Crusades Effects On International Society

The crusades had a wide range of impacts on international society, during and after the wars. These impacts can be categorised as effects on; the Catholic church, politics, intellectual and material development, economy, feudalism, and also the territories under the constant changing of hands. The crusades contributed to the thriving of the churches economy. As such the power of the Pope and his church increased which in event naturally fostered the authority and influence of the Popes by providing them with the armies and resources which led to the people to look towards them as their supreme leaders. The crusades were able to send ripples through the social hierarchy, for instance the crusades were able to undermine feudalism. Thousands of
The most important impact was that it liberalized the minds of the crusaders. While in the East the crusaders enjoyed the advantages which come about from travel in strange lands and among unfamiliar peoples. They were able to experience great cities, marble palaces, superb dresses, and elegant manners which were all unknown to them prior to the crusades; they returned with finer tastes, broader ideas, and wider sympathies. This obtained knowledge of science and learning of the East greatly stimulated the Latin intellect and also assisted in the development in Western Europe of the mental activity which resulted in a great outburst of intellect now referred to as the period of Renaissance. The impact that the crusades had on economy is one of the most prominent effects of the crusades. They created a constant demand for the transportation of men and supplies, including the encouragement of ship-building, and extended the market through Europe. The products of cities such as Damascus were carried across the Mediterranean to loading seaports that distributed these goods across all of