1. Medieval Christian Europe (330–1450)
Lesson 4 Economic Expansion and Change: The Crusades and After

2. Medieval Christian Europe (330–1450)
Lesson 4 Economic Expansion and Change: The Crusades and After
Learning Objectives
Summarize how new technologies sparked an agricultural revolution, and the revival of trade led to the growth of towns and cities.
Explain how a commercial revolution changed society and how guilds led to the rise of the middle class.
Explain the causes and effects of the Crusades.
Summarize how Christians in Spain carried out the Reconquista.

3. Medieval Christian Europe (330–1450)
Lesson 4 Economic Expansion and Change: The Crusades and After
Key Terms
charter.
capital,
partnerships.
tenant farmers,
middle class,
guilds.
apprentice,
journeymen,
Crusades,
Holy Land.
Pope Urban II
Reconquista,
Ferdinand and Isabella
Inquisition,

4. Changes in Agriculture Transform Europe
By about 1000, Europe was undergoing an economic revival. Over the next few centuries, remarkable changes greatly strengthened Western Europe. These changes began in the countryside, where peasants adopted new farming technologies that made their fields more productive. The result was an agricultural revolution that transformed Europe.

5. Changes in Agriculture Transform Europe
Farming Technology Improves
Food Output and Population Grow

6. Changes in Agriculture Transform Europe
New farming technologies changed medieval Europe. In the fields, a new type of harness distributed pressure along the shoulders of the horse, which allowed the plowing of heavier soils.

7. Trade Expands and Towns Grow
Europe's growing population needed goods that were not available on the manor. Peasants needed iron for farm tools. Wealthy nobles wanted fine wool, furs, and spices from distant lands. As foreign invasions and feudal warfare declined, traders reappeared, crisscrossing Europe to meet the growing demand for goods.

8. Trade Expands and Towns Grow
New Trade Routes
Trade Fairs and the Hanseatic League
Towns and Cities Expand
Town and City Life

9. Trade Expands and Towns Grow
Active trade routes brought in new ideas as well as new goods.

10. Trade Expands and Towns Grow
A charter acted as a grant to build on private property and to establish trade in exchange for a tax paid to the landowner. Here, a town receives its charter.

11. Economic Changes
During the turmoil of the early Middle Ages, coined money largely disappeared. As trade revived after 1000, money again appeared in circulation, coined by rulers. In time, the need for capital, or money for investment, grew. Merchants, for example, needed capital to buy goods, so they borrowed from moneylenders. Over time, the need for capital led to the growth of banking houses.

12. Economic Changes New Ways of Doing Business
Changes Affect Medieval Society

13. Economic Changes
This image shows banking operations in the 1400s. The man at the right is depositing a bag of gold.

14. A New Middle Class
In the growing towns and cities of medieval Europe, a new middle class emerged. The middle class, made up of merchants, artisans, and tradespeople, stood outside the old feudal order. Although they ranked between nobles and peasants, their status was not tied to the farming economy, but to business and commerce.

15. A New Middle Class Guilds Shape Town Life Becoming a Guild Member
Women in the Guilds
Middle Class Family Life

16. A New Middle Class
This Italian painting from the 1300s shows guild members meeting to discuss issues important to the guild and the town.

17. The Crusades
By 1050, Western Europe was just emerging from centuries of isolation. For the first time since the fall of Rome, Western Europeans were strong enough to break out of their narrow world and take the offensive against other lands.

18. The Crusades Conflict in the Holy Land The Pope Calls for War
Waves of Crusaders Head Eastward

19. The Crusades
Pope Urban II blesses crusaders leaving on the First Crusade.

20. The Crusades
Analyze Maps Urged on by Pope Urban II, thousands of Europeans joined the Crusades to expel Muslims from the Holy Land. What route did English crusaders take? Why do you think they took that route?

21. The Effects of the Crusades
The Crusades failed in their chief goal—the conquest of the Holy Land. They also left a bitter legacy of religious hatred. In the Middle East, both Christians and Muslims committed atrocities in the name of religion. In Europe, crusaders sometimes turned their religious fury against Jews, killing entire communities.

22. The Effects of the Crusades
A Growing Demand for Goods
Changes for Monarchs and the Church
Europe Gains a Wider View of the World
Impact on the Middle East and the Byzantine Empire

23. The Effects of the Crusades
Crusaders returned to Europe with spices, perfumes, and other trade goods from the Middle East, and trade began to grow.

24. The Reconquista
The crusading spirit continued long after the European defeat at Acre. It flourished especially in Spain, where Christian warriors had been battling Muslims since the time of Charlemagne.

25. The Reconquista Christian Forces Advance
Spain Forces Non-Christians to Leave

26. The Reconquista
Analyze Maps The Reconquista took many years and reflected political changes in Spain. The union of Ferdinand and Isabella and their countries gave their forces the power to take back most of Spain. How did the union of the countries of Castile and Aragon help the Reconquista?

27. The Reconquista
A later illustration shows prisoners being led to the stake during the Inquisition.

28. Quiz: Changes in Agriculture Transform Europe
How did changes in agricultural production affect medieval Europe?
A. Farmers left the countryside to move to cities, spurring population growth.
B. Fields became more productive, spurring population growth.
C. Less land was needed for growing crops, so raising animals increased.
D. Lords boosted their incomes, so they were able to pay peasants more.

29. Quiz: Trade Expands and Towns Grow
What was one contributing factor to the growth of medieval towns and cities?
A. expansion of serfdom
B. increased use of bartering in trade
C. growth of trade fairs
D. a stronger monarchy

30. Quiz: Economic Changes
How did interactions between Muslims and Europeans affect European financial practices?
A. More Christians were able to lend money at interest.
B. Using credit instead of cash became more common in business.
C. Landlords began to pay their peasants in cash.
D. Insuring goods against loss became a common business practice.

31. Quiz: A New Middle Class
As towns grew, which group was most likely to take responsibility for making improvements to the town?
A. merchant guilds
B. artisan guilds
C. wealthy cathedral bishops
D. noblemen on whose land the town was built

32. Quiz: The Crusades
Which of the following most likely contributed to the lack of success for Christian Europeans in the Crusades?
A. Fighting far from home presented many obstacles.
B. The pope was an inexperienced military leader.
C. They refused to negotiate with their Muslim enemies.
D. Their morale was low because of their religious zeal.

33. Quiz: The Effects of the Crusades
What was one of the ways the Crusades helped contribute to the end of medieval Europe?
A. Religious tolerance increased.
B. Monarchs lost power and authority.
C. The Holy Land was secured for Christian pilgrimage.
D. Western Europeans developed an expanded view of the world.

34. Quiz: The Reconquista
How might the Reconquista have affected Spain's economic and cultural life?
A. Expelling Jews and Muslims, including businessmen, probably strengthened the economy and made the culture more diverse.
B. Expelling Jews and Muslims, including businessmen, probably weakened the economy and made the culture less diverse.
C. Expelling Jews and Muslims, including businessmen, probably weakened the monarchy and made the culture less diverse.
D. Expelling Jews and Muslims, including businessmen, probably made the economy more dependent on agriculture and made the culture more diverse.