Conquistador Society Essay

Spain history is one of most interesting subjects in time starting from tenth century end finishing with fifteenth century and Columbus expedition through the Atlantic to the west. In fact, this time has been a key point that completely changed the country.
Before the big expansions and conquests, the territory of modern Spain has consisted of several kingdoms, which were under Christian and Muslim rules. The acute lack of manpower was one of the problems for Spain as well as Portugal to become a successful imperial state. The changes started from Muslim invasion in 711-13 and the collapse of the Visigothic kingdom. Since then and until 1492, the Christian political and social agenda was to reconquer the lands that were lost to Muslims. The victory looked highly unlikely, because of the baron political structure that Spain remained. By the tenth century, the ancestors of the later Castilian, Portuguese and Aragonese kingdoms have expanded southwards. However, they were still facing the military and economic might of Muslim. Starting from 1000 to 1250, the balance between the states of Christian and Muslim in Iberia has shifted to Christians due to the collapse of Muslim state of Cordoba. Spain was largely isolated from European feudal development and had more influence on hers economy and culture from the side of Muslim states. However, one event that took place on the north has shaped the conquistador mentality. It was the Crusade arrival to Spain and Portuguese. Furthermore, the crusading movement was not a result of the Pope Urban II’s message to the church and society, which in result, transformed into a mass movement for Jerusalem. It was a result of a minor incident on the Muslim frontier in 1063. Muslim forces recaptured a small town of Graus with killing the Aragonese king. The response of Christian forces was extraordinary to those that were before. This served as a major waypoint for a global conflict between the Christian states from one side, which were added with England and French forces, and the Muslims from the other side (Edwards, 12). The Christians now were far more motivated with the aim of so-called ‘Reconquest’. And even though after 1063 the frontier did not changed a lot, in 1085 the conquest of Toledo opened up new contacts with the Muslim world. Edwards assumes that the event has changed not only Spain but also European life in general. By means of the ‘school’ of translators, the Greeks science that was preserved and also developed in Islamic world, helped with the forming of new western Europe’s university system. A paradox, that a conflict like this created such development. And these contradictions between the political and religion states from one side and moderation, rationalism and co-existence on the other side were eventually carried to the New World (Edwards, 13).
In thirteenth century, the co-existence was one the typical characteristics of conquest policy of Spain. And stating form 1250 to fifteenth century was a time of “digestion” of the conquest lands for Castilian, Aragonese and Portuguese and the frontier remained its stability.Muslim states were facing economic and social problems. And in that time, occurred events have brought the Islamic rule in Spain to the end. The possibility for living an open Jewish or Muslim life was impossible. The end of co-existence could be explained with the arrival of foreigners from England and French, which changed the peninsulas life, modernizing it. The church did everything to distract the Islam by means of military and alias. The Jewish society was started to be recognized as an enemy within by the papal policy (Edwards, 14-15).
All this knowledge of how to deal with inside enemies was used in the New World campaign. And through all the conflicts with Muslim states, starting from eight century and to the end of fifteenth century led Spain to her outstanding self-development. And also a big role played the start of Crusade, which helped Spain to encourage in front of the Islam and bring help and knowledge from before isolated Europe. All this helped Spain to become the conquistador society, which Columbus brought to New World.

Work cited

Edwards, J. A Conquistador Society? The Spain Columbus Left. History Today, 1992. Print.