The Crusades was a very important set of holy wars that went from 1095 to 1250. Pope Urban II, who set to conquer the holy land and regain the birthplace of Christ to the Christendom, started these important sets of wars. When the Christian army arrived at the Middle East, they were met by not only the great Turkish general Saladin, but also harsh weather conditions in which the heavy armor of Western Europe was useless. The wars dragged on and the Christendom only gained a small amount of territory, only to lose it again by 1250. The Crusades not only had an impact on European society, but a wake up call to the fact that if more land was wanted, then they would have to search westward.
             Many Things resulted from the Crusades; first, the crusades bettered the European Economy. The Crusades affected the economy by increasing trade within Europe from outside realms and creating new markets for new goods from different places. Goods such as spices, silk, and cotton brought a new luxury to the Europeans, transforming the dull and bland food into zestier food with spices and giving people more things to wear other than cotton. Most notably, Italy, prospered from the new trade controlling the Mediterranean trade from outside of Europe. This newfound wealth in Italy lead to making other nations jealous, which pushed other countries to exploring uncharted lands and alternate trade routes.
             Perhaps the most profound effect the crusades had on the history of America was the push for other nations to establish new trade routes and to find new lands to colonize. Since the Italians had the Mediterranean passage to the Middle East to themselves, Prince Henry the Navigator sought to find new ways to get to the Middle East. They found out that the fastest way to get to the Middle East was to go around the cape of Africa. With Portugal's success in finding new trade routes, the neighboring Spanish felt that it was ti
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