ABSTRACT
The crusade was a means of establishing contact between different cultures and societies, and could occur through conflict or peaceful cooperation and coexistence. The Curonians were subjugated in 1267 and the Semigallians were forced to accept the new Order five years later. The final uprising of the Semigallians lasted until 1290 and marked the end of a century of crusades in Livonia. As a particular feature of the Baltic Crusades the economic character is also reflected in the policy of towns that took part in the military campaigns. The exceptional position of Riga is emphasized by the fact that the town was regarded as the third party alongside the military order and the archbishop during the Livonian Crusade. Towns such as Riga were a new element in the medieval Baltic landscape, a phenomenon of the Middle Ages introduced into the eastern Baltic only during the crusades. Literacy was yet another feature imported to the Baltic.
