The BBC’s Melvyn Bragg takes on the Spanish Inquisition in this week’s edition of the excellent ‘In our Time’ series (which can be downloaded as a podcast). Thanks to Marbella in the forums for the tip!
8 Responses to “The Spanish Inquisition”
Note: Comments are closed on posts after 2 days to keep the spammers at bay!
César
22 Jun 06 at 2:07 pm
I had once in my hands a book on History of the World that is used for the A’Levels in Britain. Quite interesting. Spain is only subject to remark the inquisition, they don’t talk about the romanic, gothic, renaissance or the siglo de oro in Spain; the discovery of America is showed as the destruction of cultures not as the conquest and colonisation of a fully unknown world at that time. Always a negative, dark side of the hispanic all around the book. It was simply disgusting. I have a question, why are the anglos so keen to undervalorate the hispanics in every sense to put themselves as better?
Radio 4, which is a brilliant source of knowledge, is in every sense like that. It’s such a pity and so, so, so boring. When I meet a more or less literate english man what he knows about Spain is so coloured with that prejudice. It is so, so boring.
Please, next time, a remark about Velázquez, Picasso, Pérez Galdós, Quevedo, Ramón y Cajal or Lola Flores. No more Civil War, No more Franco, No more Inquisition. ¡Qué hastío, por Dios!
ValenciaSon
22 Jun 06 at 2:27 pm
How can you discover a world that is already inhabited? And if it is inhabited, it isn’t fully unknown. To remove an entire people like the Tainos were within one generation is destructive. That being said, it is unfortunate that people in general tend to dwell on the negative moreso than the positive. I would agree with Cesar on this point and reiterate that there are also positive contributions Spain and the hispanic world has made and are too often overlooked.
Marbella
22 Jun 06 at 2:33 pm
It seems quite obvious to me, that if Spain’s history is being studied in Britain as you describe here, in the context of world history, then the principal subject matter would be the MAJOR historical events. This isn’t based on prejudice for god’s sake. The very BBC programme mentioned here did a programme just a few weeks dedicated to Don Quixote. Boring? The British media is full of references to other sectors of Spanish history and life. All the time. Is it the same in Spain? All I can say is, I am so glad that the majority of intelligent Spaniards I have come across aren’t so obviously poisoned as you. There is something in your tone which is just plain nasty.
César
22 Jun 06 at 3:12 pm
Fill de Valí¨ncia -
Taínos were mostly decimated by new diseases brought to the new world by the Spaniards.
Well, it wasn’t a discovery for the indegenous people but certainly for the Europeans. That wordl was totally unknown for the Spaniards because they encountered new animals, new plants, new tribes to deal with. And they conquered, explored and colonised a whole continent as big as Europe in less than 50 years. That’s quite an achievement! But for the anglos is nothing of interest or remarkable.
Marbella -
The inquisition is not a MAJOR historical event. It is being for centuries the alivi of the british, and extended anglosaxon, historians to portrait Spain, and extended hispanics, as a barbaric nation. And at the same time downgrading everything related to the major competitor of Britain, and extended anglosaxons.
I’m not poisoned or just plain nasty, I’m sorry, I’m not a tame listener to your pseudo hispanofile, superficial remarks.
And I am open to dialogue así que , por favor, no me toques los cojones con poisened y plain nasty. ¿Vale?
Marbella
22 Jun 06 at 3:21 pm
César, I like debate and it’s good to have people with strong opinions and don’t sit on the fence, much better that way. But you, I think from now on I’ll just ignore. Sincerely, all the very best to you.
César
22 Jun 06 at 3:38 pm
Tú mismo.
Thank you anyway and have a nice life!
tania
22 Jun 06 at 9:35 pm
The discovery of the Americas had nothing to do with curiosity and bravery. It was really and accident and it was all about money and control as the only thing the Spanish were looking for were for a western route to eastern contries to get around the monopoly in the spice trade that the Portuguese had on the route around the continent of Africa. Cesar you have to admit discovery may seem like a very positive term, but I have to say conquest and colonization as you mention do not ring as much of a positive vibe. Invasion in my mind can not be constitue as a positive thing from any country. Specially in the case of people that did not ask to be invaded as all the native people living in the Americas. Don’t get me wrong I think the “Discovery of the New World” is an amazing piece of history of the World and I guess I can see the positive side of that accident as it makes me wonder if that would not have happen history migth have been different, and who knows I probably would have been born in Europe and not in the Caribean. I am part spanish, part french, part african, and who knows maybe a little bit of Taino.
Cesar, like you said I think it is amazing what the Spanish accomplish in so little time but don’t forget it was not without it’s negatives. Lots of lives were lost, part of other strong cultures were ceased when the natives were forced to be assimilated in the new culture, and some native animal and plant live were extint when other competitors were introduced. That is history and the way I see it is not as a negative thing but as somethign we can learn from.
Also Cesar don’t foget that the tainos were not only killed by the diseases the spanish brought but also by the fact the spanish use them as slaves and that put a big stress in their bodies. Cesar I also understand your disgust at people trying to portrait your country low just to better themself but I am not sure if that was exactly what the guy at Radio 4 was doing in my opinion. Everyone is entittle to their opinions and I do respect yours.
Buen dia!
César
23 Jun 06 at 9:20 am
De acuerdo, Tania.