How many crusades were made in total? How many crusades have been made throughout history? How many crusades have been made in total throughout history?

"Were" is better, because the crusades took place in the past. Nothing is incorrect with "How many crusades in total were there in history", but it seems awkward to me since it implies that history was an event that started and finished in the past. "How many crusades have there been in history (so far)" is more natural to me, because history is an ongoing thing.

I think that the past tense WERE is more appropriate. I suppose one could use ARE, but it is awkward as a usage. All Crusades are identified as Historical as Events, so the logic is that they are all in the past, which would require Past Tense WERE. .