Humanities 3 II. Spain and the New World Botticelli, Venus and Mars, 1483
Lecture 5 Birth of a Nation
Outline The Creation of Spain The Inquisition Events of 1492 Politics and Religion The Legacy of Ferdinand and Isabella
Machiavelli s Hope The last chapter of The Prince expresses Machiavelli s hope: to rid Italy of foreign armies ( This barbarous tyranny stinks in everyone s nostrils ) and to restore liberty and order under the rule of a prince, who has the competence to dominate the others by his prowess and good fortune. Cesare Borgia might have filled this role, but he was rejected by fortune. Machiavelli praises Ferdinand of Aragon as a prince who has succeeded in uniting Spain and turning it into a formidable power.
Machiavelli on Ferdinand Nothing brings a prince more prestige than great campaigns and striking demonstrations of his personal qualities. In our own time we have Ferdinand of Aragon, the present king of Spain. He can be regarded as a new prince, because from being a weak king he has risen to being, for fame and glory, the first king of Christendom... (ch. 21)
Spain: Historical Background 711 Muslim armies enter Iberian peninsula from Africa, and within several decades extend their control of the peninsula to the French border. Jews had lived in Spain since the 5th c. BCE, but many more (>50,000) enter in the train of the Muslim armies. By the 12th c. 90% of the world s Jewish population lives in Spain. From the 8th c. on, Christian armies attempt to turn back the Arab presence in Spain in what will be called La Reconquista. By 13th c. Granada remains the sole Muslim kingdom.
The Rise of Anti-Semitism 1215 Fourth Lateran Council institutes Badge of Shame that Jews are required to wear in public. 1348-51 Plague ( black death ) blamed on the Jews. 1391 Anti-Jewish riots throughout Castile and Aragon. 1415 Study of Talmud forbidden by papal bull. Many Jews convert to Christianity (conversos); those who continued to practice Judaism secretly were called marranos (swine).
Ferdinand and Isabella 1469 Marriage of Isabella of Castile and León to Ferdinand of Aragon (children include Catherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII). 1474 Isabella and Ferdinand jointly succeed to the throne of Castile and León. 1479 Unification of the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon.
During the 1480s, Ferdinand and Isabella fight a costly war against the last Muslim presence on the Spanish peninsula: the southernmost kingdom of Granada. This is represented as a holy war on behalf of Christianity. Special taxes and the possessions of Jews who are imprisoned, killed or expelled are dedicated to the cause. Support grows for the doctrine of pureza de sangre ( purity of blood ).
The Spanish Inquisition 1479-1492 1478 Inquisition is set up to root out marranos in cities throughout Spain. 1483 The Dominican monk Tomás de Torquemada appointed as chief inquisitor The Inquisition was a religious proceeding. Officially, it aimed at exposing heresy: Christians who were secretly practicing Judaism.
Depiction of strappado
Many brought before the Inquisition were absolved or reconciled. Those who were not were condemned as heretics and handed over to the secular authorities for punishment. Sources claim that as many as 2000 Jews were burned at the stake. The inquisition officially continued until 1834. The most intense period of persecution of conversos lasted until 1530 (see article on Juan Luis Vives).
Events of 1492 January Ferdinand and Isabella seize Granada, driving the Moors from Spain. March 31 Urged on by Torquemada, Ferdinand and Isabella sign the edict of expulsion. June 30 Last Jews (between 75,000 and 200,000) leave Spain, mainly for Portugal. August 3 Columbus sails from Palos. Lands at San Salvador on October 11.
Edict of Expulsion
Politics and Religion On Machiavelli s account Ferdinand uses religion as a cover for his political ambitions (ch. 21). Whether or not this is true, Ferdinand succeeds by virtue of a complex set of factors, which include the appeal of a notion of national identity premised on ethnic and religious exclusiveness. We find no recognition of freedom (of thought, conscience, speech) as a fundamental political value, on which a state may be based. Is there an inevitable tension between notions of identity based on religion or ethnicity and the constitution of a state based on the value of freedom (i.e. a republic)?
Family Tree of Ferdinand and Isabella Ferdinand of Aragon (1452-1516) Isabella of Castille (1451-1504) Maximilian I of Habsburg (1459-1519) Mary of Burgundy (1457-1482) Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536) Joanna the Mad (1479-1555) Philip the Handsome (1478-1506) Eleanor Queen of Portugal (1498-1558) Charles V King of Spain Holy Roman Emp. (1500-1558) Isabella Queen of Denmark (1501-1526) Ferdinand I Holy Roman Emp. (1503-1564) Maria Queen of Hungary (1505-1558) Catalina Queen of Portugal (1507-1578) Philip II King of Spain (1527-1598) Maximilian II Holy Roman Emp. (1537-1576)