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…showed last 75 words of 650 total…war against Islam. The Crusades are an important early part of the story of European expansion and colonialism. They mark the first time Western Christendom undertook a military initiative far from home, and the first time significant numbers of people left to carry their culture and religious abroad. The crusades strongly affected the imagination and aspirations of people at the time, and to this day, they are among the most famous chapters of medieval history.