After the reconquest and crusades of Spain by the Christian Spaniards, the leaders of Spain wanted to unify the nation in order to become a stronger and powerful nation. Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II and Isabella I declared Catholicism the best religion to unite Spain and to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms. Despite prejudice against Jews contradicting the stated social and religious morality of most faiths, it has often been used as a tool for political control by governments throughout history. Despite various consequences that could occur during the Spanish Inquisition, Ferdinand and Isabella asked permission from the Pope in 1478 to form the Spanish Inquisition to make the nation stronger and ensure that the people who were …show more content…
The Reconquista was when the Moors, which were African Muslims invaded the Iberian Peninsula which is now modern Spain. (BLC 15, 2016) During the late 900’s, the Muslim government in Spain began to weaken. The Muslims began to fight amongst themselves which made them vulnerable to attacks from the small Christian kingdoms surrounding their land. These remaining Christian kingdoms worked together in order to become more powerful against the Muslims. Many Christian rulers also described the Reconquista as re-taking Christian territory which was previously taken from them by Muslims. (New World Encyclopedia, 2016) As many Christian rulers said the Reconquista helped strengthen the religion, reinforcements from other Christian kingdoms joined in the Reconquista in order to support the religion. The wars between the Spanish Christians and Muslim Moors lasted 774 years between 718-1492. The result of the Reconquista was in Spain’s favour which made that kingdom a lot more powerful. Ferdinand II and Isabella I married in 1469 where they became the king and queen of Spain. Once in power, the king and queen of Spain brought an end to the Reconquista but required Muslims and Jews to convert to Christianity. If the Muslims and Jews didn’t comply with these rules, their possessions and money was seized then they were then forced to leave Spain. The Reconquista helped form the Spanish Inquisition which helped to unite the nation and make it become powerful with strong political
The reconquest took a long time due to the fact that the Christian kingdoms Castile and Leon had split apart in the 10th century. At the time, the Muslims were called the Moors who had lost a vast amount of their unity within these long battles. Aragon was formed in 1035 as a new Christian peninsula, which would later unite back with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula. As kings died and new heirs gained the throne, slowly Reconquista was occurring. The Moorish culture was not fully annihilated from Spain; Toledo became the crossroads for people of all different religions and cultures. Escuela de Traductores was developed in Castile after they had completed their part in the reconquest. Among all of this, existing tensions between Portugal, Aragon, and Castile had vanished and the states consolidated their holdings. Two very powerful leaders, Ferdinand and Isabella, united the Spanish Crown through their marriage and together, they were able to complete the conquest of
In Spain at the time, the church had authority second only to the crown. The position of a Catholic priest was well-nigh unassailable in the world of the Spanish empire. In fact Spanish priests led the Spanish inquisition, purging society in Spain of Jews, unreligious peoples and those who disagreed with the church. A group that was capable of policing society separate from the power of the government and the monarch had a great amount of power in society and people looked up to priests as role models.
The Inquisition run by Tomas de Torquemada persecuted other religions and was a base of counter-reformation
Spain emerged with a central identify in 1469. Until this point, Spain was involved in a civil war. Fighting ceased with the marriage of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand.(Bowen, 2007) Within a few decades, Columbus made his historic journey with Spain’s backing, and arrived at what is now Central America. With a recently unified identity, and the practically untapped resources of the land, Spain quickly started colonizing the continent.(Bowen, 2007)
This sudden change in rule of the territory provided a sense of relief for all the people living in Spain. The reason for this was because the Muslims treated everyone equally so long as they abided by Muslim authority and paid taxes. After all, the Christians and Muslims living there were people of the book, and Muslims believed that people of the book should all be treated well.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Religion played a major role in expansion for both the Portuguese and the Spanish due to their extensive anti-Muslim crusade. Due to the over zealous religious fervor of the Christian Iberians, Christianity and thus the Iberians expanded into parts of western Europe during the crusades as Christians tried to convert the Muslims who were occupying this area. The Iberians did not stop with the European mainland; they were also expanding overseas. They were interested in the fertile land of the Canary Islands, Madeira, Azores and Cape Verde. These islands would also prove to be strategic acquisitions for the Iberians, as they would eventually provide the Iberians with bases and ports to be used for commerce. Throughout the 15th century the Spanish and Portuguese had been exploring lands throughout the Atlantic which drove Queen Isabella of Spain to commission Christopher Columbus in 1492 to “Discover and acquire islands and mainland in the ocean sea” (p.340) which eventually led to the discovery of North America.
Hernán Cortés was one of the numerous people who supported The Spanish Inquisition and the defeat of the Muslims. You might be asking “What is The Spanish Inquisition?” Well don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. The Spanish Inquisition made Muslims, Jews, and any other religion converts to Christianity forcefully. The Spanish severely tortured people with torture methods. The torture
During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church was the dominant force in Western civilization. As the Dark Ages came to a close, the monarchies of Europe began to consolidate power; providing an alternative power base. With the Protestant Reformation came another blow to the influence of the Church. Spain, the forerunner in the Age of Discovery, was a fervently Catholic country. During the 16th century, the monarchy combined the forces of "cross and crown" in its imperial policy; much to the dismay and ultimate destruction of the indigenous peoples of the New World. Through an examination of Aztec polytheism and the Catholicism of the conquistadors, comes the central role of religion in the successful conquest of New Spain.
Before Columbus landed in the West Indies in 1492, The Spanish Inquisition made it known to anyone within Spain’s domain of influence that if a person was not of the Catholic religion, they were to be punished severely and sometimes even fatally. This influence would undoubtedly be brought over to the Americas a century later, as the colonization of the New World would begin by then. While it was very essential for the Spanish (as well as the Portuguese) to improve their economy by using the resources they found in Latin America, it seemed to a number of them as if that was the only reason for being there, or the main reason at the very least. During the Spanish Inquisition and from that point after, it was the Pope’s main goal, to convert everyone to Roman Catholicism; an opportune moment arrived as the Americas were found, along with the Natives who resided there who were waiting to be converted.
At the start of 1474, Spain was a non-existent entity that was composed of a series of minor kingdoms within the Iberian Peninsula. However Spain was subject to a process of change that led to the unification of the Iberian Peninsula under one monarchy, which controlled the new world and large areas of Northern Europe. This process of change was stimulated by the revenue of the new world and to varying degrees by domestic and international politics. However the New world was not always the primary factor during this period that catalysed the increase and maintenance of power. Over this time period the revenue from the new world increased, and thus directly Spain’s dependence upon it did as well. Isabella and Ferdinand had no reliance on the new world, as it occurred in the later third of their reign, and as such was viewed more as an economic failure. Kilsby rightly argues that with hindsight, the discovery of the Americas was the “the greatest event since the creation of the world.” Kamen shows us that there was a shift in the new world’s importance, as the “Indian globe” controlled by Spain caused their power and Kamen justily argues that the colonies were the sheet anchor of Phillips Power. The necessity of the new world is entirely due to the funds that it provided that stimulated other factors that contributed to Spain’s growing power over the time period.
The word “inquisition” means to examine. Inquisitors would “examine” suspected Heretics, people whose ideas do not match those of the Roman Catholic Church, and punish them accordingly. This included torture and burning. The great inquisition movement that took place in Spain, or Hispania as it was called before Spain united. It was called The Spanish Inquisition. It took place for approximately five hundred years, from the late 15th century to mid 19th century. Many ironic elements were involved in the history of the Inquisition. The Spanish Inquisition lasted longer than any other preceding it, and was the most cruel, bloodthirsty, and festive of all. The objective of the inquisition, in its early state, was to convert all Jews into Christians, but later it mutated into an ugly machine who’s new objective was to rid the country of the newly converted Christians.
The Ottomans and Spanish built flourishing empires based on different philosophies from 1450 to 1800. The Ottoman and Spanish were two powerful empires during that time. During the building of the two empires, the Spanish and the Ottoman both developed similarities in their social, political, and economic structures. The Ottoman took control of Europe, while the Spanish saw it as easy to monitor new lands. The different tactics employed made the both empires flourish. For instance, the Spanish were not tolerant of religion. They conquered other areas with the aim of converting Christians to Islam, if they refused, they would be killed. On the other hand, the Ottoman leaders incorporated leaders of diverse culture
From 711-1492, Christian Spaniards lived under Moorish rule until eventually, the Christian Kingdoms took over during the Reconquista. The conflicts between the Muslims and Christians created a militaristic culture in Spain that surpassed that of any other European nation. Furthermore, being trained militarily was often exclusively attributed to the nobility however, in Spain, “many young men knew these skills and used them to their advantage.” Without a doubt, recently reconquering their homeland motivated the Spanish to a basis for expansion and conquest that most other European societies were lacking. In addition, the voyages of Christopher Columbus led to discovering the New World which undoubtedly contributed to added interest in conquest. Eventually, each conquest further raised Spanish hopes for fame and
Isabella then desired to boost her control over Spain by establishing the Spanish Inquisition. Its role was to abolish heresy and make Spain a Christian nation (“Spain: History”). The Inquisition officially lasted from 1478 to 1808 (“Queen Isabella’s Influence in the New World”).
A Vanished World: Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Medieval Spain is survey medieval Spain, where Christians, Jews, and Muslims once lived side by side and the Muslims were in charge. The book tries to lead the reader to the conclusion that there is indeed a historical precedent for the three major religions establishing a beneficially symbiotic relationship which may be an enduring lesson for coexistence. The author, Chris Lowney, is an ex-Jesuit and holds degrees in medieval history and philosophy.