El Cid: Castilian In Medieval Spain

Medieval Spain started with the arrival of the Visigoths in the late 5th century to the end of the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella in the 16th century. However, its roots can be traced back to the medieval countries and kingdoms including Galicia, Leon, Castile, Aragon, Navarre, Catalonia, Valencia, Murcia, and Granada. These countries all contributed to what has been known as the Spanish language as well as the country itself.

Bernal Diaz del Castillo’s The History of the Conquest of New Spain provides an eyewitness account of the Spanish conquest over the indigenous Mayan empire. Diaz del Castillo’s recorded events serve as a way to “deepen our knowledge” and understand “the ways indigenous people struggled to maintain their sense of identity in the oppressive years of colonial society.” Indigenous women and colonial sexuality played a significant role in the imperialist conquest of New Spain. From the David Carrasco volume, Karen Vieira Powers’ “Colonial Sexuality” illustrates the adversity native women encounter against Spaniard men. In addition, the close reading of Bernal Diaz, The History of the Conquest of New Spain, explains how indigenous women were married

A Spanish conquistador is that of a conqueror, and explorer, especially one of Mexico and Peru. The beginning of the 16th century was deemed the commencement of the Spanish conquistadors in which was named ‘The Age of Discovery’, where the conquistadors of places such as Spain and Portugal explored the new world and conquered various territories. Looking at military defenses, secrecy and disinformation, financing and governance, and their way of life people can begin to grasp a comprehension of the impact of the Spanish conquistadors. In searching for an understanding for the ways of the Spaniards and their conquests the lessons to be learnt for existing populations can be unraveled.

The rise of a powerful government and the enforcement of religious orthodoxy were factors that help established the Spanish Empire.

The Spanish Inquisition lasted from 1478 to 1834. The goal of the Spanish Inquisition was to expel, convert or kill all Non-Catholics from Spain in Spain. When people were accused heresy they would be pit on trial, but before they could be on trial they had to sit in jail which most of them were unsanitary and people were given little food to eat. The punishments people received if they were found guilty were: torture, public humiliation, and death. The trials were unfair, unjustified and not necessary. The Spanish Inquisition did not help spread Catholicism and in fact slowed the spread because of the fear that it instilled in Non-Catholics.

The completion of military conquest in the “New World” marked the end of the indigenous peoples’ way of life and made way for Spanish rule under Catholic authority. The land that was conquered was retitled “New Spain” (Mexico) and the crown hoped to use monastic orders to convert the populace and establish Christian authority. The monastic orders sent to New Spain helped build the foundation of colonial life. The founding of cloisters symbolized the “triumph of Christianity over the pagan beliefs of the indigenous peoples.” Convents in particular provided women with a certain amount of socio-economic power in a patriarchal society.

In Victors and the Vanquished, Schwartz poses the question of “How can we evaluate conflicting sources” (ix)? Through reading historical events such as the “Conquest of New Spain” there is an undeniably large amount of destruction of cultural material and bias testimonies of events recorded several years after they occurred. After analyzing the Spanish Conquest of Mesoamerica there is a debatable amount of evidence from the Mesoamericans and Spanish explanations of this event in history. The intentions of each explanation created a conflict to historians, art historians and anthropologists on which viewpoint holds to accuracy. There is also the issue of not only inaccuracies, but the motives behind each bias account. As many of these aspects are taken into consideration, interpreting each justification between both sides of history in Mesoamerica as a clash of ethnocentrism between two different cultures that causes an uncertainty of what actually happened in history.

A Spanish conquistador, Bartolome de Las Casas believed others should not rule the Indians, instead they should teach the Indians their Catholic Faith, and not force a man to do something beyond his will. Where the Catholic faith has been preached, all men are to accept the faith of Christ, at the same time, no man can force another to accept it. In addition, no one who is wicked should be punished, unless they harm another person or their property. In their faith, someone must return the favor if they were given a favor. No one can force this, nor be punished for not following the faith. Bartolome saw the Catholic faith for what it truly represents and the others went against all laws of God and nature itself, for how they treated the Indians.

Throughout the whole the history of the Spanish Conquest there was one person that stood out with a vision to help people. He is most know today as the hero of the Native Americans, his name is Bartolome de las Casas. He is most known for his countless effort to try and help the uprising against the Spaniards, he would write crude letters to try and help the people in the New World. He can be known as the 1st defender of the native Americans. This letters he wrote would end up being one of the only thing that allows to look back at the accounts and see the cruel punishment that they put them through.

Any student of history has come to recognize the fact that history is written by the victor and in lieu of this, research becomes essential to uncover where the truth lies. The True History of the Conquest of New Spain, so ironically named, is a personal account for historical events leading up to the conquest of New Spain, formerly known as the City of Mexico. The author, Bernal Diaz, was a soldier of the conquering army who composed the document well after the events took place sometime between 1552 and 1557. Though the document did provide insight in regards to the victor’s perspective, it also served as a tool to rewrite the account of the conquered people.

Cortés came not to the New World to conquer by force, but by manipulation. Bernal Díaz del Castillo, in the "Conquest of New Spain," describes how Cortés and his soldiers manipulated the Aztec people and their king Montezuma from the time they traveled from Iztapalaopa to the time when Montezuma took Cortés to the top of the great Cue and showed him the whole of Mexico and its countryside, and the three causeways which led into Mexico. Castillo's purpose for recording the mission was to keep an account of the wealth of Montezuma and Mexico, the traditions, and the economic potential that could benefit Cortés' upcoming conquest. However, through these recordings, we are able to see and understand Cortés'

Another value that represents society in both epics is generosity. Even though these heros were feared or reveared by their followers, they were very generous. “Here’s a boat filled to the top, overflowing with fine gold and silver. Have a thousand masses said in Santa María de Burgos.” The Cid is very generous to the cathedral because he promised them that he would return with these riches. This value represents in the medieval Spanish society that even though a majority of the people were looking out for themselves, there were some that gave back to society. In the Sundiata when Djata comes back from hunting he finds these witches trying to take the leaves from the garden, he did not get angry and chase them away he in fact said that

In 1490 there was no such country as spain, yet within a century it had become the most powerful nation in europe and within another century had sunk to the status of a third rate power. Describe and analyze the major social economic and political reasons for spains rise and fall.

The fascinating and beautiful country of Spain is one of the largest countries in Europe. The history that Spain has had has left great stories to tell and remarkable landmarks to visit. Spain is located in the south west corner of Europe, with its neighboring countries, Portugal and France. It has a population of forty million plus people, but almost one-third of the nation’s population is foreigners that reside in its territory. One of the most important facts about Spain is that its economy is one of the largest in the world. Spain is currently in a recession, with low employment rates and poverty.

During the 15th century, many considered Spain insignificant. However, within a century it became a world-dominant power in Europe. Although Spain only took a brief time to rise, it was also short-lived. The rise of Spain was due to its flourishing culture, stable political system and successful voyages to the New World. On the other hand, its decline was due to religious control, resistance from other countries and inflation.