In this essay, I will talk about the impact the crusade have on the European system I will first discuss about it effect on the catholic church, secondly I will talk about the social and political effects of the crusade, then highlight the intellectual and material development, and its effect on voyage and discovery. Finally will conclude on how crucial the crusade was for the development of the European system.
The Crusades kept all Europe in a turmoil for many years, and directly cost Christendom several millions of lives (from 2,000,000 to 6,000,000 according to different estimates), furthermore immeasurable expenditures in wealth and torment. They were, also, attended by all the chaos, license, and crime with which are always liked to war. On the other hand, the crusades were beneficial indirectly of so much and lasting good that they form a very important factor in the history of the improvement of civilization.
The Crusades played a crucial role to increase the treasure of the Church and the power of the Papacy. Thus the prominent part which the Popes took in the operations naturally fostered their power and influence, by putting in their hands, the armies and resources of Christendom, and familiarizing the people to look to them as divine leaders.
As to the fortune of the churches and monasteries, this was expanded hugely by the sale to them, frequently for a mere fraction of their actual value, of the estates of those planning for the voyages, or by the out and out presents of the lands in return for pious benedictions and prayers. Also knights that would go the battle will give their land to the church in exchange of paradise in case they die. Many of the crusaders, returning mentally ruined and with poor health, took refuge in cloistral retreats, and gifted the church that they entered with all their wealth. That is where we see the power of the Papacy and the fortune of the Church were massively increased.
Another most significant effects of the crusades was on commerce. They generated a constant request for the transport of men and materials, supported the fabrication of ship, and stretched the market for eastern merchandises in Europe. The commodities of Damascus, Alexandria, Mosul Cairo, and other big cities were transferred across the Mediterranean to the Italian seaports, where they will be disperse all over European lands. The style of the Orient, with its silks, textiles, gold, spices, perfume, pearls, and ivory, was so fascinating that an enthusiastic crusader called it "the vestibule of Paradise."
The crusades affected in many ways the life of western Europe even the Feudalism system. For example, they helped to destabilize feudalism. Thousands of barons and knights hypothecated or traded their lands to raise money for a crusading expedition. Many died in Syria and their assets, through failure of successors, reverted to the crown. Additionally, private warfare, which was rife in the Middle Ages, also tended to die out with the leaving for the Holy Land of so many wild feudal lords. Their failure in both numbers and influence, and the consistent growing of the royal authority, may best be tracked in the changes that came about in the home of the crusading movement which is France.
As to the political effects of the Crusades, they helped to breakdown the power of the feudal nobility, and to give importance to the kings and the people.
Many of the feudal lords who set out on the expeditions never came back, and their fortune, through failure of heritors, was given to the Crown; though many more misused their fortunes in meeting the expenses of their activities.
At the same time, the states also gained many political benefits at the expense of the crusading moguls and princes. Ready money in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries was largely in the hands of the burgher class, and in return for the contributions and loans they made to their overlords, or suzerains, they received charters conferring special and valuable privileges.