THE SPANISH

How Did the Spanish Worldview lead to their desire to expand their empire? The Spanish believed that the world was theirs to take for the glory of Spain. They believed that Spanish imperialism was their right. They wanted new colonies to gain more wealth. They felt it was their duty to convert non-Christians to Roman Catholicism. They felt they needed a large empire to compete with Portugal (aka God’s Country).

The Spanish Character Similar to Europe: Christian, devout, but also rigidly hierarchical and placing a strong emphasis on personal courage and battlefield skill. In Spain, this would be characterized as machismo the ideal of masculinity: tough, brave, and dominant. Different from Europe: Because of the large numbers of different languages, cultures and religions in Spain, a tolerance for differences was the rule and not the exception. Muslims, Christians and Jews lived side by side in peace and harmony…until the Reconquista accomplished its goal.

Examples of the Spanish Character European: Probably the best example of Spanish Catholic devotion is that the Spanish monarchs paid tribute to the Pope to be known as Os Reyes Catolicos or the Catholic Monarchs. As for machismo, the ancient Spanish sports of Bullfighting and running with the bulls were traditionally man vs. beast and featured the very real risk of death as well as killing. Non-European: The tolerance of the Spanish and Portuguese towards religious minorities was very much unique to the Iberian Peninsula and was looked down up by the rest of Europe.

Why Was Spain Unique? After the fall of the Roman Empire, Spain like much of western Europe, was under a German ruling class: The Visigoths. Unlike the rest of Europe, the Spanish were invaded in 711 and mostly conquered by Muslims from Arabia and North Africa, called the Moors.

Andalusia For the next several centuries, the Dark Ages did not affect Muslim Spain, (called Al-Andalus or Andalusia) as it became a beacon of religious tolerance, art, science, architecture, and learning. Meanwhile, in the Christian north, the rump kingdoms were determined to get their revenge and take back all of Spain for Christianity. Thus began the Reconquista. Over the next five hundred years Spain was a battleground with wins and losses on both sides, but with the Christians pushing south bit by bit.

Realities in Spain Both Christians and Muslim Spanish called upon allies from neighboring territories: The Christians calling on French and English Crusaders and the Moors calling on their Moroccan neighbors. Both of these groups were less than tolerant of religious minorities, massacring them. In Spain, however, it was not unusual for Muslim and Christian to ally with each other against other kingdoms of their own religion if it served their purposes. Spanish knights of either religion would render service for whoever offered better compensation.

Battle of Las Navas da Tolosa In 1212, at the Battle of Las Navas da Tolosa, a combined army of all the Christian Kingdoms of Spain defeated a huge Moorish army, sealing the fate of the Moors. However, it took until 1492 for the last Muslim kingdom, Granada, to fall as the Christian kingdoms of Spain went back to battling with each other. It wasn’t until Isabel of Castile married the Ferdinand of Aragon and united all of Spain (except Portugal) that Granada would be conquered.

Effect of Reconquista on Spain Because of all of the fighting in Spain, the Spanish soldiers were battled hardened, disciplined and ruthless. They were the best armies in all of western Europe and were the prototype for the Spanish conquistador of the 1500s. Also, once the Reconquista was over, the Catholic Monarchs were faced with the question of what to do with the large religious minorities in their new unified kingdom. It was decided that unity was needed: One King, One Country, One Faith. In 1492, Jews and Muslims were given an ultimatum: Leave, Convert, or Die.

The Spanish Inquisition Established by the Catholic Monarchs to ensure that the newly converted Muslims (Moriscos) and Jews (Maranos) were indeed in fact sincerely practising Christians now. Went into high gear after the ultimatum of 1492: Convert, leave or die. Conversos were interrogated by Inquisitors of the Church. If they were found to be ‘fake’ Christians, they could be burned at the stake. The philosophy behind the SI was that Spain needed unity and the Christians feared having potential traitors in their midst.

Legacy of the Moors in Spain

France Spain Why did Spain Explore and Expand?

Spain’s Problems The rulers of Spain were keenly aware of the problems with Spain: It was depopulated from the wars of Reconquista. It was disunited for most of its history and this showed in its many religions, languages and cultures. And finally, it was arid and semi-desert compared to rest of Europe. This means they could never compete on the basis of growing food and population. If Spain were to become a great power, it needed to go at things differently.

Spain’s Goals Like all European nation-states, Spain wanted to expand in glory in religion, wealth, prestige among its neighbors and rivals, and power. It wanted to expand Catholicism both at home and abroad, and continuing what it considered was a Holy War against the Muslims. Like all monarchs, Isabella and Ferdinand wanted to expand their influence, prestige, and power. The common way to do this was to expand your domains: France was pushing east into Italy and Germany, England had conquered Wales and was pushing into Ireland.

Spain’s Solution The north was blocked by France, Portugal was protected by its ally, England. This left taking the fight against Africa and the desert…that is until C. Columbus gave them a Plan B: skip ahead of Portugal by sailing…wait for it…WEST.