Crusades, Trade, and the Plague -List and explain some of the major events that affected Europe in the late Middle Ages. -Explain who issued the call for the Crusades and why. -List and describe some of the major trade goods that traveled over trade routes, such as the Silk Road, in the Middle Ages. -Explain what a bubonic plague is and how it affects humans. -Explain what the different theories are regarding how the Plague reached Europe.

The Crusades During the time of the 1000s, a group of Muslim Seljuk Turks from Central Asia rose up and defeated a Byzantine Army. This group of Turks also began to take over many lands including Palestine. Christians often made pilgrimages to this land and thousands of them were killed by the Turks. –This caused the Christians to get very angry.

Pope Urban II I speak to those present, I send word to those not here…go forth against the Turks in a battle worthy to be undertaken now and to be finished in victory! When the Christians heard this, they began to cry out “It is the will of God!” Thus began the Crusades or holy wars.

The Crusades For the next 200 years, waves of crusaders, kings, queens, knights, monks, nuns and serfs set out to recapture the Holy Land. The Crusaders were a great failure for the Church. –The Christians did not capture the Holy Land. –Many innocent people – Christian and Muslim died. –The Crusades increased trade between the East and the West.

Trade Grows During the early middle ages, people had what they needed – food, clothing, and shelter. Soon, they began to need and want goods that were not on the manor. –Serfs needed iron. –Lords wanted furs and fine wool. Merchants began to set up tents to display their goods.

Trade Grows A network of trade routes soon developed where people could sell their goods at fairs. Local and foreign goods were exchanged along these routes. Rather than travel from Asia, goods would reach the trader through a series of middlemen, similar to a relay race. Trade routes delivered goods from Africa, Asia, China and the Far East.

The Silk Road We know about The Silk Road from travels of Marco Polo. The Silk Road was several different routes and branches that passed through different settlements. All routes set out from the Chinese Capital, Chang’an under the Hun Dynasty. They all reached Dunhuang on the edge of the Taklimakan Desert.

The Silk Road Caravans to China carried gold, ivory and precious stones. Caravans from China bought silk, furs, ceramics, jade, bronze objects, lacquer, and iron. Ideas traveled both ways – Buddhism came to China via the Silk Road. The Silk Road was physically difficult to travel on. –Bandits also made it dangerous to travel. –Defense walls were built along the road for protection.

The Silk Road

The Plague When medieval culture was at its greatest strength, the Plague hit Europe. The Plague was a bubonic plague, a very aggressive epidemic, or the rapid spread of disease over a wide area. It is caused when fleas infest rodents and then the rats infect humans. –The humans and rats die, but the fleas live. In the fourteenth century, nobody knew how it spread and how to stop it. Some people thought they could get the plague from looking at another person. The plague killed about one fourth to one third of Europe’s population.

The Spread of the Plague

Effects of the Plague 23 – 33% Population loss in Europe. Businesses go bankrupt. Deaths cause labor shortages. Trade declines and towns disappear. Construction and building projects stop. Food supply decreases and people starve.

The Plague

Summary Trade began in Europe. Pope Urban II called for the Crusades. Marco Polo traveled to China along the Silk Road. The Plague reached Europe.