The Crusades

Crusades – Hi Alexandria, I’m here to ask you today all about the Crusades. When did the Crusades take place?

Alexandria: They took place in 1095. They were a series of Holy Wars launched by the Christians states of Europe into the Middle East. Pope Urban called the first Crusade, and from then on the Crusade battles started.  There were a total of eight crusade battles.

Me: So what caused the Crusades?

Alexandria:  The Crusades started when the Turks were heading into Constantinople.  The Pope called people and told them to go on a Crusade into Jerusalem to capture the city for Christianity.  He wanted them to then go to Constantinople. The thing was the Pope said that if you were going on this Crusade then you would be saved, so everyone went on this Crusade.  10,000 people ended up dying.

Me: So why do you think the Crusades were important?

Alexandria: The Crusades were important because before the Crusades we were in the Dark Ages, and it was a horrible time for Europe.  Europe was falling apart. Even though we lost the Crusades we brought back many things from the Middle East, but the most important was knowledge.  We brought back religion, culture, technology, and science. This really made Europe get back into its glory days, and it started the Renaissance. People in Europe believed in themselves again, and they started making great art once again.

"The Crusades." University of Wisconsin - Green Bay. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. <http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/westtech/xcrusade.htm>.