Seeing that they are trying to win 'my heart and mind' this morning over their media ("72% turn-out in Iraqi election".... Thankyou very much Fox news ;).
This ongoing war between the Arabs and Europeans forced Europe to find new trading routes... And here is where 'I' come into the story.
So Fox, save you propaganda for those kids on the yellow bus.
I guess now I can finish reading 'When life, and not just carnival, is a gas' posted by News.

[From about 500 to 1350, people in Europe had little contact with other parts of the world. This period of European history is called the Middle Ages. Then, from about 1100 and 1300, Europeans fought a series of religious wars, known as the Crusades, in the Middle East. These wars brought many Europeans into contact with foreign cultures. They learned to like foreign goods. Europeans began trading with Arab merchants to get these goods. Increased trade and travel made Europeans curious about the wider world. This interest helped spark a rebirth of learning in Europe, known as the Renaissance. Europeans translated texts from other languages and began learning more about the world.

The increase in trade improved the economy of Europe. European rulers began to increase their power and wealth. They wanted to make money through trade. [Many of the goods that Europeans wanted originally came from Asia. However, merchants in the Middle East and Italy controlled land trade routes with Asia.] European rulers began to look for a sea route to Asia. Direct contact with Asia would make trade easier and more profitable. Europeans began to explore other lands.

In 1492, Christopher Columbus searched for a new sea route to Asia. In- stead of finding' Asia, he landed on an island off the coast of North and South America. At the time, these continents were not known to Europeans. The voyages of Columbus marked the beginning of a new age. People in Europe, Africa, and the Americas came into greater contact with one another.]