What impact did the Crusades have in Europe with respect to the Essay

What impact did the Crusades have in Europe with respect to the relationship between the Christian and the Islamic cultures - Essay Example For the good or bad, crusading movement had a lot of effects to the Muslims and Christians. According to Duiker & Spielvogel and Stearns, they argued that crusades affected the social upheaval. Whereas crusades promoted church authority in Europe, they also raised a lot of social chaos. It was more intense in Holy land than any other place. Between 1090 and 1290, several cities in the Holy land exchanged hands between the Christians and Islamic invaders, usually with a lot of violence involved. For example, in 1099, the crusaders overran the city of Jerusalem and carried out an intensive massacre of children, women and men. The same group went ahead to stir up unrest in the entire continent of Europe. It was then acceptable to persecute and kill Jews, especially those who were against the church. Crusades had also a significant impact on cultural exchange. Although there were fights between the crusades and those against the church, European cultures influenced each other. For instance, Christian invaders came up with European-styled feudal estates within the Holy land to oversee both agricultural production and trade. They also left a significant architectural imprint. They constructed several churches in Jerusalem that enhanced the spread of the gospel. They also built a hospital and a market place where they could trade their products. In making these developments, both the Christians and the Muslims could meet and shared their goods, services or ideas. In the process, there was cultural swap amongst them. However, cultural influence went the other way too. Crusaders were exposed to Arabian products, including dyed cottons, finely-crafted silks and glass. They went with goods of Middle Eastern furniture and some were taken to Europe. Ideological wealth was a significant impact also. They had a lot of impacts on the society that hosted them. Conversely to the common belief, crusades did not