Outremer; the working man's tax haven?

I've just been reading about the tax a Christian peasant had to pay in Outremer, it's pretty bloody steep. But apparently Outremer peasants were considerably better off than the Muslim and European counterparts. The Islamic states had even higher tax rates than Outremer and the Europeans had considerable boon work obligations which didn't occur in Outremer.

Is there any way that this situation could be altered or manipulated to increase the Christian powerbase in Outremer? Perhaps Christians get taxed off their land in Islamic states and migrate to Outremer, or more European pilgrims settle in Outremer for this reason? Is this the sort of thing that can make Outremer viable, an advantageous social movement rather than a victorious battle?
 
Look up the Assizes of Jerusalem and related government documents-that'll give you a little info on the situation as it stood. I have to complement you on this, this is an excellent and original POD, and I hope it gets some development.
 
Is there any way that this situation could be altered or manipulated to increase the Christian powerbase in Outremer? Perhaps Christians get taxed off their land in Islamic states and migrate to Outremer, or more European pilgrims settle in Outremer for this reason? Is this the sort of thing that can make Outremer viable, an advantageous social movement rather than a victorious battle?
Three assumptions are being made here.

1) That significant numbers will up stakes and move. Historically people only migrated when things were really bad. Punitive taxes are not normally sufficient. Political oppression, genocide and famine are.

2) That the Islamic states will just let them walk out. No noble is going to let all his peasants just walk out en masse if a little boot will drive them back.

3) That there is going to be much workable land for them.
 
Outremer

Evidently the best agricultural lands were outside of crusader control. In Syria, the best land I believe, was in the region near Damascus. I don't know what the situation was in Tripoli or Antioch. In Jersualem there was very little there to tempt a European peasant.
 
From what I can work out in the whole of Outremer there were at best about 280,000 Franks, 350,000 local Christians and 1,000,000 Muslims. At worst the numbers are 250,000 Franks, 250,000 local Christians and 1,100,000 Muslims.

What I was thinking is perhaps a few minor changes in the way Outremer and the Islamic states charge their taxes could change these numbers significantly. For example; both the Franks and Muslims charged a tax of about 1 1/4 dinars per annum for those not being Christian or Mulism, what if this was upped to 2 dinars? Over a period of a few decades this may induce a population exchange of Christains and Muslims who can't find that money. As for getting European pilgrims to stay on, the lack of corvee could be combined with some other inducement could lead to greater Frankish settlement in Outremer.

Could this sort of thing change the numbers enough, and perhaps increase the loyalty of local Christians to the Frankish regime, to swing the balance more in Outremer's favour? Numbers, in my mind, could be something like 300,000 Franks, up to 450,000 local Christians and less than 900,000 Muslims. Would these sort of numbers significantly reduce the manpower shortage in Outremer and allow it to endure for longer? Or was Outremer's problem considerably more fundamental, and rooted in the Franks mindset/worldview?
 
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