SPAIN LOOKS WESTWARDGEOGRAPHY AND RELIGION IN SPAIN

THE SPANISH INQUISITIONGOLD AND GLORY

GEOGRAPHY AND RELIGION• The people of Spain have a saying, “La geographia

manda” which translates into “Geography controls everything”

• Spain’s location between Africa and Europe had a great influence on its religious history

• At the beginning of the Middle Ages, almost everyone in Spain, and in most of Europe, was Christian

• Spain was ruled by the Visgoths, a group which had invaded Spain from the north at the end of the Roman Empire

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVbd7BtfEG8&

• A series of weak rulers and internal struggles left Spain vulnerable to outside attack

GEOGRAPHY AND RELIGION• In 711 a Muslim force led by Tariq ibn-Ziyad

crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and landed in Spain

• Within a few years, Muslims controlled nearly the entire Iberian peninsula

• As a symbol of their influence, a large mosque was built in the city of Cordoba

• Many Christians converted to Islam but some did not

• For the next five centuries Spain was part of a large Arab Islamic empire

• Goods and ideas were exchanged across areas from Spain, Egypt, Zanzibar and Indonesia

GEOGRAPHY AND RELIGION• Muslim rulers are rich merchants were patrons

of the arts• Islam discourages showings human beings,

animals and other subjects realistically because it may lead to idolatry, the worshipping of idols

• Most Muslim works therefore features designs and written script

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqTg4ePtXqs&feature=fvwrel&

GEOGRAPHY AND RELIGION• Muhammad, the founder of Islam believed

spreading his new religion was a sacred duty• Learning was greatly valued in the Muslim

society as a way of understanding the universe and leading an ethical life

• Muslim established the first university in Cairo in 971, over 200 years before the first university in Europe

• Cordoba, Seville and Granada became great learning centres in Muslim Spain

• Muslim scholars discussed and studied medicine and science

GEOGRAPHY AND RELIGION• By the early 1000s, the caliphate , the area of

jurisdiction of Muslim rulers, began to decline in Spain

• When the Muslims had first arrived in Spain, they had limited the Christian controlled area to a narrow strip along the northern coast

• These areas began to expand southward• The Reconquista began as a way for the

Christian kingdoms to expand their power and influence

• Reconquista is a Spanish term that means reconquest

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNHBvo74PVE

YEAR ACTION

1085 Christian forces capture Toledo

1094 “El Cid” takes Valencia

1137 Union of Aragon and Catalonia

1142 Lisbon taken by the Christians

1212 Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa; defeat of Alomhads

1248 Seville falls to Christians

1410 Ferdinand, Regent of Castile, takes Antequera, becomes the King of Aragon

1469 Marriage of Ferdinand II and Isabella

1479 Union of Castiule and Aragon

1492 Capture of Grenada

During the Reconquista, the Spanish developed new battle techniques making them the deadliest fighting force in Europe. They brought these

techniques with them to the Americas.

CREATING A CHRISTIAN SPAIN• King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella were so

devoted to their religion that the Pope gave them a special title- Catholic Monarchs

• The Reconquista needed Christian crusaders from across Europe to help them regain control of Spanish territory from the Muslims

• By 1269, only Grenada remained in Muslim hands• In January of 1492, after a ten year battle, it was

regained by the Christians• In an effort to unite Spain under one religion

Ferdinand and Isabella took over the Spanish Inquisition from the Church

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IAqOcyAuKc&feature=related&

THE INQUISITION• The Spanish Inquisition – a state run system of courts where Church

officials put believers of religious ideas other than Catholicism on trial

– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVBrOxcWt0c&feature=fvsr&

– Monotheism – is a teaching of the Christian, Muslim and

Jewish faiths that all teach the existence of one god

• Polytheism– cultures that believed in the existence of

multiple gods

THE INQUISITION• The Muslims and Jews were given a choice, convert

or be exiled • The expulsion had serious negative effects• Many were members of the educated middle class

making it difficult to maintain economic growth at the end of the 1400s

SAVING SOULS• As the Muslims were removed from Spain,

Ferdinand and Isabella knew they were spreading Islam throughout the Middle East

• They viewed this as a threat to Catholicism• The Spanish royals began to believe they had a

religious duty to spread the Catholic faith to as many converts as possible, both within and outside Spain

• It was a key reason in changing their support for the Columbus expedition to the New World

• Starting with Columbus all Spanish voyages brought missionaries with them

• Missionaries are people from religious orders who had the authority to teach and convert people to Catholicism

GOLD, GLORY AND COLUMBUS• One of the key motivators of the day was the

search for gold• Gold allowed countries to buy ships and fund wars

to take over other territories• Due to the costs of fighting to rid Spain of non-

Catholics, reserves of gold and silver were nearly depleted

• There were high hopes that Columbus's journey would bring back gold to strengthen the Spanish economy

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNtgLeSc85A&

GOLD, GLORY AND COLUMBUS• When Columbus arrived he found only a small

amount of gold on the island of Hispaniola• The Spanish court concentrated on the news of

gold, not the amount• The King and Queen agreed to second voyage

immediately• It would be better supplied and supported than the

first • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kvm8WA0Y2N

4&

FIRST VOYAGEOCTOBER 1492

SECOND VOYAGE September 1493

THE FLEET 3 ships (Santa Maria, Nina , Pita)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoKsXQ23Kxw

17 ships

HIS COMPANY 90 sailors 2500 sailors, soldiers, missionaries, settlers

HIS INSTRUCTIONS Explore Set up a colony on arrival, with a

permanent settlement

GAINING PERSONAL WEALTH• There was a large class of lower nobles called hidalgos

• This group had never owned land• Due to the shortage of decent Spanish farmland, many were

persuaded to become some of the first settlers to the Americas• El Cid, Rodrigo Diaz de Vicar (1042-1099), was a Christian knight

who sometimes fought on the Muslim side• It was thought he became the first European to see the Pacific

Ocean• He was the inspiration for the code of chivalry, which was designed

to govern the behaviour of all Christian soldiers