Racism is the belief that ethnicity is the primary determinant of human traits and that racial differences produce an inherent or natural superiority of a particular race over another.
While racism is a more modern term, the prejudice beliefs behind it have been apart of history since the beginning of time. In the 15th and 16th centuries Spain enacted one of the most studied inquisitions in history. The Spanish Inquisition consisted of some of the darkest days in Jewish history and contains some of Christianities most shameful chapters. Extensive research has revolved around this particular inquisition in the attempts to understand how a seemingly tolerant society could take such a radical turn. There are numerous ongoing debates as to whether or not this inquisition was an instrument used to maintain a certain ethnic purity within the empire or whether it was simply an attempt to create a more religiously orthodox society.
The Spanish were not the first to forcibly convert Muslims and Jews and they were certainly not the last. In 1095 the Pope called for the first crusades, which involved Christian militants and missionaries to travel long distances in order to attack the infidels. While their main target was initially Islamic communities, every crusade came with attacks on Jewish communities as well. The crusaders mission was to wipe out the so called ‘other’ while Christian missionaries attempted to convince the ‘other’ to convert to the only true religion, Christianity. Although conversion is not nearly as horrific as slaughter, they were still attempting to erase an entire culture and turn them into something they believed to be
superior, themselves. While the crusaders attempted to purge other nations of its infide...
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...eded that of all others. In its attempt to redefine their society Spain became one of Europe’s most racialized societies and to this day the Spain’s history is tainted by the racism of The Spanish Inquisition.
Works Cited
Homza, Lu Ann. The Spanish Inquisition, 1478-1614: An Anthology of Sources.
Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc, 2006. 4-5.
Lea, Henry C. A History of The Inquisition of Spain Vol. II. London: Macmillan CO., Ltd,
1922. 1.
Rae, Heather. State Identities and the Homogenization of Peoples. Cambridge, United
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Root, Deborah. “Speaking Christian: Orthodoxy and Difference in Sixteenth-Century Spain”
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Pick, Lucy k. Conflict and Coexistence: Archbishop Rodrigo and the Muslims and Jews in
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"Inquisition." In New Catholic Encyclopedia, edited by Berard L. Marthaler, 485-491. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2003.
The Spanish defeat of the Aztecs has been extensively criticized for many years. Religion was a motive for discovery, enabled the Spanish to enter the heart of the empire, and was used as justification for torture of the natives. The centrality of religion as a force in Spanish conquest is undeniable. Virtually all of Aztec culture was destroyed and the Spanish victory has had lasting effects for both natives and Europeans up to and including the present-day.
...both the European and Americans. The resources that Spain got from her colonies were a key factor for empire’s power and expansion. The Spanish Empire prospered thanks to the gold, silver and slaves that brought Spain to its golden age. In era that race saw himself superior over another race, we can understand how those massacres could happen in the name of religion and faith. They justified all their actions in the name of god and will to spread Christianity but it is obvious that all their actions were to serve themselves and the empire. The justification for the horrors that the Spaniards did was always the religion but as soon it clashed with their interests they knew how to abandon it. Religion justified actions that until today considered horrors that shame the Spanish history but in the same time it made the Spanish empire one of the greatest seen on earth.
Sepúlveda, Juan Ginés de. Just War Against Barbarians. Essay. The Spanish Tradition in America. 1544.
Let’s start with the definition of racism. Racism refers to the belief that race is the primary determinant of human capacities, that a certain race is inherently superior or inferior to others, and/or that individuals should be treated differently based on their ascribed race.
Later, the Inquisition turned to people of Islam and attempted to convert the in the same way they had done to the Jews. And, even later, to those suspected of being Protestants. The Spanish Inquisition was similar to the first inquisition that was started in France.
Racism comes in many forms ad can be expressed in many different societies in various ways. 1 The dictionary defines racism as the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races. This definition of racism makes it clear that it is a perceived point of view that implies prejudice towards people or a person based solely on their race. Racism has been an issue in many societies for many years and still is an issue in modern society. 2 Recently in the U.S. many cases of racism towards African Americans have been shown in the media. However racism is not just a U.S. culture based issue but also a cross-cultural issue
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
In 1492, Granada surrendered and became a Christian conquered land. The Inquisition was completed. During the Inquisition, new centers of spiritual power in Western Europe were created, which increased the unification of Catholic expression of Faith.
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.
The inquisition was a religious institution that policed the new Christians in the Iberian Peninsula. The inquisition was a by-product of hundreds of years of negative relations towards non-catholic people in Europe. It began around 1478 and in ended in 1834; during the three hundred and fifty-six years responses to the inquisition change immensely. This was partly due to many laypeople being indoctrinated by anti-Semitic and pro- Catholic propaganda. The pre-existing anti-Semitic feeling in Europe along with previous medieval inquisitions, helped to allow the Iberian inquisition to become a part of the Spanish and Portuguese way of life. This acceptance changed later in Iberian history because of the many factors lead to the abolishment of the Inquisition.
Racism is the mistreatment of a group of people on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, place of origin, or ancestry. The term racism may also denote a blind and unreasoning hatred, envy, or prejudice (Dimensions of Racism). Racism has had a strong effect on society. Despite the many efforts made to alleviate racism, what is the future of African Americans' Racism's long history, important leaders, current status, and future outlook will be the main factors in determining how to combat racism. Racism is still present in many societies, although many people are doing their best to put an end to racism and its somewhat tragic ordeals.
This belief can have an enormous effect over the way that one group of people treats another. In retrospect all racism entails is the idea that because of someone's skin colour or religion they are an in-superior race of the. Racism is a blatant form of prejudice. People who are prejudice are people who have strong feelings against certain types of people before they have even met them. Prejudice means 'pre-judgement' and society.
Racism is an act that exists when a particular ethnic group will focus on the differences of another and look for ways in which to dominate them. It is the belief that one ethnic group is more advantaged and better than the others. Racism has been part of the country ever since the colonization by the Europeans in North America in the 17th century this was the colonial era. The ideology of racism then continued on to the slave era where African Americans were the culprits. The ideology of racism has ever since remained with the country. Due to this some of the groups that have been in the country have suffered. During this time, the white Americans had some of the privileges that were not given to the minority groups such as the Native Americans
What is racism? Racism can be defined as – “The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.” Racism occurs when a racist group finds it necessary to put down other ethnic groups in an attempt to strengthen their own. A very strong racist comment or action might make the other group feel hurtful, degrading, humiliating. The novel, “Heart of darkness”, written by Joseph Conrad provides such instances which are racist and biased against the people living in Africa.