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The Black Legend and Recent Latin American New Mexico Quarterly Volume 20 | Issue 4 Article 16 1950 The lB ack Legend and Recent Latin American John E. Longhurst Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmq Recommended Citation Longhurst, John E.. "The lB ack Legend and Recent Latin American." New Mexico Quarterly 20, 4 (1950). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmq/vol20/iss4/16 This Contents is brought to you for free and open access by the University of New Mexico Press at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in New Mexico Quarterly by an authorized editor of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Longhurst: The Black Legend and Recent Latin American BOOKS and COMME·NT / John E. Longhurst THE· .BLACK . LEGEND AND RECENT LATIN AMERICAN HISTORIOGRAPHY E IlE C E NT publication of two historical works on " . Latin Am~rica, one by Lewis Hanke and the other byJr.. 1]. • • 'ring Leonard, may beconsideredan importantstepin the development of a new attitude toward Latin American studies• .Although neither ofthese two works professes to be a revolution­ aryapproach to Latin American history, the nature of their sub­ ject matter and the fattthat they both have been issued in the same year point up an increasing interest in social and cultural LatinAmerican history. Lewis Hanke's The Spallish Struggle for Justice in the Con- 0 quest 01 America1 treats ofa phase of the Spanish conquest often overlooked by earlier historians. Hanke does notconcern himself with the military deeds ofthe conquerors, nor with the institu­ tional details necessary to a nation expanding into a ne", world. He demonstrates rather that,. running parallel to the entire spec­ tacle ~t the conquest, and to the subjugating and killing of In­ dians. there was a strong movem~nt, suppqrtedbyhumanevision.. aries, to preserve the Indiansan4 to protectthemfrom theirsome­ times overenthusiastic conquerors. He shows further that the -. Spanish home government did not confine all its activities to de.. vising methods for the exploitation of the natural and human re- . 1 Univenityof Pennsylvania Press, 1949. 502 • f Published by UNM Digital Repository, 1950 1 ~ ; New Mexico Quarterly, Vol. 20 [1950], Iss. 4, Art. 16 .OO¥.$ ANn CONK_NT: 50S ~ . lOurCe5of the New lVodd. but exercl$ed.i~lf tOnsiderablyovtf the problem ~ftcinsctvatiollofttieU£e and.tyof the hlpleu .~~ Indian. inaca>rdancewitlttheethical and moral· tenetl of the' ~ CbrUt.ianity they hopetitobringtothenatives. ~ By treating tile reading habitlof ibeSpanish co~queroisand . ~lonizers futhe neWlan~IrvingLeonard. in his Bpoltsl)t-tha Brave; does for the· intellc:ctual1ife~Qf the New \Vorld what ~ Hanke has"donefortbemol'alside.Notonlydoe$ L«>lWddem... onstratcthat ~ the Spanish tonql1erorenjoyedb04baD1uth as battle, butheshow$,thattbisseemingty 'unSoldierly pleasure 'Wu indulged inbyalarge portionoftbeSpanishuoops. Leonard'fUr.. ther points out tbat.contrarf to cOll.lmonopinion"the Spall-ish colonistsinthe New W'odddidnotUvemacultural destrt:that: rather~ they enjoyed a widespreacl dissemination of vinua11y all 'types of 1iteratur~,andwere-fully a$conversantwith.the,intcUec.. tualcurrentsof theirday~swerctheit supposedly mo~ bighty culturedcountrynlenofthehomeland. ~- . Although neither of these works'wal-writtenwiththe :expresS, intentionoftefutingthetradition,otthe BiackLegendwhi~for­ I I ~ aS$OC~ate.d withSpainandthin~:S~i$b,. I . centuries has been ..they Doth are'outgr()wthsoft~ent elfor'tsto disassoci~te the ·~S~ish charactef' u:omthe un&ie~d1y cari~ture oftbeBlack~nd. ,~ I This famous legeridofiDherent$panishcruelty i$,like"aU (ul.. , turallyinheritedattitudes,difficnt te>. ttaceandevenntoredif&cult todissipate, sqtce itenjoys'the heavy authenticity Cif inberitulce.. However. thJlegendcan probablybe tracecito thesixttenthten.. turywhen themodern state system tookshape alongth~Adantic coastof Eup)pe,~bd~gingwithitinternational'tiv~ltiesot:la$Cale oforganization farsuperiortotheloosely knitsystent:ofmedievat ' feuda1ism~ Of the.four nations which aroseiiomthewreckageof '<i'iJ _ ft.udalism. SpainandPortugalweretbefirsttoengage5uCCdSfuUy .' ~ inoverseas expansion. FranceandEnglandwere ~t()O distracted by internaldissensionsarismgfromtheimpactoftbeProtestantRe,f- I Uanard University Prell, -M9. + https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmq/vol20/iss4/16 2 Longhurst: The Black Legend and Recent Latin American /' 50! lOHN E. t.ONGHU~S'r onnationto enable them ·to participate effectively mcolonial enterpme. - .Spain,inaddition to'herroleasoneoftheearly colonizingpow~ en,aIsoenJoyedtbe ptettigeofbeingthe m~t powerful nationin westentEurope. UnlikePortugal, Spain wasIarge enoughbpdtin tennsof geography and, population to play such a role~ Unlike EnglandandFrance.Spainwas notdisturbedbyintemalpolitical difficulties growing out of the R.eformation, betause Spanish na­ tionalism was SO lIlucha partofSpanish Catholicism. thatthenew Prcuestlnt ideologies made nosignificant headway inthe Iberian . Peninsula. In the late fifteenth century Ferdinand and Isabella hadestabli$hed the Spanish Inquisition which, as a watchdog against heresy. affinned SpanUhreligiousconformityand thereby eliminated the perils of civil disturbance with a'religious back... ground. In1491 theJews wereexpelled ftomSpainand theMoors tenyears later"Spainwas thus prepar~fora fairly unanimousat- . utude in the pursuit of Catholic.interests. It is not surprising therefore that the Spain of, Charles V and Philip II dominated th<t European international.$Cene. Indeed one might justifiably be$urprised ifa nation whiCh enjoyed. over its rivals theadvanrages with which Spain was blessed in the six­ teenm century didnot make a concerted effort toshape the poli­ cies of its ~eighbors to its own satisfaction. During the reign of Philip II, however. Spanish efforts to maintain her hegemony in Europe not only began to meet r~sistance,bittalso evoked such strongfeelings ofhostilityamongherrivals thatSpain and Philip became the objects ofan intcmse propaganda campaign designed to arouse patriotic spirits, especially of Englishmen and Dutch· men, against the evil machinations of the gloomy tyrant of the Escorial. 1 i As the husband of Queen Mary Tudor of England. Philip n ,I I 1 entertained high hopes not only of bringing England back to I Catholicism butalso ofdirecting England's international policies I I in accordance with Spain's own interests. However, the death of ! i I , ,] j .I . I -I Published by UNM Digital Repository, 1950 . ,3 1 T TIiIIIl".--IITIij"'iII·~.71i1· ~, . -_..~_, , ~-""'_.....,......IIr.5'I'.olln'II•• I I .•{ •..•7."1 New Mexico Quarterly, Vol. 20 [1950], Iss. 4, Art. 16 .O()~ $,.N :0 CO l4JlE N"t' !l05 MarYand~eacc$ionofthe'~eaded£litabethtotbe_glisb '.' 'ttuonematked.the end ofSp.n.sb jnftuenc~.and the beginningof a ,series ofattaebon Spmishwppingwhich wa.s,to·eu1Jn~t~' 'm 1588withthedefeatofSpail1·sfamed Atmadaana·toput.final end to Philip'soopesofdominating Engllrid~InF~ee) tom. by , , civll.warsof r~ligion between HUgUe~otantlCatltoUc,~bilip naturally threw hislUppotttotbeCatholic HousC:of(;u~ inthe , hope of$eCU,tingan i~fluential voice in Frenc1ipol~ey~rt the event' ­ that the HouseofGuise.sboutdpin:con~l.oftheFreJlchtbrone. Here ~his ambitions, were 'frustrated withtJilj~aaon'oE lIenryofNavarre, who;although he turned~Catbotitinorder to , ton~lidate his claim as rightful heir to the~on~oftfrantei neverthetes$ remained. an avowed,enemyof'th.e,lIouse o£ Haps­ burgingeneral and ofJlhilipandSpaininparticular. , Eyen inbisoWJl, dom.inionsofthe Spanish,Netherlands.Philip w~ to find thatthe rising tide of.national feeUngwastobring ona Ca1vin~t revolution againsttb~ hated Spanish overlords. In his efforts, to putdoWn the revolt of the Dutth.'PhiUpl$'agent in the Netherlands, .the Duke ofAlba. executed,large numbm-of <t .. -_ revolutionaries and earned fOr Spainan,unenviable reputation' for brutal terrorism.'That the, Practice of executibgrevol~tion. aries was a n!lt untommonprocedure amongtUltions other than, Spain was lost to view in the beat of patrioticeJnotiQDS ~p" n dered in the Dutch re'Volutionagainst Uforeign.oppreuors. , . Thus by the'endoflhe,sixt~~thcentury Spain follndhenelf .' . 'the target of bitter recriminationS in 'West~ Europe."M una", ' " tum in such situations-inwhieh one national power attemptJ. either to control the policiescofother independent nations orto hold onto terntories'which"belong to it by inheritance.$ucb a nation inevita"ly beComes,intbe eyes '9£ its'rivah,a perlidioUJ monster andthe$Jtl1bol ofallevil.. ,\ , , S~nts enemiesdidnotlackmaterialtop.rovetheircontetttion thatPhilipandSpainl'epresentedtheultitnateinevil. Duringthe , latter part of the sixteenth century-several works of the exp0J6 https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmq/vol20/iss4/16 4 -- .,~-~~,~~~---..ii Longhurst: The Black Legend and Recent Latin American 506 JOHN ¥. LONGHU"ST -.. typeappeared in$Upport ofthis thesis. In 1567a fugitiveSpanisb Lutheran, writing under the pseudonym of Reinaldo GondJet Montano, publishedin.Heidelbergwhat isprobably the tint"in­ side-storY" of the A1black arts" of the Spanish Inquisition. ThiS worl,entitled41lSqfthe Spanish Inquisiti()n~1 was. widelyatcept­ edatnongSpain·s ~nemiesasan ahthen.tic proofofSpanishauel... ty and intolerance in religious matters. In 1580 William .of Orange, leader of the Dutch revolt against Spain, wrote his fa- -mollS 4pol()&'1~ asb:teenth century e'white.book" which detalted SpailishwickedneuanddefendedtheDutchrevolutionas'a right... eouscrusadeagainst
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