The Crusades, the Black Plague, & Lasting Changes to Europe at end of Middle Ages

Dr. East, April 2015

What do we already know?1. Which 4 European feudal territories consolidated and became

nation-states during the late Middle Ages2. How did the Hundred Years War impact two of these countries?3. What role did religious zeal play in the formation of the nation on

the Iberian peninsula? 4. Who were the Moors (where was their last stronghold on the

peninsula)?5. What role did intermarriage between princes and lords with

territory play in creation of states?6. What role did location play in the formation of the French throne

in Paris and the Russian Czar’s throne in Moscow?7. 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

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.

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

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.

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

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…

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

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

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

“Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition” – Monty Python troop

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

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

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.

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.