The Fall Of The Moors

In the year 1492, the Muslim kingdom of Granada fell to Isabella and Ferdinand (Lewis). Under King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella’s rule, Spain put an end to the Muslim domination of Granada. This victory was known as the reconquest. They gave the Muslims the choice to convert to Christianity or leave the country. The victory of the reconquest earned Ferdinand and Isabella the admiration of the pope (King).

Majority of books that are written or were written about history can become very tedious to read, but Howarth early on explains his intention is to captivate and tell a story that will keep readers awake. Howarth set out to chronologically tell the story behind the year 1066 in a way that can be easily absorbed, “this is not meant to be read as a work of scholarship, only as an evocation of the excitement, pleasures and miseries of that year; but I hope it is accurate enough to satisfy scholars.” (pg. 7). Howarth starts out very strong with his narrative. Howarth’s method of sequence in depicting the events throughout the year is very effective in painting the picture of events that occurred in 1066. His

The Moor’s Account, by Laila Lalami explains the journey of Esteban a Moroccan the first non-Indian to explore what would become the American Southwest. I observed how Lalami created Esteban’s character from very little knowledge, because of the little information known about Esteban and his voyage. She made him into a character with only knowing he was a black man from Azemmour and gave him a family, history, and most importantly a voice. In doing this she gave readers a different viewpoint of the expedition. She also gives a deeper look into what really happened in the Indian territory that might have been purposely left out by Cabeza de Vaca. Esteban’s place in history was not given to him and that made Lalami want to give him exactly that and doing this she gave the views of powerless unlike the views of the powerful which we always see.

During the Post-Classical Era, the leadership of Prophet Muhammad aided in the creation of the religion of Islam. Unlike any other religion, Islam spread exponentially through trade routes, appealing to the needy and conquest of new areas. As the religion began to gain massive coverage across Afro-Eurasia, it impacted the Post- Classical World both politically and culturally. During the Post-Classical Era, the spread of Islam led to significant political effects such as rise of caliphates, sultanates and empires that expanded to new areas. Furthermore, the spread of Islam had various cultural contributions such as spread of new traditions and arts.

Before the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella, the Moors were in control of much of the Iberian Peninsula. They desperately wanted to unite Spain and turn it into a

In its Golden Age, Islam’s influence reached all the way to Spain, Anatolia, West Africa, and India, among other regions. While these regions were all, in a way, united under a common religion, each of them both altered and were altered by Islam in their own unique ways. Although there were similarities that existed with the spread of Islam to each of those places, many more differences prevailed. Differences and similarities existed in the forms of the role of migration, role of trade, role of cultural exchange, methods of conversion to Islam, and the unique cultural developments in each region.

-The long struggle (ending in 1492) during which Spanish Christians reoccurred the Iberian peninsula from Muslim occupiers.

Throughout colonial time there were many beliefs, movements, and conquests that happened within many countries. One of them in which was the spiritual conquest of the Spanish and the Portuguese. This spiritual conquest would undoubtedly be carried over to the Americas. Due to religion being very important to both the Europeans and the Natives this lead to a conflict that cause fights, missions, and resistances to increase.

During this long-lasting Reconquista, there were long periods of war and peace. Over time, the Christian kingdoms gradually defeated the Moors and took back all of Moorish Spain. After several centuries, the Moors were at their weakest moment. No other caliph from North Africa, or the Middle East could save the Moors. In 1469, the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon were united by the marriage of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. Soon, the Moors only had control of the Kingdom of Granada. The Moors were extremely economically, politically and militarily weak. In 1492, the last outpost of the Moors had fallen. Spain had captured Granada and finally brought an end to the reconquest of Spain. During this period of time, there was more than a reconquering of lands. There was an an inquisition and an expulsion of Jews and Moors from Spain. In 1478, Pope Sixtus IV issued a bull that authorized Isabella and Ferdinand to appoint inquisitors in Castile for the purpose of combating heresy. The Spanish Inquisition

In April of 1492, before he came to the New World for the first time, Columbus negotiated a contract with the King and Queen of Spain. This contract entitled him to ten percent of all profits he earned in the New World. Not only did Columbus come for the profits, but he also came to convert the native people to Catholicism. Columbus kept a journal while on his expeditions to the New World, he wrote “They [the Indians] would make fine servants…With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.” Columbus knew the power and influence that he had over the Indians and this statement provides evidence that Columbus enslaved the Indians.

The Spanish Inquisition was a court system established in 1478 that tried and sentenced heretics. Victims of these trials were predominantly “conversos”, Jewish people that had converted to Catholicism. The Spanish Inquisition was not formally abolished until 1834 by Queen Isabella II. Although the severity of the Inquisition is most likely exaggerated, it still remains a dark point in the history of the Catholic Church.

Since the beginning, all empires have faced change in many ways, declining and rising in status. Many empires have collapsed, only to start again under a different name. Like all empires, the three Muslim Empires, the Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals have faced this inevitable state. Although each individual empire is different, they each have similarities in their reasons for decline. Whether it is social, religious, economic, or political reasons, the empires, like many others, have fallen.

They did this by conquering Granada, in part to secure Spain’s position in the eastern part of the Iberian Peninsula. Spain made an agreement with Portugal, the Treaty of Alcacovas (1479), where the Canary Islands were conquered by Spain, yet again securing more costal boarders. Isabella and Ferdinand were creating agreements with other countries in order to secure their boarders; they came up with government strategies with other nations to benefit their country as a whole. In this case, the agreements were gaining them protection, more power and land and even some strong alliances, all due to their foreign policy. However, they didn’t create treaties only; they also safeguarded the Iberian Peninsula through marriage.

Christopher Columbus and his goalsCertainly, Columbus was a devout Catholic. He lived during the period of the great Spanish Inquisition, which led to the defeat of the Jews and Muslims. Perhaps he wanted to continue the Spanish legacy and spread the faith toward the west. However, personal ambitions may have also sparked Columbus's interest in finding a water route to the Indies. He asks for gold many times from the natives and searches all the islands in hopes of discovering more. He views the natives as a source of economical benefit, hoping to employ them for practical purposes. Even though there are not any indications of immense amounts of gold and spices in the New World, Columbus continues to ask for more Spanish support in order

For a time, the area that is today Spain and Portugal was one of the great Muslim civilizations, reaching its summitwith the Umayyad Caliphate in the 10th century.Muslim Spain was not a single period, but a succession of different rules.