The Crusades brought tremendous change in the political, economic, and social structures of Europe. These included the development of monarchies, trade, and the middle class, which continue to affect modern life in some form to this day.
The crusades brought big changes for Europe. The political system in Europe changed from feudalism to monarchy. The economic system went from the manorial system, where manors were self-sufficient and didn't trade, to the revival of trade throughout Europe. The social structure went from a structured society to a society with a new class, the middle class, and the decline of serfdom. All these changes were very big for Europe.
The political system changed in a big way in Europe after the crusades. Before the crusades, the political unit was the manor and was ruled by lords. You were loyal to the lord who owned your land. After the crusades, feudalism became weaker. The kings who led the crusades got more power. They began to form countries and impose taxes. People gave their loyalty to kings in exchange for protection. As long as the king promised to keep the trade routes safe from thugs and thieves, the people would pledge their allegiance to that king. Serfs who used to be bound to the land either escaped from the manor or bought their freedom and funded a crusade for their noble. As more peasants left for the towns, the towns grew larger. Soon the townspeople demanded four basic rights in their town. One was the right to be free, and not to be tied to the manor. The second was the right to have exempt status, and not to have to provide services to the manor. The third right is town justice. They could have their own justice system to deal with crime in their town. The final right was the right to commercial privileges, which is the right to sell goods freely in the town and to impose taxes on merchants who don't live in that town. In modern Europe, people in towns still have those four basic rights. In some countries, people pledge their allegiance to the king, but only in countries with a monarchy.
The change of the economic system was one of the biggest changes for Europe. Europe went from the manorial system, where you paid taxes with what you grow on the lord's land, to the revival of trade. Before the crusades, there was almost no trade because roads and bridges were not well maintained, and there was the big threat of thugs and thieves waiting to ambush you on the roads. During the crusades, men found out new ways to make money and that was by trading. They could trade goods and make a profit. When trade exploded, the barter system of crops for crops trading became obsolete and people began to trade with money and purchase things. On the barter system you might have to haul tons of food long distances and it gets tiring. With money you don't have to haul nearly as much. Kings held big festivals where people could trade freely, but with all the different currencies nobody knew how much of one coin is equal to how much of another. That led to the creation of banks. Banks exchanged money and lent money too. The increase of trade also led to three big developments. These are a manufacturing system, a banking system, and the practice of investing capital. People began to invest in trading ships heading east and got a share of the profit when it came back. This is like the modern stock market except without shares and other complicated things. Today in Europe trade is still huge. Most of the countries trade with each other all the time. Trade is one of the most fundamental and important things in life today in Europe. This could lead to them becoming one superpower in the future.
The third change was in the social structure. Before the crusades, the social structure was a very structured society where birth was destiny and nothing in the world could change that. You could be a billionaire peasant and still not be able to become a noble or king. You could not switch between classes like you can in modern Europe. If you were born a peasant, you died a peasant. End of story. The crusades changed that. The crusaders came back with new ideas about the social class. An entirely new class was formed because of the crusades. This class was the middle class, which is still a very big part of Europe today. The middle class became huge after the crusades. Serfs who used to be bound to the land escaped or bought freedom and joined the middle class where they had a chance to have a good life and make money and trade, instead of having to do back-creaking work all day long and being taxed heavily. Serfs in modern Europe do not exist anymore. There is now an upper class, a middle class, and a lower class. The middle class is still the biggest of them all.
The crusades caused some of the biggest changes. Most of the changes that the crusades caused are still in place today. Townspeople still have rights and some have kings. Trade is the most important aspect of life today. The middle class has become the biggest class. All these changes are due to the crusades. The crusades shaped modern life as we know it.
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