its fall; the Crusades ended.
During the Crusades the Weapons helped a lot to destroy cities, city states and
different lands. The weapon of choice for many European soldiers was the crossbow. The
bow was a powerful weapon that was held horizontally. It fired a short, heavy arrow that
was called a Bolt that it worked with the pull of a trigger, the crossbow required far less
skill to use than the traditional bow. The Muslims, Europeans discovered new ways to
wage war.
The Political Changes used the feudal system to raise money to go on the crusades;
some lords have sold their own land. Without land, they had no power in the feudal
system, many nobles also died fighting in the Crusades. With fewer lords the power of
European kings grew stronger; the kings placed new taxes and led armies drawn from
their entire country, all this changes helped bring an end to feudalism. During the
Crusades, the Christian church became more powerful also. As organizers of crusades, the
popes took on more importance; this was particularly true after the First Crusade.
The Ideas and Trade between 1096 and 1291, thousands of crusaders traveled
through the Holy Land. They exchanged ideas with crusaders from other parts of Europe;
they also gained knowledge from the Byzantines and Muslims whom they met; when the
crusaders returned home, these new ideas helped to enrich European culture. Changes in
trade also took place; Italian cities became major trading centers. Ships from Italian cities
carried crusaders to the Holy Land; the ships came back loaded with foods from southwest
Asia. Europeans began buying such goods as Apricots, Lemons, Melons, Rice and Sugar.
The conclusion of the Crusades was that I learned a lot from this interesting
project. Also I learned that they were 8 crusades, 5 major Crusades and 3 minor Crusades.
Another thing I learned was that some of the crusades were very important like the First,
the Second, the Third, The Fourth and the Children´s Crusade.