The Importance of the Seaports (Edexcel A-Level History): Revision Notes

The Importance of the Seaports

The seaports of Outremer were essential to the survival and prosperity of the crusader states. They provided vital economic connections to the West, enabled military support from European powers, and facilitated trade between Christians and Muslims. Without these ports, the Frankish settlements in the Holy Land would have struggled to maintain their position.

Economic links

Principal seaports and their strategic value

The two most important seaports in Outremer were Acre (captured in 1104) and Tyre (which surrendered in 1124). These ports acted as a vital lifeline for the crusader states, offering several key advantages:

• They created a safe and fast route for people and goods to reach Outremer, in stark contrast to the dangerous and exhausting overland journey taken by the First and Second Crusades
• They allowed the Levantine economy to flourish in ways that would have been impossible using only land-based transport
• They integrated Outremer into existing international trade networks, connecting the crusader states with the West, Byzantium and Egypt

Integration into trade networks

The ports enabled Outremer to become part of a large, pre-existing trade network that had long connected different parts of the Mediterranean world. This integration worked in two directions:

Exports from Outremer:

• Sugar
• Spices

Imports to Outremer:

• Cotton
• Metals
• Certain food products that were not available locally

Connection to Italian commerce

The seaports created a crucial link between Outremer and the prosperous world of Italian commerce. Italian city-states, which had already begun to grow wealthy before the First Crusade, saw the crusader states as an opportunity to expand their economic power even further.

Italian merchants established trading communities in key seaports, creating separate quarters with their own:

• Rights and privileges
• Judicial processes and legal systems
• Commercial practices

These Italian communities were typically established through agreements called communes. A commune was a form of government where groups with shared commercial interests joined together, selected their own consuls, and governed themselves to protect their economic interests.

How communes were established: Italian city-states provided military support to capture seaports in exchange for territory and commercial privileges within those cities.

Sources of revenue from the seaports

The seaports generated considerable income through various means, benefiting settlers, service industries and local lords. The revenue came from multiple sources throughout the trading process:

Maritime and harbour fees:

• The cost of travelling to the East by ship
• Fees for mooring at the outer harbour
• Additional charges for access to the inner harbour

Transfer and handling charges:

• Wages paid to workers who transferred goods from ships to the shore

Taxation:

• Import tax paid to the port official, ranging from 4 to 25 percent of the goods' value
• Rent charged for storing goods in warehouses
• Export tax paid by purchasers when taking goods out of the city

Service industry income: A significant source of revenue, particularly for Acre, came from providing services to the influx of pilgrims travelling to Jerusalem. These pilgrims required:

• Food and accommodation
• Rest and recovery facilities
• Guidance for the onward journey to Jerusalem

Military links

Protection from Egyptian naval threats

The seaports made Outremer safer for Frankish settlers by limiting Egyptian naval power in the region. After the capture of Ascalon in 1153, the Egyptian fleet lost its last safe harbour where it could stop for fresh water along the coast. This had important consequences:

• Egyptian ships could no longer effectively harass Franks living along the coastline
• European vessels sailing to Outremer faced reduced danger from Egyptian naval attacks
• The crusader states gained greater control over the eastern Mediterranean waters

Access to outside military support

The ports created a vital channel for military assistance to reach the Frankish settlers when they needed help. This outside support came from various sources throughout the twelfth century:

Examples of naval military support:

1104: A Genoese fleet provided assistance that helped capture Gibelet and launch attacks on Acre

1169 and 1177: The Byzantine Empire supplied naval backing for military campaigns launched by Outremer

This external support was particularly important because Outremer never developed a substantial naval fleet of its own. Although the kingdom of Jerusalem attempted to build a fleet in the 1160s, this effort was limited in scope and success.

Trade between Muslim and Christian cities

Economic cooperation across religious boundaries

Trade was one of the most important sources of income for the crusader states, and remarkably, this trade was not limited to Christian partners. Despite the religious conflict that had brought the Franks to the Holy Land, economic pragmatism created unexpected cooperation between Christians and Muslims.

Why this cooperation occurred:

Settlers in Outremer needed markets to sell their goods and sustain their livelihoods. At the same time, Muslim-held cities near the crusader states, including Damascus and Aleppo, required access to trade routes connecting them with Byzantium and western Europe. The ports of Acre and Tyre provided this vital link, and both cities became home to mixed Christian and Muslim communities.

Evidence of religious tolerance in the ports

Several examples demonstrate the surprising level of accommodation and tolerance in the seaports:

Religious facilities:

• Both Tyre and Acre had mosques where Muslims could worship
• Evidence suggests that a converted mosque in Acre was shared by both Christians and Muslims for worship

Royal protection for Muslim traders: King Baldwin III granted official protection to Abu Ibn Izz ad-Din, a Muslim from Tyre, allowing him to trade safely with Egypt

Prominent Muslim merchants: In 1180, Ibn Jubayr reported that two of the most successful merchants operating on Outremer's coast were Muslims from North Africa who lived in Damascus

Tax laws and trading duties

The laws of the kingdom of Jerusalem provide detailed evidence of how this Muslim-Christian trade was regulated and taxed. These laws, dating from the eleventh century, specified the duties imposed on various goods:

Sugar:

• A duty of 5 bezants for every 100 bezants worth traded
• This was a valuable commodity highly sought after throughout the Mediterranean world

Shoes:

• If purchased by a Saracen (Muslim), a 10 percent duty was added

Cardamom (a spice):

• A duty of 10 bezants and 5 karoubles for every 100 bezants worth traded
• (Note: A karouble was a Greek coin worth approximately one twenty-fourth of a gold bezant)

Exports to non-Christians:

• Any product exported to non-Christian buyers had an additional duty of 1 karouble for every 1 bezant traded

Legal procedures for Muslim-Christian trade disputes

The laws even included specific procedures for debt collection between Franks and Saracens, showing how integrated the two communities were in commercial life.