HST 382 Rdg Guide 2

regarding laws of inheritance, a complex formula stipulated which males and females were legal heirs, all women regardless of their marital status could inherit and own property; Iberian law called for equal inheritance for all heirs of the same degree; w/ the exception of mayorazgo, women inheriting, owning, buying, selling, exchanging and donating property had the same basic legal rights as men; women could bequeath property thus transferring property to their heirs; widows were also entitled to half of the property belonging to the couple as well as legal control over the lives and property of their minor children

How did Castilian and Portuguese laws provide women more legal rights than other European women, especially regarding inheritance

They swore there were great supplies of gold in the peninsula; Governor Velazquez provided all 4 ships; at the peninsula to Campeche, the captain attempted initially to negotiate for water but the Indian intransigence gave them the opportunity they wanted and this time it was the Indians who broke and fled; the Spaniards took possession of the well-remembered town, but it was almost empty of people; Despite Grijalva's message of peace and hopeful gifts of Indians too old or slow to escape, the forest remained silent and the town deserted so the Spaniards took ship and sailed on; as the Spanish ships prodded their way along the coast, the Maya canoes carried the word of their coming; at the town Champion, a few war canoes made tentative approaches but a couple of cannon shots put them to flight and Grijalva forced his grumbling men on refusing to let them pause to teach the Indians manners

How did the Indians later attempt to peacefully move the Spaniards out of their lands

The Spanish who came to conquer had a past which embodied a history of conquest; Spanish conquistadors were strongly influenced by the legacies of the Reconquest of the peninsula from the Muslims; the Reconquest had fostered a quasi-medieval cultural legacy in which military conquest, religious crusading and the accumulation of booty and property were linked; the legacy found expression in the New World, especially in the religious justification for military conquest and the strong role that would be played by the Roman Catholic Church in advancing the goals of the Spanish crown

How did the Spanish legacy of the Reconquista (Reconquest) find expression in the New World

The Counter-Reformation stressed the link between sex and sin; ideas about female virtue were strengthened by an Iberian Christian culture that emphasized the Virgin Mary, an idealized female distanced from any sexual contact or experience; paradoxically, although her condition as a mother 'w/o blemish' made her impossible to emulate, she was the model for all female behavior, combining sexual purity, perfect motherhood, stoic suffering and sacrifice

How did the Virgin Mary serve as a model for all female behavior

Iberia

a peninsula in southwest Europe, comprising Spain and Portugal

Enclosure(s)

this term has to do w/ the belief women were only safe when in ------ like church and the home (check!)

the Christians believed they had found the tomb of Santiago, St. James the Apostle, in the corner of the peninsula never conquered by the Moors; the Moor-slaying Santiago and his tomb became Europe's greatest shrine; reconquest brought the repeated challenges of annexing new territory and subjugating infidel populations, as they pushed the Moors south toward Africa over 30 generations, the reconquering Christians founded new urban centers as bastions of their advancing territorial claims and individual warlords took responsibility for Christianizing groups of defeated Moors, receiving tribute and service from them in return; another effect of the reconquest was to perpetuate the knightly renown and influence of the Christian nobility, for this reason the value of the nobles lost ground only slowly to the values of the commercial middle class; in addition, the requirements of warfare led to a concentration of political power to facilitate decisive, unified command; two of the peninsula's many small Christian kingdoms gradually emerged as leaders of the re-conquest, the most important by far was centrally located Castile, whose dominions eventually engulfed much of Iberia and, when united w/ the kingdoms of Aragon, Leon and Navarre, laid the political basis for modern Spain; on the Atlantic coast, the king of Portugal led a parallel advance south and managed to maintain independence from Spain; Portugal was the first to complete its reconquest, reaching the southern coast of Iberia in the mid-1200s; on the Spanish side, the Moorish kingdom of Granada held out for two more centuries before finally succumbing to Castilian military power in 1492

How did Christian reconquest of Iberia powerfully shape the institutions and mentality of the Spanish and Portuguese

when Isabel promoted Columbus's explorations she did so in hopes of enriching her kingdom but above all, she was a Catholic monarch and centuries of reconquest had created a true crusading mentality in Iberia and the monarchies used this fervor to justify their increasingly absolute power- Moors who had accepted Christian rule, Jews whose families had liver in Iberia for close to a thousand years, and anyone suspected of religious infidelity found themselves objects of a purge- Moors and Jews were forced to convert or emigrate; in the year of Granada's surrender, Isabel expelled thousands from Spain bc they refused to renounce the Jewish faith; Moors and Jews who did convert remained subject to discrimination as 'New Christians'; during the 1500s, Catholics and Protestants began fighting in western Europe, and the monarchs of a unified Spain led the Catholic side, pouring prodigious resources into the war effort; the earlier Christian reconquest in Portugal allowed them to extend their crusading activities into Africa ahead of Spain- Isabel's decision to fund the voyages of Columbus was Spain's bid to catch up w/ Portugal

How did the Catholic monarch Isabel attempt to purge Spain and consolidate her and her husband Ferdinand's absolute power

Following Guerrero's death, over the next several years the mainland Maya were to be little troubled by Spaniards; sometimes Spanish ships would approach the coasts but would usually turn back to remote areas of the ocean w/o fighting; the Maya likely believed the ships held well out through respect for their own fighting abilities, they knew of the fate of Mexico and suffered some repercussions- the market for their finest cotton garments and their brown cakes of salt had closed and merchants from Aztec lands no longer brought the brilliant skeins of dyed rabbit fur, the fine worked gold ornaments, the obsidian knives- instead their came stories of sieges, mass enslavements and unfamiliar cruelties, of floggings and mass murder (referring to Aztec Empire?); the Maya also received another sign of the Spanish presence, though they probably didn't recognize it as such, at about the same time of the Cordoba expedition smallpox devastated the peninsula

How did the conquest of Mexico (the Aztec Empire) impact the Maya

-women- honor was tied to private chastity and public conduct; a woman's chastity was to be reflected in both her appearance and behavior, for 'good' women dressed modestly and weren't erotic in their bearing, they avoided all and any situations that could lead them astray and sought semi-seclusion or at least the company of female family members of high repute; they went to church frequently, living w/ a respected family or in a convent and generally leading an 'honest and sheltered life' -men- conforming to the social ideals of his status group while a woman could jeopardize it through her frailties -the honor of the entire family dependence on the sexual purity of its females; control of women's sexuality differed according to social group; in Spain and America there was little direct control over the sexuality of lower-class women, for they and their families were viewed as having no honor to protect

How did women and men earn honor in Iberian society? How did ideas of honor vary by social class?

The Reconquest was influenced by their stubbornness, pride and belief that they were the greatest nation as well as their dislike for foreigners and anyone different from them

How do you think the Reconquest against the Muslims influenced the Spanish character as described by Guicciardini? How reliable do you find his account?

-they were melancholy, greedy and temperamental; they believed no other nation can compare w/ them; they brag, dislike foreigners and are rude to them -they're more inclined to 'arms' than any other Christian nation and that bc they're extremely agile, skillful and light in movement; in war they have high regard for honor -in wars they adopted the Swiss formation; all Spaniards are regarded as ingenius people but have little taste for the liberal arts; they don't devote themselves to commerce which they find shameful although in certain places they had begun to pay attention to industry and in some regions were now producing textiles, clothing, crimson damasks and gold embroideries; bc of this the artisans only work when driven up by necessity which is why manual labor is so expensive -there's great poverty in Spain which he states he believes arises mostly from the nature of its people, who lack the inclination to devote themselves to industry and trade; the problem is they prefer to export raw materials the kingdom yields and buy them back in the form of finished goods; from the resulting poverty arises the misery of the people

How does the Italian Francesco Guicciarrdini describe the Spanish character

It was about this time, very early in the century, that Chilam Balam, a prophet-priest of Yucatan, prophesied the invasion of the peninsula by bearded strangers who were perhaps the emissaries of the self-exiled culture hero Kukul Can, the Feathered Serpent (CHECK!!!)

How much knowledge did the Indians have of the Spanish upon the latter's arrival in the Yucatan

Unlike men, women's legal rights were affected by their marital status for marriage deprived women of a separate judicial personality, transforming them into the legal wards of their husbands; married women needed their husband's permission to do what single women were free to do- buy, sell, give away their property and draw up a will

How were women's legal rights affected by their marital status, unlike men

Christians who lived under Moorish rule or who traded w/ Moorish neighbors from the remaining Christian kingdoms 'learned a healthy respect for the cultural achievements of Islam'; the Moors were better physicians, better engineers and better farmers than the Iberian Christians whose languages gradually filled w/ Arabic words for new crops (such as basil, artichokes, and almonds), new processes and substances (such as distillation and alcohol), new furnishings (such as carpeting) and new sciences (such as algebra and chemistry) which eventually totaled about a quarter of all modern Spanish and Portuguese words

What benefits did Christians on the Iberian Peninsula gain from their contact w/ the Moors

the Iberian Christians had long exposure to a sophisticated and powerful people who didn't look European; 'on the ever of the Encounter,' Iberia had one of the largest Jewish minorities in Europe, and Lisbon and Seville were already home to thousands of enslaved Africans; not sympathetic to cultural and racial difference, the Iberians were nevertheless well acquainted w/ it; Spanish and Portuguese attitudes toward other people ranged from scorn to admiration to sexual curiosity- dusky Moorish maidens figure erotically in Iberian folktales; the reign of Alfonso the Wise (1252-84), a noted lawgiver, represents a high point in this tense, multicultural Iberian world; in the end, however, the peninsula's 800 years of multicultural experience dissolved in an intolerant drive for religious purity

What experience did Iberian Christians have w/ multicultural diversity

-the Indians they had seen were seen as miserable creatures, living like beasts and going shamelessly naked; they saw the Indians of the canoe as having a proper sense of shame- the Spaniards approved of the women modestly holding their shawls before their faces, like the Moorish women in Granada; the trade canoe, w/ its varied cargo, the technical sophistication implied by its hierarchy of well-clad supervisors and docile laborers, represented the thriving civilization Columbus had sought for so long (CHECK!!!)

What happened during the first encounter between Indians and Spaniards in the Yucatan Peninsula? How did cultural misunderstanding influence events?

The Caribs were more ferocious and the Arawak were more timid; the Arawak Indians (who mostly made up Cuba) had offered no resistance six years before and had attracted the usual swarm of Spanish adventurers hungry for a share of whatever 'spoils' there might be; the Cuban natives died almost as fast as the men brought in from other islands to replace them, and the few there were had already been distributed among the powerful men of the island -Indians launched a surprise attack on Bernal Diaz' men which was an ambush

What resistance, if any, did the Spanish face as they initially attempted to explore the Yucatan

-King gave them 3 months time to leave; rabbi reps helped them form an agreement which permitted them to remain on large payments although this was reversed when the Queen stated it was God's will the Jews be expelled -Jews sold houses, estates, cattle for very low prices; King didn't allow them to carry silver and gold out of the country so they exchanged these metals for cloth, skins and other things -120,000 of them went to Portugal due to agreement Cavalleria made w/ the King of Portugal- they were allowed to stay in the country for 6 months where they were treated even worse; after the 6 months the king enslaved anyone who remained in the country and banished 700 children to a remote island and all of them died (this decision was based on Bible quote) -many went to Mohammedan countries although due to their large #'s, the Moors didn't allow them into their cities- many died in the fields from hunger, thirst and lack of everything as well as lion and bear attacks; Jewish ruler Abraham made part of them come to his kingdom -Jews of Northern Africa were very charitable toward them but a part of those who went to Northern Africa who found no place that would receive them returned to Spain and became converts; when the expulsion became known in other countries, vessels came from Genoa to the Spanish harbors to carry away the Jews, the crew members were cruel, robbed them and delivered some of them to the famous pirate, Corsair of Genoa and the city people were merciless and oppressed and robbed them -many ships w/ Jews went to Naples where the King was very friendly and helped them w/ money; the Jews at Naples supplied them w/ food as much as they could and sent around to the other parts of Italy to collect $ to sustain them; despite this, due to their very large #, all this was not enough and some died by famine, others sold their children to Christians and finally a plague broke out and spread to Naples

What was the impact on the Jews of this order of expulsion

The voyages to the new world dampened even the most optimistic; the Caribbean Islands attracted relatively few settlers as expeditions which were financed by borrowed money that couldn't easily be paid back w/o profitable trade goods; Columbus who was happier sailing than governing the colonists, let the administrative matters slide thus giving the Spanish crown a pretext for removing him as governor of Santo Domingo, the name of the New World Colony, and revoked the generous terms earlier granted to him; Columbus was arrested -following this, royal officials took charge but the bickering continued; nearby islands were explored, some were settled and Indians were put to work washing the streams for gold, which provided lucrative income for a few in the early years; beyond that, and small profits from agriculture, there seemed little opportunity; others began to explore elsewhere- up to the coast of Florida, to Central America, and down to South America

What was the nature of early Spanish settlement of the Caribbean Islands

they were less intelligent, rational and wise than men; intellectually inferior and possessing only limited understanding, women were constitutionally incapable of treating matters of substance; bc of their natural foolishness, women were admonished to keep silent; their lack of mental acuity made it unnecessary to teach them to write although reading instruction to manage devotional lit was acceptable -women were also morally fragile and prone to error; they could little resist temptation and were particularly susceptible to evil and easily swayed by the devil; unable to govern their own passions and behavior, women were dangerous to themselves, families and society if uncontrolled; popular culture stressed women were inconsistent, gossipy, overly emotional, irrational, changeable, weak, prone to error, deceitful and profligate

What was the official 15th and 16th century view of women as conditioned by Spanish thinkers and writers

Tales of chivalry and dreams of prizes to be won also travelled to the Americas in the minds of adventurers, but they were tempered by a changing economic milieu; by the end of the 15th century, the inroads made by mercantile capitalism meant that these aspiring conquistadors had to seek private funds to finance their expeditions; the need to recoup their investments provided even greater incentive for them to claim the customary material and political rewards from the monarchy they served

What was the social background of the majority of Spanish conquistadors and why did they choose to go to the New World

He was a negative, obdurate heretic and that he came back to seek reconciliation to the Holy Mother Church w/ a lying tale; he was unworthy of forgiveness or of admission to the Holy Mother Church; in the name of the Church, they were obligated to eradicate all such vile, grave and wicked errors so that Christ's name may be truly praised w/o any pretense, hypocrisy or sham and so that no one may bear the name of a Christian when they're in fact a Jew; he was a true heretic and apostate from the faith, negative and obdurate

What were the accusations against Santangel

in 1492, 'the Lord' visited the remnant of his people a second time and exiled them; after the King had captured Granada from the Moors and it had surrendered to him, he ordered the expulsion of all the Jews in all parts of his kingdom; even before that Isabella had expelled them from the kingdom of Andalusia; Isabel said it was God's will

What were the reasons that the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492

w/ the prospect of Mexican riches the inhospitable coasts of Yucatan had lost all attraction; Cozumel became the favored, first and often the only landfall for the watering and refurbishing of ships on route to Mexico; the Indians of Cozumel never offered resistance, except by flight and Cortes contrived to gain the cooperation of the chief and persuaded his men to treat the Indians of the island w/ unaccustomed gentleness; the people of Cozumel had long experience of accommodating outsiders who came in peace, as the island was sacred to the Maya goddess Ix Chel, and her shrine was a place of pilgrimage for the mainland Maya; the Cozumel Chief -Naum Pat- and his people enjoyed immunity from the endemic Indian warfare

Why did the Indians of Cozumel cooperate w/ the Spanish

The Spaniards, Columbus' men, seized it from the people of Honduras who remained paralyzed w/ fear as it was taken from them; along w/ the precious cacao beans there were copper axes and bells, razors and hatchets of a translucent yellow stone, probably Mexican obsidian; heavy wooden war clubs studded w/ flints; pottery and garments of many-colored woven cotton; the few women children and some of the paddlers were likely also sold as cargo; Columbus and his men picked over the cargo and then let it go on its way -this encounter brought a lot of hope for the Spaniards; this proved Columbus' belief that the lands were filled w/ riches

Why did the great trading canoe upon which Columbus stumbled give hope to the Spanish

-he openly and clearly practiced heresy and apostasy from the Catholic Faith, performing and maintaining rites and ceremonies of the old law of Moses, as a true Jew, especially observing the Sabbath w/ entire faith and devotion; he didn't observe Christian holidays or attend mass, he ate meat on Lent and prayed in the Judaic manner -he insisted he had faith and true hope in the said law of Moses, defending his law as superior to Christ and stated he gave oil for the lamps of the synagogue and other alms to the Jews; he didn't cross himself or say 'Jesus;' he ate in the same manner as other Jews and gave in writing confession he had observed Judaic ceremonies and fasts, by which it immediately became evident he had committed perjury and relapsed into heresy to which charge he had exposed himself of his own will

Why do you think Luis de Santangel was brought before the Inquisition in Spain

Guerrero was one of the Spaniards held as slaves somewhere on the mainland of Cozumel; Cortes sent out local emissaries w/ letters and promises who was able to retrieve one of them; Guerrero was still alive somewhere in the south-east, he had refused to be 'rescued' bc he had gone over to the natives; he married an Indian woman and had children w/ her, had been tattooed and wore the ear-plugs of a warrior; he was threatening to other Spaniards bc however gratified by indications of Indian 'civility,' however impressed by demonstrations of Indian courage, these Spaniards knew Indians to be irrevocably inferior; they believed Indian 'religion' was a filthy mixture of superstition and devil worship; for one of their own to live in such filthiness, and to choose it over his own faith and his own people, was to strike at the heart of their sense of self

Why was Gonzalo Guerrero's embrace of Indian ways so threatening to the Spanish?

It was the socially accepted method of guaranteeing that one's children enjoyed purity of blood; in Spain and America there was little direct control over the sexuality of lower-class women, for they and their families were viewed as having no honor to protect

Why was control of female sexuality and female virtue of such paramount concern, especially for upper-class families

Columbus wrote fold is the greatest treasure and whoever has it can do whatever they want in the world; he believed gold would buy the universal triumph of Christianity; less pious men felt a little different but the 16th century adventurers were pragmatic and materialistic w/ their endless talk of profits; gold was entrancingly tangible; some men took whatever gold they could and returned to Spain to buy a better life; for many gold's luster was derived from its radiance from the dreams of liberty and independence in a new and transformed world

Why was gold so important to the Spanish

Only by remaining in certain enclosures could women be protected from their 'natural weaknesses'; only when placed under male religious guidance could women's unbridled sexuality be prevented from wreaking havoc on society; the growing stricture placed on women was for their own good, the good of men and the survival of Christian society

Why was it seen as necessary to keep women under control through enclosure

conversos ('New' Christians)

a Jew who converted to Catholicism in Spain or Portugal, particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries, or one of their descendants; a Jew who publicly recanted the Jewish faith and adopted Christianity under the pressure of the Spanish Inquisition

the Spanish Inquisition

an extension of the Papal Inquisition, set up in the early 15th century Spain to investigate and punish converted Jews and Muslims thought to be insincere

the Reconquest (La Reconquista)

in medieval Spain and Portugal, a series of campaigns by Christian states to recapture territory from the Muslims (Moors) who had occupied most of the Iberian peninsula in the early 8th century

Moors

the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and Malta during the Middle Ages; they weren't a distinct or self-defined people

Purity of Blood (Limpieza de Sangre)

the concern that originated in mid-15th century Spain, on the basis of the biased belief that the unfaithfulness of the 'deicide Jews,' (god-killing Jews) not only had endured in those who converted to Catholicism but also had been transmitted by blood to their descendants, regardless of their sincerity in professing the Christian faith