How did the history

of Spain affect its

Worldview?

Invasion and
Colonization
O Romans
3 century
rd

O Left a Christian belief system

O Northern European tribes
O Also followed Christian faith
O Moors (from North Africa) 711
O Muslim
O Ruled for 700 years
O Muslims, Jews, and Christian

allowed to practice own faiths

Four Kingdoms
O Christian kingdoms became more

powerful
O Tried to take back Muslim-dominated
south

Reconquista
(the re-conquest)
O Most of Europe was Christian
O Muslims and Jews not accepted

in the rest of Europe because of

their religion
O Reconquista led by Castile, but
joined by Aragon and Catalonia
in 1200s
O Left only the small kingdom of
Granada

1492
O Granada taken by Isabella and

Ferdinands troops
O Moorish (Muslim) control of Spain now
over
O Marks the end of more than 700 years
of war
O Christians believed it was their duty
to convert non-believers to
Christianity

Unification of Spain
O Defeat of Granada brought it under

Castilian influence
O Castile and Aragon united when
Isabella and Ferdinand married in
1479
O France and Portugal opposed the
unification of these two kingdoms
O Noblemen in both countries plotted
to separate the union

Post-Reconquista
O Roman Catholic faith supported

and dominated by Ferdinand and

Isabella became the only true
faith in Spain
O Used religion to control people
O Spanish Inquisition a civil and
religious court to judge if Jews and
Muslims had truly converted to
Christianity as they claimed

However
O Soon used to judge any citizen was

accused of not following the Catholic

faith
O Torture was used to:
O To force confessions or secret
information from those accused
O To discourage dissent and intellectual
freedom
O To persuade Jews, Muslims, and other
non-believers to accept Christianity

Desire for Exploration

O Better economies, new

technologies, more stable

governmentsled to a strong desire
and ability to explore undiscovered
lands
O Spain had previously explored Africa
O Looked to Western Mediterranean
and across the Atlantic

1492
O Christopher Columbus sailed

the Atlantic; land in the

Caribbean claimed for Spain
O Motives for this included:
O Religion (missionaries)
O Economic gain

Ethnocentrism
O Saw their culture and religion

as superior
O Treated other cultures and
religions as inferior
O Justified harsh treatment of
people they conquered

Discussion
1. How might Spains worldview

have been different from other

Western European kingdoms.
Explain the effects of both
Spains geography and history
2. In what ways might the wars
serve to unite the country?

3. Many Jews and Muslims

outwardly converted to Roman

Catholicism, but continued to
practice their religion in
private. What