As the Crusaders encountered new ideas and products such as gun powder, apricots, medicines, silks, and dyes they began to take them back home with them to Europe. These products – especially ones that were seen as exotic – became very popular. Soon trade routes developed not only to bring these products back to Europe but also to take European goods to the Holy land.

Click on the different areas of the map below to see what products came from each of the different trade centers.

Have you ever participated in barter? I bet you have. If you have ever traded Pokémon cards, swapped CDs, or even just traded parts of your lunch for part of your friend's, then you have! Take a moment to write in your notes about a time you bartered (or traded) to get what you wanted. Consider why you were willing to trade, how you benefited from this trade, and whether or not the person you traded with benefited as well.

Barter is how trade usually occurred in Europe. Merchants would trade goods and services at the local markets. But soon, local churches began to hold trade fairs. With the support of the Church, trade centers that held such fairs grew in wealth and population. The larger the city grew, the more trade it attracted.