On 2 January 1492 Boabdil, Emir (King) of Granada, surrenders to the Spanish forces. This marks the end of a 781 year long period called the Reconquista, during which the Christian kingdoms have retaken the Iberian Peninsula. The Muslims had been invited in 711 to take side in an internal conflict. The Muslims, or Moors as they were called, came across the Gibraltar strait from North-Africa, conquered and created splendid states and marvels like Alhambra.
But now in 1492, the Inquisition is just established. Jews and Muslims are expelled or forced to converse. The world opens up to Spain and Portugal, the emerging naval powers send off explorers like Columbus later the same year, and Vasco da Gama in 1497 to discover trade routes and conquer land. 1492 is the start of a 500 year long Western and Christian dominance over huge parts of the world. Today the effects are still present though diminishing.
But now in 1492, the Inquisition is just established. Jews and Muslims are expelled or forced to converse. The world opens up to Spain and Portugal, the emerging naval powers send off explorers like Columbus later the same year, and Vasco da Gama in 1497 to discover trade routes and conquer land. 1492 is the start of a 500 year long Western and Christian dominance over huge parts of the world. Today the effects are still present though diminishing.
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| Court of the Myrtles, Alhambra |
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| Fountain of the Lions, Alhambra |
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| Alhambra fortress |
Background
The Romans began the conquest of Spain in 218 BCE (Before Common Era). They established colonies (from the Latin word Coloniae) or settlements in the conquered territories, more or less like the Greek and Phoenicians had done around the Mediterranean. The Romans gained complete control of the Iberian Peninsula in 19 BC.
The Germanic tribe Visigoths, who lived in Dacia in today's Romania, were displaced by the Huns in 378 CE. The Visigoths moved on and sacked Rome, became Aryan Christians, and allied themselves with the Romans. Around 250.000 of them came to Spain in 415 CE, and as a military elite ruled over 6-7 million Hispano-Romans. They were to a great extent already Romanised, so the cultural differences were not so drastic. They moved the capital to Toledo. After the Roman Empire fell, the Visigoths elected kings, became Catholics like the rest of the population and established a good relationship with the church. Hispano-Roman civilization in a way triumphed over Barbarism. But the Visigoths were still perceived as different by the majority population, and the Jews were harassed.
The Romans began the conquest of Spain in 218 BCE (Before Common Era). They established colonies (from the Latin word Coloniae) or settlements in the conquered territories, more or less like the Greek and Phoenicians had done around the Mediterranean. The Romans gained complete control of the Iberian Peninsula in 19 BC.
The Germanic tribe Visigoths, who lived in Dacia in today's Romania, were displaced by the Huns in 378 CE. The Visigoths moved on and sacked Rome, became Aryan Christians, and allied themselves with the Romans. Around 250.000 of them came to Spain in 415 CE, and as a military elite ruled over 6-7 million Hispano-Romans. They were to a great extent already Romanised, so the cultural differences were not so drastic. They moved the capital to Toledo. After the Roman Empire fell, the Visigoths elected kings, became Catholics like the rest of the population and established a good relationship with the church. Hispano-Roman civilization in a way triumphed over Barbarism. But the Visigoths were still perceived as different by the majority population, and the Jews were harassed.
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| The Visigoth’s route through Italy to Spain and Gallia. |
Muslim invasion
Infighting after 680 CE weakened the Visigoths. One of them, the duke of Baetica, asked the Muslims in North-Africa for help against the Visigoth King Roderick. A classical situation - like in quite a few disputes throughout history one party in a conflict asks a foreign force for help. And in 711 CE the Muslim governor of Tangier, Tariq ibn Ziyad came. His forces landed at Gibraltar and defeated the King Roderick. Leaderless, most of Spain was surprisingly quickly conquered by roughly 20.000 men. The invasion destroyed the relative unity the Visigoths had imposed on the people. The Moors established an emirate, al-Andalus, lowered taxes, and let serfs who converted to Islam become free. Muslims came to comprise the majority of the population.
Infighting after 680 CE weakened the Visigoths. One of them, the duke of Baetica, asked the Muslims in North-Africa for help against the Visigoth King Roderick. A classical situation - like in quite a few disputes throughout history one party in a conflict asks a foreign force for help. And in 711 CE the Muslim governor of Tangier, Tariq ibn Ziyad came. His forces landed at Gibraltar and defeated the King Roderick. Leaderless, most of Spain was surprisingly quickly conquered by roughly 20.000 men. The invasion destroyed the relative unity the Visigoths had imposed on the people. The Moors established an emirate, al-Andalus, lowered taxes, and let serfs who converted to Islam become free. Muslims came to comprise the majority of the population.
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| The Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. |
The Reconquista
But the memory of the Visigoths lived on as a huge inspiration to people of Christian states in the northern mountains of Asturias. A Visigoth lord Pelayo beat a Muslim force in a battle in 718. That was later labelled as the beginning of the Reconquista. The Asturians took Galicia, the Basques regained their independence. Then the French king Charlemagne took Barcelona and kept an area called the Spanish Marsh for centuries. The Asturians saw themselves as the legitimate heirs to the Visigoths and the chronicles of the time tried to link the rulers to them. The kings of Asturias-Leon-Castile became the largest and wanted to dominate, but the other states often blocked them. When the fervor of the Crusades swept over Europe, the Reconquista gained more momentum. There were divisions between the Moors as well and the Christian kingdoms exploited this. By 1250 the Reconquista was basically completed, but the Muslim Kingdom of Granada continued paying taxes to Castile. In Granada Muhammad ibn al-Ahmar founded the Nasrid dynasty. Under Muhammad V it reached its greatest splendor with some of the most learned men of the epoch like the historian Ibn al-Khatib, physician Ibn Khatima and poet Ibn Zamraq. Then Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella of Castile married in 1469. The Catholic Kings (Reyes Católicos) a tactical marriage united the crowns of Aragon and Castile, primarily against the traditional rival France. But they didn’t succeed in bringing Portugal into the family. By concentrating all their military resources they managed to take Granada in 1492 and expel the last Nasrid ruler Boabdil. Mass conversion was forced upon the Moors, and they rebelled. Defeated they could chose between conversion and expulsion.
The Inquisition
Spain was a multi-religious country, and this had contributed to the development of its civilization. The educated and commercially active Jews had served Spain well. But parts of the population that saw itself as defenders of the Christian faith, and who were also jealous of the Jewish wealth. It stimulated an obsession about “the purity of blood” (limpieza de sangre) which dominated the Spaniards for the next two centuries. The Reyes Católicos took advantage of this and got a bull from Pope Sixtus IV to set up the Inquisition in 1478. Too late he discovered that he had given away powers to do secret procedures which could be used politically in addition to the religious aspects. The combined use of torture, lack of legal counsel for the accused, no right to confront hostile witnesses and confiscation of property created pure terror. The first inquisitor general Torquemada, himself a converted Jew, persuaded the Reyes Católicos to expel all Jews who refused to be baptized. The majority conversed, but thousands were expelled, who suffered and who Spain would have made good use of.
But the memory of the Visigoths lived on as a huge inspiration to people of Christian states in the northern mountains of Asturias. A Visigoth lord Pelayo beat a Muslim force in a battle in 718. That was later labelled as the beginning of the Reconquista. The Asturians took Galicia, the Basques regained their independence. Then the French king Charlemagne took Barcelona and kept an area called the Spanish Marsh for centuries. The Asturians saw themselves as the legitimate heirs to the Visigoths and the chronicles of the time tried to link the rulers to them. The kings of Asturias-Leon-Castile became the largest and wanted to dominate, but the other states often blocked them. When the fervor of the Crusades swept over Europe, the Reconquista gained more momentum. There were divisions between the Moors as well and the Christian kingdoms exploited this. By 1250 the Reconquista was basically completed, but the Muslim Kingdom of Granada continued paying taxes to Castile. In Granada Muhammad ibn al-Ahmar founded the Nasrid dynasty. Under Muhammad V it reached its greatest splendor with some of the most learned men of the epoch like the historian Ibn al-Khatib, physician Ibn Khatima and poet Ibn Zamraq. Then Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella of Castile married in 1469. The Catholic Kings (Reyes Católicos) a tactical marriage united the crowns of Aragon and Castile, primarily against the traditional rival France. But they didn’t succeed in bringing Portugal into the family. By concentrating all their military resources they managed to take Granada in 1492 and expel the last Nasrid ruler Boabdil. Mass conversion was forced upon the Moors, and they rebelled. Defeated they could chose between conversion and expulsion.
The Inquisition
Spain was a multi-religious country, and this had contributed to the development of its civilization. The educated and commercially active Jews had served Spain well. But parts of the population that saw itself as defenders of the Christian faith, and who were also jealous of the Jewish wealth. It stimulated an obsession about “the purity of blood” (limpieza de sangre) which dominated the Spaniards for the next two centuries. The Reyes Católicos took advantage of this and got a bull from Pope Sixtus IV to set up the Inquisition in 1478. Too late he discovered that he had given away powers to do secret procedures which could be used politically in addition to the religious aspects. The combined use of torture, lack of legal counsel for the accused, no right to confront hostile witnesses and confiscation of property created pure terror. The first inquisitor general Torquemada, himself a converted Jew, persuaded the Reyes Católicos to expel all Jews who refused to be baptized. The majority conversed, but thousands were expelled, who suffered and who Spain would have made good use of.
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| The Spanish national hero «El Cid», military leader during the Reconquista. |
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| Development of the Reconquista, Granada in green at the bottom. |
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| Commemoration of the Reconquista. |
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| The Surrender of Granada by Francisco Pradilla Ortiz. |
Sources and more information
Encyclopedia Britannica Fifteenth Edition 1989 - Volume 28 p. 20-40.
http://review.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/241042/Granada
http://review.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/404016/Nasrid-dynasty
http://review.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/493710/Reconquista
I am open to your comments and proposals.
You may send me a message on bjarte.bjorsvik at hotmail.no
Warmly
Bjarte Bjørsvik
Encyclopedia Britannica Fifteenth Edition 1989 - Volume 28 p. 20-40.
http://review.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/241042/Granada
http://review.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/404016/Nasrid-dynasty
http://review.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/493710/Reconquista
I am open to your comments and proposals.
You may send me a message on bjarte.bjorsvik at hotmail.no
Warmly
Bjarte Bjørsvik
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