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1 " Albigensians "
― , The Crusades: A History From Beginning to End
2 " Even centuries after the last unsuccessful Crusade, the Crusades had a lasting impact on medieval Europe. The kingdom of Jerusalem was essentially Europe’s first colony and inspired later monarchs and military leaders to embark on massive projects of colonization. "
3 " On a more positive slant, the Crusades created lasting trade between the Christian and Islamic worlds, and the cultural exchange is thought to have been a major factor in the European Renaissance. "
4 " How much the Crusades were an aggressive act of Christian fanaticism and how much they were a defensive military intended to check the spread of Islam and reclaim Christian territory is still debated. What cannot be debated is that 1.7 million ordinary people, both Christian and Muslim, died as a result of the Crusades, and that loss of life cannot be considered chivalric in the slightest. "
5 " The company was founded by 101 Englishmen who made investments in the new company, and each was entitled to an equal share of its value, making it an early joint-stock company. "
― , The East India Company: A History From Beginning to End
6 " While the First and Fourth Crusades could reasonably be described as successful, the majority of the other seven crusading expeditions to the Muslim east ended with disaster. Over two centuries, repeated attempts to reclaim the Holy Land of Jerusalem ended in failure and yet, again and again, ordinary people took the cross and made the arduous journey east. In launching their Holy War and maintaining its momentum over two centuries, the Crusaders showed the world the devastating effect of forcibly dividing the world along the lines of religion. "
7 " Men, women, and children were slaughtered in the streets, and the Crusader leaders went against their promise to uphold the sanctity of the city’s mosques as places of sanctuary. Even within the Aqsa Mosque, Jewish and Muslim civilians were killed. After the madness, the Crusaders lay down their weapons and prayed at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, thanking God for returning Jerusalem to Christian rule for the first time in 450 years. "
8 " The 1204 sacking of Constantinople is a stand-out moment in the history of the Crusades for its abandoned ferocity. Considering themselves victims of the treachery of the Byzantine Empire that had distracted them from their pilgrimage to the Holy Lands, the Crusaders forgot their oaths and went on a vile rampage, raping the women of Constantine, destroying the city, and defiling the many holy sanctuaries. "