1. The Crusades, the Black Plague, & Lasting Changes to Europe at end of Middle Ages
Dr. East, April 2015

2. What do we already know?
Which 4 European feudal territories consolidated and became nation-states during the late Middle Ages
How did the Hundred Years War impact two of these countries?
What role did religious zeal play in the formation of the nation on the Iberian peninsula?
Who were the Moors (where was their last stronghold on the peninsula)?
What role did intermarriage between princes and lords with territory play in creation of states?
What role did location play in the formation of the French throne in Paris and the Russian Czar’s throne in Moscow?
Which group did Ivan III need to repel from Moscow?
*** When the rest of Europe was dealing with conflicts between each other and Muslims… Russia’s earliest conflicts were with the Mongols and Khan’s descendants

3. So, Aside from Nation Building…
We have the Religious Crusades…wars to seize Christian holy lands from Muslims
Spain’s Reconquista & the Inquisition (these things expelled the Muslims and Jews from Spanish territories), and the
Black Plague/Black Death…rapidly spread disease that drastically reduced the populations of Europe and Asia.

4. The Crusades
Def: holy wars to gain control of holy lands held by Muslims in Jerusalem and rest of Palestinian Middle East
The situation: by 1093 Byzantine Empire was threatened by Turks (a Muslim group to the East)
Byzantine emperors requested assistance from Roman Popes and European Monarchs
There were 4 major crusades to try to gain effective control of land near Palestine

6. Key Developments During the Crusades
Pope Urban II, issued the first call for a crusade to the Holy Land (aka, Palestine) and called it a holy war… in a speech in 1095… actual language of the speech is unclear but apparently he commanded that good Christians take back Palestine because “God wills it!”
The first crusade truly seemed to have a legitimate religious motivation
Pope’s motivations
reunite Western and Eastern churches by assisting the ruler of the Byzantine empire
People’s motivations – faithful followed religious leaders commands… according to Pope, those who died on a crusade would be assured a place in heaven.

7. W
The Crusaders were: mostly French, but many Germans, Scots, Englishmen, Italians, and Spaniards… wore Red Crosses on their tunics … usually a rag-tag ill-prepared “army” …initially not familiar with geography and climate of Middle East

8. Crusades not very successful in capturing territory or converting Muslims
1st crusade gained a loose foothold in Middle East by temporarily capturing Jerusalem in 1099
2nd crusade resulted in final recapture of Jerusalem in 1187 by Kurdish warrior and Muslim leader - Saladin
3rd crusade, lead by English King, Richard the Lion-Hearted to recapture Jerusalem lead to a truce with Saladin in 1192… and agreement by him that while Muslims would control the city, Christian pilgrims could visit it’s holy places.
4th crusade, really simply lead to Christian looting of of the city of Constantinople in 1204 and weakening the city such that it couldn’t sustain itself against later attacks of surrounding Muslim Turks…. Obviously not what crusades were originally intended to do and this ultimately caused the whole Byzantine Empire to fall to Ottoman Muslim Turks by1493…. How Turkey got it’s name and became a solely Muslim territory where once it had been Greek Orthodox Christian
Crusades may have started over concerns about invasion by Turks and over concerns about loss of access to holy sites and relics but… like a lot of things the crusades would change to also be about imperial quests for land and income…

9. Richard “The Lion-Hearted” (1157-1199) and Saladin (1138 – 1193)

10. Lasting Effects of Crusades
Weakened power of Pope relative to monarchs… monarchs raised the armies
Led immediately to sack of Constantinople in 1204 and ultimately to fall of Byzantine Empire in 1493
Left a legacy of bitterness of Muslims towards Christian fundamentalism and intolerance
Women, that stayed back home, had unique opportunities to practice business and land management
Contact expanded trading opportunities for merchants

11. Spanish Reconquista & Inquisition
In 1100’s most of Spain controlled by Moors (Muslims from Moroccan area of Africa)
Christians fought Muslims there for years
By 1400’s Moors were isolated to Granada portion of peninsula
Isobel and Ferdinand succeeded in forcing them out by 1492
Isobel and Ferdinand conducted an “Inquisition” that tried people for heresy…. Heretics were people who believed differently from Christian church teaching.
Forced conversions, denouncing of faith, people tortured and burned at stake

12. “Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition” – Monty Python troop

13. Black Death, Bubonic Plague
In the fourteenth century, the Black Death (Bubonic plague) decimated the population of much of Asia and then the population of much of Europe.
Impact of the Black Death
Decline in population, 1/3 to ½ of existing population succumbed to disease
Towns freed from feudal obligations
Thus labor was scarce… this scarcity lead workers to be able to charger higher wages for their labor
Decline of Church influence … Church hadn’t been that much help
Temporary disruptions of traditional trading routes

14. Despite Plagues, Trade Cont.
As Feudalism came to an end, the Crusades stimulated trade by introducing Europeans to many desirable products.
Trade promoted frequent contacts with the Byzantine and Muslim Empires.
New economic institutions thus developed.
People in Europe had Increased demand for Middle Eastern products
Thus, they began to produce goods to trade in Middle Eastern markets
Encouraged the use of credit and banking

15. Important Economic Concepts That Developed between 1200 - 1500
Church rule against usury conflicted with the banks’ practice of charging interest … church won out
Better banking practices helped to secularize northern Italy… this will lead to the Italian Renaissance in trade and ART!
Banks would issues letters of credit that served to expand the supply of money and expedite trade.
New accounting and bookkeeping practices (use of Arabic numerals) were introduced.

16. Banking Changes
Church rule against usury (unfair lending rates) helped improve the banks’ practices of charging interest and thus helped to secularize northern Italy.
Letters of credit served to expand the supply of money and expedite trade.
New accounting and bookkeeping practices (use of Arabic numerals) were introduced.