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
 Why did Spain Explore and Expand?

France Spain
 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.