Question

Explain the historical circumstances that led to the crusades

Answer 1

The Crusades were Christian military movements towards the Holy Land in order to occupy and keep it under Christian rule.

Answer 2

The Crusades were Christian military movements towards the Holy Land in order to occupy and keep it under Christian rule.

• 11th century Europe was thriving. With the end of the barbarian invasions, a period of stability and an increase in trade began. Consequently, the population has also grown. In the feudal world, only the firstborn inherited the feuds, which resulted in many men for little land. The men, with no land to make a living, plunged into crime, stealing, looting and kidnapping. Something needed to be done.

• As stated earlier, the Christian world was divided. Because they disagreed with some dogmas of the Roman Church (worship of saints, demand for indulgences, etc.), Eastern Catholics founded the Orthodox Church. Jerusalem, the Holy Land, belonged to the Arab domain and until the 11th century they allowed Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land. But at the end of the 11th century, peoples of Central Asia, the Seldjuk Turks, took Jerusalem. Converted to Islam, the Seldjúcidas were quite intolerant and prohibited the access of Christians to Jerusalem.

• In 1095, Pope Urban II called for expeditions to retake the Holy Land. The crusaders (as the dispatchers became known) received this name for carrying a large cross, the main symbol of Christianity, stamped on their clothing. In exchange for participation, they would gain the forgiveness of their sins.

• The Church was not the only one interested in the success of these expeditions: the feudal nobility was interested in the conquest of new lands; mercantilist cities like Venice and Genoa were dazzled by the possibility of expanding their business to the East and everyone was interested in oriental spices, due to their high value, such as: black pepper, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and others. Moved by faith and ambition, between the 11th and 13th centuries, eight Crusades left for the East.