This text outline omits illustrations.
Iberia: before 1492 (October 2, 1997)
Iberia: before 1492 Outline of lecture
Great diversity: geographic, ethnic, and political
Reconquest, a mentality of expansion: political, military, religious, & economic
Society: hierarchy, patriarchy, corporatism, and ethnocentrism
Maritime expansion: Mediterranean, Africa, and the Atlantic
Iberia, 1490. 5 independent kingdoms: Castille Portugal Aragon Granada Navarre
Diversity: geographic, ethnic, and political
Geographic
- patchwork of regions
- border between Europe and Africa
Political, 5 independent kingdoms:
- Portugal (1 million), Granada (muslim, 500k), Navarre (200k), Castille (4.5 million)
Ethnic
- Roman, Germanic, Jewish, Muslim and indigenous elements
- Basques to Castillans, Catalans to Portuguese
Jews in special clothing imposed under the law (until complete expulsion in 1492)
Reconquest, a mentality of expansion:
Political:
- began in 11th century, completed by 13th c. except for Grenada (1492)
- marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella, 1469
Military: war of territorial expansion for plunder and honor
Religious, B+J: “…God actively supported their [Christian] cause…”
Economic: expansion of settlement, grazing lands, and markets
Santiago fighting against the Moors, the conviction that God is fighting on the side of the Castilians
Ferdinand (king of Aragon, and Sicily, 1469) and Isabella (queen of Castille, 1474) at the birth of their daughter Juana
Antonio de Nebrija’s Grammatica [Grammar of the Spanish Language], 1550 [1492]
Society:
Hierarchy: king and the three estates: nobles, commoners and clerics.
Patriarchy: senior male dominates, protects and provides for family, relatives, and dependents
Corporatism: towns, clerics, merchants, militia officers, artisans, and other groups
Ethnocentrism: sense of superiority
- tempered by centuries of contact with different linguistic, religious & racial groups.
A Spanish nobleman: “also by means of charity one may earn one’s way to heaven.”
90% of pop. were commoners. Wool was the mainstay of the Castillan economy (Libros de horas, 15th century)
Town: the focus of Iberian society (Aranda de Duero, Castilla la Vieja, beginning of 16th century)
The Holy Office of the Inquisition dealt with heretics, including ~60,000 Jews reconciled by grace (-1492), but 6-10,000 condemned to death
Maritime expansion:
Mediterranean
- experienced mariners and ship builders
Africa
- Portuguese, 1460: 1500 miles of coast
The Atlantic
- Castille: Canaries, 1402 (nominal), 1478, 1482, 1493 (effective)
- Portugal: Madeira, Azores, Cape Verde
The world as known by Europeans, 1439
The Virgin of the Mariners protects Mediterranean galleys as well as the Atlantic caravels that gather in Seville
End