Italian American Heritage Project
The Italian American Heritage Project (IAHP) provides educational resources about Italian American history, heritage,
and culture with a straightforward view on the roles of Italians in American history and culture.
IMMIGRATION
INTERNMENT
STEREOTYPES
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission except when published with this credit:
Excerpt from the Italian American Heritage Project, ©2018-2022 Janice Therese Mancuso.
Copyright 2018-2024 Janice Therese Mancuso
Contact: jtmancuso@earthlink.net Subject: IAHP
The Culture of Spain
Spain during the late fifteenth century was a country in turmoil. As in all of Europe, aftereffects of the Bubonic Plague – periodic outbursts of
the disease – were still being felt. The plague not only severely decreased the population of a burgeoning continent, but also changed the
social, economic, political, and religious aspects of life for those who survived. It is often cited as the precursor to the Renaissance.
With the social order of Europe changing, eroding class divisions and diminishing local loyalties affected feudalism – the centuries-old system
of protecting or working land owned by another. In 1469, the marriage of Ferdinand of Aragón and Isabella of Castile formed a political and
religious alliance that united Spain’s two largest regions. Although their marriage brought unity to Spain, it added to the tumult.
Religious persecution had forced thousands of Jews to convert to Christianity, and when converted, they received all the privileges of being
Christian. They prospered not only in their livelihoods, but also in their personal relationships, marrying into “old” Christian families. This
caused conflicts between converted Christians and intrinsic Christians with beliefs that converted Christians were not true believers in
Christianity, they had converted for self preservation, and they were secretly practicing the Jewish faith.
In 1481, Isabella – a devout Christian – and Ferdinand – more concerned with the kingdom’s treasury – made an agreement with Pope Sixtus
IV to strengthen the influence of the Inquisition in Spain, seeking Jews who were not true Christian converts, banishing them, and adding their
confiscated possessions to the kingdom’s coffer.
Shortly after the Inquisition began, the Spanish monarchy entered into a series of clashes with the Muslim occupied region of Granada. After
ten years of losses to Spain, in January 1492, Granada surrendered and both Jews and Muslims had to convert to Christianity or face exile,
but later that year – at the urging of Father Tomas de Torquemada, the Inquisitor General – Jews were expelled from Spain, and Christianity
had became a cohesive force essential to Spain’s quest for power.
In the late fifteenth century, Spain and Portugal were the dominant seafaring countries in Europe, and competed for supremacy by seeking
new territories and trade routes. In search of a trade route to the east, Portugal’s explorations along the coast of Africa had already established
a transatlantic slave trade. Almost 50 years later, in 1488, the Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias rounded the southern tip of Africa,
reinforcing Portugal’s position as a naval sovereign.
With Portugal’s successful explorations and its focus on sailing to the east, the monarchs in Spain looked for opportunities to increase their
empire. After several previous attempts, when Christopher Columbus approached the King and Queen in January of 1492, they accepted his
offer. Columbus and his crew were sailing from a country with much disorder; they were accustomed to uncertainty and used to conflicts.
The Culture of the Islands
The lush, tropical islands of the Antilles – off the coast of Mesoamerica – were home to various tribes that had migrated from the mainland.
Some historians claim they were offshoots of the Olmec civilization that settled on the isthmus between North and South America about 1500
BC. After the Olmec, the Teotihuacan, Maya, Inca, and Aztec civilizations emerged.
Numerous sources detailing the various tribes on the islands provide differing accounts of the names of the indigenous groups who lived there.
Taino is most widely mentioned, with some citing the Taino were Arawak, while others claim Taino and Arawak were separate tribes. Another
tribe, Ciboney, is said to have settled on the islands first, and were either a separate tribe or an earlier tribe identified with the Taino. The most
aggressive was the Caribs, a cannibalistic group said to have made their way up the lower Antilles, and such a danger to the Taino various
sources state the Caribs may have eventually eradicated them.
The Taino were an agricultural-based society who lived in contained villages led by a cacique (chief). Their circular homes – supported by
poles and made from straw and palm leaves – surrounded a large field used for sport games and celebrations. They practiced polygamy, and
the home of the cacique was rectangular and larger to accommodate his numerous wives and children. They spent much of their time
outdoors, the women working in the fields by hand – large animals were not indigenous to the islands – and the men hunting and fishing,
traveling by river or sea in canoes dug from a single tree trunk.
Their sparsely furnished homes – they slept on woven cotton hammocks suspended from the rafters or mats made from palm leaves –
bordered the gardens – of beans, cassava, corn, peanuts, peppers, squash, tomatoes, yams – and small fruit orchards that supplied food and
medicine. The ocean was their main food source, and birds and small animals were hunted; their weapons crafted from cane. Cotton and
tobacco were also grown. The size of each village was determined by the size of the tribe and the available land.
The Taino worshipped both male and female gods, called zemi, using carved stone and wood figures of humans and animals. The weather
was considered a natural spiritual force, and agrarian feasts where held for request and gratitude. On special occasions, both men and women
painted their bodies and wore shells and small pieces of gold or copper for decoration. The men sometimes wore loin clothes and married
women wore short aprons or skirts.
The Columbus Letter
As with almost everything about Columbus, his first letter describing his discovery is a quandary. No original version of his letter exists. Instead
copies of several versions, translated from Spanish or Portuguese-Spanish, or Castilian with Portuguese spellings – all perhaps influenced by
Genoese – are the basis of the interpretations reprinted in Spanish and in Latin. In 1985, another letter surfaced: a hand-written copy of a letter
Columbus sent to the King and Queen, part of a collection of Columbus’s letters made into a book, Libro Copiador. Overall, it is believed there
are three versions of the letter, each varying in the wording (and possibly the intended message) of the interpreter and the printer.
In the letter, Columbus provides brief descriptions of the islands and the people, states his possession and renaming of the islands for Spain,
describes some of his experiences with the natives, and notes the need to bring Christianity to the natives, all with undercurrents of the
prosperity that awaits.
Although the wording is different in each translated letter, the general message of each interpretation is similar, with the exception of the letter
found in 1985. In it Columbus writes about the impending Judgment Day – a belief held by many in reaction to the devastation of the plague –
and his desire to win Jerusalem from the Muslims. The gold acquired through his voyages would fund this mission.
Combined Civilizations or a Clash of Cultures?
When Columbus landed on the islands of the Antilles, he changed world history. Expecting to land in China, Columbus bumped into the
outskirts of an unnamed continent, and into a civilization he had not seen before. The natives were equally surprised, and the initial meeting
was amicable. Although some take offense, Columbus did indeed discover a New World. He did not discover it for the people who already
lived there, but for the Old World – Europe, Asia, and Africa. His return to Spain brought news of his discovery that quickly spread throughout
Europe.
The introduction of the New World to the Old World did combine civilizations – known as the Columbian Exchange, the movement of
domesticated animals, people, plants, philosophy, technology, and infectious diseases – that caused a clash of cultures.
Is Columbus the cause of a blending of civilizations or the source of a clash of cultures?
Culture: A set of standards, beliefs, and traditions shared by a group.
PRIMARY SOURCES
Spain Then and Now
Medieval Europe: The Feudal System
The Black Death
People of the Middle Ages
15th Century – The Spanish Empire Begins
The Spanish Inquisition
Jews and Conversos [Converts] in 15th-Century Spain
The Golden Age: Ferdinand and Isabella
1492: An Ongoing Voyage
Mesoamerica: Repeated Reinventions
Taino History
Columbus’s Letter to Gabriel Sanchez (Treasurer) [PDF]
Columbus’s Letter to Luis de Santángel (Finance Minister)
The Diffusion of Columbus’s First Letter
Introduction to Christopher Columbus, Journal of the First Voyage
Christopher Columbus – His Gastronomic Persona [PDF]
The Columbian Exchange
Admiral of the Ocean Sea: A Life of Christopher Columbus. Samuel Eliot Morison; Little Brown, 1942
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Italian Heritage