The Conquest Of The Baltic Crusades And The Social Transformation In Eastern Europe (12^th-14^thCentury)

The Baltic Crusades began during the Second Crusade, but continued into the Fourteenth Century. Different from the crusades in the Holy Lands, the main goal of the Baltic Crusades was to combat the pagan tribes in the Baltic. For two centuries, the Baltic Crusades were conducted against pagan Prussians and Lithuanians and, to a lesser extent, against Orthodox Russia.The Baltic Crusades had conquered the whole Eastern Europe and it had caused extremely profound influence to the conquered area. After the Baltic Crusades, Eastern European society began to contact with the advanced western civilization.The political, economic, cultural and other aspects of Eastern Europe society had also experienced a series of profound changes. Eventually, these military ventures succeeded in incorporating the Eastern Baltic region into the Western European civilization. Therefore, the Baltic Crusades played an important role in social transformation of Eastern Europe society during the Middle Ages. So, The historical connection between the Baltic Crusades and the social changes of medieval Eastern Europe will undoubtedly be worthy of further exploration.This paper mainly discuss the conquest of Baltic Crusades from the 12 century to the 14 century and its impacts on Eastern Europe. It composes of five parts and conclusion:The first part primarily expounds the origin and process of the Baltic Crusades. This paper considers that the external expansion of the western society, the religious zeal of the Christian world, and the promotion of the pope are the source of the rise of the Baltic Crusades, and the favorable geographical conditions of the Baltic Sea stimulates the desire of the conquest of the crusades. With papal approval, over two centuries, the Baltic Crusades has successively launched military conquest against Livonia, Prussia, Novgorod, and Lithuania.The main body of the second part is about the colonization of the conquered area after the conquest of the Baltic Crusades. Under the background of the European frontier movement in the Middle Ages, Germany began a large-scale eastward movement of colonization. The Baltic Crusades advanced German eastward movement further to the more distant Eastern Europe. Along with the development of the colonization, a large number of German immigrants migrated to the east of the Elbe. The immigrants who moved to the conquered area established germanic villages and towns. The germanization of local people was completed.From the political point of view, the third part of the text mainly analyzes the adjustment of the political structure of the Eastern Europe after the Baltic Crusades. Under the influence of the Baltic Crusades, there emerged a powerful Teutonic Order State in Eastern Europe. Forced by the expansion of the Teutonic Order State, the kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania gradually combined.Under the advocacy of Crusades ideology,Christian countries of Sweden started to conquest Orthodox Russia and Relations between the two countries gradually deteriorated.In the fourth part, from the economic point of view, this paper mainly discusses the changes of the economy of the Eastern European region by the conquest of the Baltic Crusades. A large number of commercial cities have emerged in the Baltic Sea.These cities joined the Hanseatic League and expanded the scope of the Hanseatic League. Hanseatic merchants and cites link up Germany, Southeast of the Baltic Sea, Scandinavian and other places and promote more frequent economic and trade exchanges between each other. Eventually, it Contributed to the formation of the North--Baltic trade circle.From the religious point of view, the fifth part mainly expounds the influence of the conquest of the Baltic Crusades on the religion in Eastern Europe. The Baltic Crusades had promoted the spread of christianity in Eastern Europe and ultimately helped to materialize the Eastern Europe’s christianization. With Eastern Europe being incorporated into the christian world, a christian Europe finally formed.The last part is the conclusion. The conclusion part summarizes the main point of the text and discusses social transformation of medieval Eastern Europe. At last, it analyzes the role of the Baltic Crusades in the social transformation in Eastern Europe.