The majority of Spain was under the control of the Moors, Muslims from North Africa, for more than 750 years, beginning in the year 711 A. D. Their final defeat came at the hands of the armies of Fernando and Isabel in 1492 at the city of Grenada. To put that in perspective, remember that the Moors ruled Spain longer than the Spanish have been in the Americas. Put another way, since the year 700, Spain has spent more time under Muslim rule than non-Muslim rule.
During most of the Moorish era, there were Christian kingdoms within Spain which resisted Muslim rule. Two of the most powerful were the kingdoms of Castille and Aragon. When Isabel of Aragon married Fernando of Castille, the power of their united kingdoms allowed them to vanquish the Moors and establish the modern Kingdom of Spain. Spain soon became the leading power in Europe, fueled largely by the wealth they would discover in the Americas.
Whereas the time of Muslim rule had been a time of religious tolerance, the Catholic kings felt the need to impose a common religion within their realm as a means of unification. Muslims and Jews were ordered to leave the country, though many “converted” to be able to keep their properties. The Spanish Inquisition was established to ensure the purity of the Catholic faith within the empire’s borders.
All of this had myriad effects on the future colonization of America. A few points that are especially noteworthy:
- The Catholic Church was beholden to the Crown. Fernando and Isabel were champions of the faith, defenders of orthodoxy. They gave great power to the Church. The hold Christianity had on Spain was due to the power of the Empire, not the power of the cross.
- The Crown was beholden to the Catholic Church. The Church emphasized the teachings of the divine right of kings, of the necessity of submitting to their authority. No good Catholic could consider rebelling against the Crown.
- Religious conversion had little to nothing to do with personal beliefs. If you wanted to be a member of the Spanish kingdom, you had to “convert,” no matter what you believed.
- Violence was an accepted form of evangelism and church discipline.
Lots more to be said (that was over 8 centuries of history in less than 350 words!), but hopefully that’s enough to help us
Tim, sometimes wonder why things happen like they do. Read this post a week or two ago (whenever it came out), and what do you know but it came up in conversation yesterday (the topic had to do with the methods Christ endorses to spread Christianity, and the frustration/folly that comes with relying on government to do so). Interesting the difference in perspective on history from someone who is part of Roman Catholicism, and who believes the Church (note the capital C) should work to establish government, with the implication that the Church would oversee that government. Quite a different spin on the overthrow of the Moors, the Inquisition and the “gentle hand” shown by the Mother Church in “weeding out” those who would sow the seeds of heresy. This series at least gave me a little background with which to engage in a conversation, so thanks!