Historia de España

 

For several months now I've been reading a history of Spain by Mark William called simply The Story of Spain.  I'm less than half-way through, but not because the book is dry or difficult to read; it's not.  In fact it is very short and condensed, less than 300 pages.  The issue once again has been my language-hopping. 


I've checked out similar books off and on for both French and Italian.  Just as I'm getting into the thrilling story of Italy, I'll feel the lure of Spain or France.  No use to fight this halter-skelter roving about; I guess I should go ahead and self-diagnose attention deficit disorder.  But still I don't chide myself too much for this inconstancy; I think I'm still in the process of deciding which one of these exquisite languages I want to dedicate the bulk of my time and energy on.  Each one has its pros and cons. 

At any rate, one thing that the author of The Story of Spain vigorously objects to is the popular thesis that Spain has been the worst offender when it comes to imperialism, religious intolerance, and colonialism.  William is very protective of his subject and insists that if we do a comparative history of the major European nations' reputations, we'll conclude that Spain was no less merciless, no less ravenous, no less unjust than any of the lot.  I thought he illustrated his argument well by pointing out that many Native Americans in South America have risen into positions of governmental power and have avoided for the most part the stigma and segregation of Native Americans in the United States, which of course was colonized by the British (after the Dutch, the Spanish and the French retreated).  The indigenous tribes of what is now the U. S. were almost completely annihilated and the residuals placed in 'reservations,' perhaps a euphemism for permanent concentration camps?  I don't think Williams is naive enough to deny that tremendous atrocities and injustices were perpetrated by the conquistadores, simply that they appear to have been judged much more harshly than other imperialist countries.

The subtitle of the book is The Dramatic History of Europes's Most Fascinating Country and as I advance through its pages, there is something to be said for this boast.  Spain's history is tightly entwined with the other major powers of Europe and for a time the country came close to dominating the world.  It's footprints are evident all over the Americas.  You don't have to travel too far to run across Spanish place names:  San Diego, San Antonio, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Santa Domingo, the list goes on.  Even the notorious Borgia family had strong Spanish roots with Pope Alexander Sextus's son named Juan (yes, some popes did father children back then). 

I'll want to take advantage of my current focus on Spanish to finish up Williams' book.  Like so many before me, I nodded off way too much in Freshman History class, and that is not acceptable.  We will all benefit from learning about Spain and other great nations and how they helped shape the world as we know it today.