Although it was unsuccessful, the Crusades introduced Europeans to the luxury of the Muslim civilization. When the Crusaders brought home silks, porcelain, spices and other goods, demand for these things in Europe began to grow, especially as the emerging bourgeois class of Europeans became a market for these luxury goods.
Farmers were probably the hardest hit group of people during the Great Depression. They were already having a tough time from the 1920's because during WWl, they had been making record numbers of crops that were being sent over seas, but once the war ended they ended up with a surplus which dropped the price of wheat and farmers could hardly make a living. Farmers had also bought tractors and farm equipment with an installment plan, which means they buy now and pay later. This caused many farmers to go into debt because once the depression hit they no longer could afford to pay them off. To make matters worse, unsafe farming practices, like not rotating crops, cause the top soil to blow off and huge dust storms, called the Dust Bowl occurred making life miserable for farmers and their families.
The French-Indian was extremely costly. It left Britain with a huge debt. The British thought the colonists were to pay the debt because they were defending the colonies from the French. Britain also maintained a standing army in American colonies which was a huge financial stress. As a result, Great Britain taxed the colonies.
nationalism created ethnic tensions, resulting in civil war
