A History of Spain Part 1

A History of Spain.

by Charles E. Chapman.

PREFACE

The present work is an attempt to give in one volume the main features of Spanish history from the standpoint of America. It should serve almost equally well for residents of both the English-speaking and the Spanish American countries, since the underlying idea has been that Americans generally are concerned with the growth of that Spanish civilization which was transmitted to the new world. One of the chief factors in American life today is that of the relations between Anglo-Saxon and Hispanic America. They are becoming increasingly important. The southern republics themselves are forging ahead; on the other hand many of them are still dangerously weak, leaving possible openings for the not unwilling old world powers; and some of the richest prospective markets of the globe are in those as yet scantily developed lands. The value of a better understanding between the peoples of the two Americas, both for the reasons just named and for many others, scarcely calls for argument. It is almost equally clear that one of the essentials to such an understanding is a comprehension of Spanish civilization, on which that of the Spanish American peoples so largely depends. That information this volume aims to provide. It confines itself to the story of the growth of Spanish civilization in Spain, but its ultimate transfer to the Americas has been constantly in the writer's mind in the choice of his material, as will appear from the frequent allusions in the text. An attempt is made to treat Spanish inst.i.tutions not as static (which they never were) but in process of evolution, from period to period. The development of Spanish inst.i.tutions in the colonies and the later independent states, it is hoped, will be the subject of another volume. Neither story has ever been presented according to the present plan to the American public.

Emphasis here has been placed on the growth of the civilization, or inst.i.tutions, of Spain rather than on the narrative of political events.

The latter appears primarily as a peg on which to hang the former. The volume is topically arranged, so that one may select those phases of development which interest him. Thus one may confine himself to the narrative, or to any one of the inst.i.tutional topics, social, political, religious, economic, or intellectual. Indeed, the division may be carried even further, so that one may single out inst.i.tutions within inst.i.tutions. As regards proportions the princ.i.p.al weight is given to the periods from 1252 to 1808, with over half of the volume devoted to the years 1479 to 1808. The three centuries from the sixteenth to the nineteenth are singled out for emphasis, not only because they were the years of the transmission of Spanish civilization to the Americas, but also because the great body of the Spanish inst.i.tutions which affected the colonies did so in the form they acquired at that time. To treat Spain's gift to Spanish America as complete by the year 1492 is as incorrect as to say that the English background of United States history is necessary only to the year 1497, when John Cabot sailed along the North American coast, or certainly not later than 1607, when Jamestown was founded. In accord with the primary aim of this work the place of Spain in general European history is given relatively little s.p.a.ce. The recital of minor events and the introduction of the names of inconsequential or slightly important persons have been avoided, except in some cases where an enumeration has been made for purposes of ill.u.s.tration or emphasis. For these reasons, together with the fact that the whole account is compressed into a single volume, it is hoped that the book may serve as a cla.s.s-room text as well as a useful compendium for the general reader.

The writer has been fortunate in that there exists a monumental work in Spanish containing the type of materials which he has wished to present.

This is the _Historia de Espana y de la civilizacion espanola_, which has won a world-wide reputation for its author, Rafael Altamira y Crevea.[1] Indeed, the present writer makes little claim to originality, since for the period down to 1808 he has relied almost wholly on Altamira. Nevertheless, he has made, not a summary, but rather a selection from the _Historia_ (which is some five times the length of this volume) of such materials as were appropriate to his point of view.

The chapter on the reign of Charles III has been based largely on the writer's own account of the diplomacy of that monarch, which lays special emphasis on the relation of Spain to the American Revolution.[2]

For the chapter dealing with Spain in the nineteenth century the volumes of the _Cambridge modern history_ have been used, together with those on modern Spain by Hume and Butler Clarke. The last chapter, dealing with present-day Spain, is mainly the result of the writer's observations during a two years' residence in that country, 1912 to 1914. In the course of his stay he visited every part of the peninsula, but spent most of his time in Seville, wherefore it is quite possible that his views may have an Andalusian tinge.

In the spelling of proper names the English form has been adopted if it is of well-established usage. The founder of the Carlists and Carlism, however, is retained as "Don Carlos" for obvious reasons of euphony. In all other cases the Spanish has been preferred. The phrase "the Americas" is often used as a general term for Spain's overseas colonies.

It may therefore include the Philippines sometimes. The term "Moslems"

has been employed for the Mohammedan invaders of Spain. The word "Moors"

has been avoided, because it is historically inaccurate as a general term for all the invaders; the Almohades, or Moors, were a branch of the Berber family, and other Moslem peoples had preceded them in Spain by upwards of four hundred years. Their influence both as regards culture and racial traits was far less than that of the Arabs, who were the most important of the conquering races, and this fact, together with their late arrival, should militate against the application of their name to the whole era of Moslem Spain. All of these alien peoples were Mohammedans, which would seem to justify the use of the word "Moslems."

The word "lords" in some cases indicates ecclesiastics as well as n.o.bles. "Town" has been employed generally for "_villa_," "_concejo_,"

"_pueblo_," "_aldea_," and "_ciudad_," except when special attention has been drawn to the different types of munic.i.p.alities. Spanish inst.i.tutional terms have been translated or explained at their first use. They also appear in the index.

As on previous occasions, so now, the writer finds himself under obligations to his colleagues in the Department of History of the University of California. Professor Stephens has read much of this ma.n.u.script and has made helpful suggestions as to content and style.

Professors Bolton and Priestley and Doctor Hackett, of the "Bancroft Library group," have displayed a spirit of cooperation which the writer greatly appreciates. Professor Jaen of the Department of Romance Languages gave an invaluable criticism of the chapter on contemporary Spain. Senor Jesus Yanguas, the Sevillian architect, furnished the lists of men of letters and artists appearing in that chapter. Professor Shepherd of Columbia University kindly consented to allow certain of the maps appearing in his _Historical atlas_ to be copied here. Doctors R.

G. Cleland, C. L. Goodwin, F. S. Philbrick, and J. A. Robertson have aided me with much valued criticisms. The writer is also grateful to his pupils, the Misses Bepler and Juda, for a.s.sistance rendered.

CHARLES E. CHAPMAN.

BERKELEY, January 5, 1918.

INTRODUCTION

The fact that this book is in great part a summary, or selection, from one of mine, as is stated in the Preface, makes it almost a duty for me to do what would in any event be a great pleasure in the case of a work by Professor Chapman. I refer to the duty of writing a few paragraphs by way of introduction. But, at the same time, this circ.u.mstance causes a certain conflict of feelings in me, since no one, unless it be a pedant, can act so freely in self-criticism as he would if he were dealing with the work of another. Fortunately, Professor Chapman has incorporated much of his own harvest in this volume, and to that I may refer with entire lack of embarra.s.sment.

Obviously, the plan and the labor of condensing all of the material for a history of Spain const.i.tute in themselves a commendable achievement.

In fact, there does not exist in any language of the world today a compendium of the history of Spain reduced to one volume which is able to satisfy all of the exigencies of the public at large and the needs of teaching, without an excess of reading and of labor. None of the histories of my country written in English, German, French, or Italian in the nineteenth century can be unqualifiedly recommended. Some, such as that by Hume, ent.i.tled _The Spanish people_, display excellent attributes, but these are accompanied by omissions to which modern historiography can no longer consent. As a general rule these histories are altogether too political in character. At other times they offend from an excess of bookish erudition and from a lack of a personal impression of what our people are, as well as from a failure to narrate their story in an interesting way, or indeed, they perpetuate errors and legends, long since discredited, with respect to our past and present life. We have some one-volume histories of Spain in Castilian which are to be recommended for the needs of our own secondary schools, but not for those of a foreign country, whose students require another manner of presentation of our history, for they have to apply an interrogatory ideal which is different from ours in their investigation of the deeds of another people,--all the more so if that people, like the Spanish, has mingled in the life of nearly the whole world and been the victim of the calumnies and fanciful whims of historians, politicians, and travellers.

For all of these reasons the work of condensation by Professor Chapman const.i.tutes an important service in itself for the English-speaking public, for it gives in one volume the most substantial features of our history from primitive times to the present moment. Furthermore, there are chapters in his work which belong entirely to him: x.x.xII, x.x.xIX, and XL. The reason for departing from my text in Chapter x.x.xII is given by Professor Chapman in the Preface. As for the other two he was under the unavoidable necessity of constructing them himself. His, for me, very flattering method of procedure, possible down to the year 1808, if indeed it might find a basis for continuation in a chapter of mine in the _Cambridge modern history_ (v. X), in my lectures on the history of Spain in the nineteenth century (given at the Ateneo of Madrid, some years ago), in the little manual of the _Historia de la civilizacion espanola_ (History of Spanish civilization) which goes to the year 1898, and even in the second part of a recent work, _Espana y el programa americanista_ (Spain and the Americanist program), published at Madrid in 1917, nevertheless could not avail itself of a single text, a continuous, systematized account, comprehensive of all the aspects of our national life as in the case of the periods prior to 1808. Moreover, it is better that the chapters referring to the nineteenth century and the present time should be written by a foreign pen, whose master in this instance, as a result of his having lived in Spain, is able to contribute that personal impression of which I have spoken before, an element which if it is at times deceiving in part, through the influence of a too local or regional point of view, is always worth more than that understanding which proceeds only from erudite sources.

I would not be able to say, without failing in sincerity (and therefore in the first duty of historiography), that I share in and subscribe to all the conclusions and generalizations of Professor Chapman about the contemporary history and present condition of Spain. At times my dissent would not be more than one of the mere shade of meaning, perhaps from the form of expression, given to an act which, according as it is presented, is, or is not, exact. But in general I believe that Professor Chapman sees modern Spain correctly, and does us justice in many things in which it is not frequent that we are accorded that consideration.

This alone would indeed be a great merit in our eyes and would deserve our applause. The English-speaking public will have a guarantee, through this work, of being able to contemplate a quite faithful portrait of Spain, instead of a caricature drawn in ignorance of the facts or in bad faith. With this n.o.ble example of historiographical calm, Professor Chapman amply sustains one of the most sympathetic notes which, with relation to the work of Spain in America, has for some years been characteristic, that which we should indeed call the school of North American historians.

RAFAEL ALTAMIRA.

February, 1918.

A HISTORY OF SPAIN

CHAPTER I

THE INFLUENCE OF GEOGRAPHY ON THE HISTORY OF SPAIN

[Sidenote: Isolation of the Iberian Peninsula.]

The Iberian Peninsula, embracing the modern states of Spain and Portugal, is entirely surrounded by the waters of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, except for a strip in the north a little less than three hundred miles in length, which touches the southern border of France. Even at that point Spain is almost completely shut off from the rest of Europe, because of the high range of the Pyrenees Mountains.

Portugal, although an independent state and set apart to a certain extent by a mountainous boundary, cannot be said to be geographically distinct from Spain. Indeed, many regions in Spain are quite as separate from each other as is Portugal from the Spanish lands she borders upon.

Until the late medieval period, too, the history of Portugal was in the same current as that of the peninsula as a whole.

[Sidenote: Mountains and plateaus.]

The greatest average elevation in Spain is found in the centre, in Castile and Extremadura, whence there is a descent, by great steps as it were, to the east and to the west. On the eastern side the descent is short and rapid to the Mediterranean Sea. On the west, the land falls by longer and more gradual slopes to the Atlantic Ocean, so that central Spain may be said to look geographically toward the west. There is an even more gentle decline from the base of the Pyrenees to the valley of the Guadalquivir, although it is interrupted by plateaus which rise above the general level. All of these gradients are modified greatly by the mountain ranges within the peninsula. The Pyrenean range not only separates France from Spain, but also continues westward under the name Cantabrian Mountains for an even greater distance along the northern coast of the latter country, leaving but little lowland s.p.a.ce along the sea, until it reaches Galicia in the extreme northwest. Here it expands until it covers an area embracing northern Portugal as well. At about the point where the Pyrenees proper and the Cantabrian Mountains come together the Iberian, or Celtiberian, range, a series of isolated mountains for the most part, breaks off to the southeast until near the Mediterranean, when it curves to the west, merging with the Penibetica range (better known as the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the name of that part of the range lying south of the city of Granada), which moves westward near the southern coast to end in the cape of Tarifa.

[Sidenote: Geographical divisions of the peninsula.]

These mountains divide the peninsula into four regions: the narrow littoral on the northern coast; Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia, Murcia, and most of La Mancha, looking toward the Mediterranean; Almeria, Malaga, and part of Granada and Cadiz in the south of Spain; and the vast region comprising the rest of the peninsula. The last-named is subdivided into four princ.i.p.al regions of importance historically. The Carpetana, or Carpeto-Vetonica, range in the north (more often called the Guadarrama Mountains) separates Old Castile from New Castile and Extremadura to the south, and continues into Portugal. The Oretana range crosses the provinces of Cuenca, Toledo, Ciudad Real, Caceres, and Badajoz, also terminating in Portugal. Finally, the Marianica range (more popularly known as the Sierra Morena) forms the boundary of Castile and Extremadura with Andalusia. Each of the four sub-divisions has a great river valley, these being respectively, from north to south, the Douro, Tagus, Guadiana, and Guadalquivir. Various other sub-sections might be named, but only one is of prime importance,--the valley of the Ebro in Aragon and Catalonia, lying between the Pyrenees and an eastward branch of the Iberian range. Within these regions, embracing parts of several of them, there is another that is especially noteworthy,--that of the vast table-land of central Spain between the Ebro and the Guadalquivir.

This is an elevated region, difficult of access from all of the surrounding lands. Geologists have considered it the "permanent nucleus"

of the peninsula. It is in turn divided into two table-lands of unequal height by the great Carpeto-Vetonica range. The long coast line of the peninsula, about 2500 miles in length, has also been a factor of no small importance historically. Despite the length of her border along the sea, Spain has, next to Switzerland, the greatest average elevation of any country in Europe, so high are her mountains and table-lands.

[Sidenote: Disadvantageous effects of geography.]

These geographical conditions have had important consequences climatically and economically and especially historically. The alt.i.tude and irregularity of the land have produced widely separated extremes of temperature, although as a general rule a happy medium is maintained. To geographical causes, also, are due the alternating seasons of rain and drought in most of Spain, especially in Castile, Valencia, and Andalusia, which have to contend, too, with the disadvantages of a smaller annual rainfall than is the lot of most other parts of Europe and with the torrential rains which break the season of drought. When it rains, the water descends in such quant.i.ty and with such rapidity from the mountains to the sea that the river beds are often unable to contain it, and dangerous floods result. Furthermore, the sharpness of the slope makes it difficult to utilize these rivers for irrigation or navigation, so swift is the current, and so rapidly do the rivers spend themselves.

Finally, the rain is not evenly distributed, and some regions, especially the high plateau country of Castile and La Mancha, are particularly dry and are difficult of cultivation.

[Sidenote: Beneficial effects.]

On the other hand the geographical conditions of the peninsula have produced distinct benefits to counterbalance the disadvantages. The coastal plains are often very fertile. Especially is this true of the east and south, where the vine and the olive, oranges, rice, and other fruits and vegetables are among the best in the world. The northern coast is of slight value agriculturally, but, thanks to a rainfall which is constant and greater than necessary, is rich pastorally. Here, too, there is a very agreeable climate, due in large measure to a favoring ocean current, which has also been influential in producing the forests in a part of Galicia. These factors have made the northern coast a favorite summer resort for Spaniards and, indeed, for many other Europeans. The mountains in all parts of the peninsula have proved to contain a mineral wealth which many centuries of mining have been unable to exhaust. Some gold and more silver have been found, but metals of use industrially--such, for example, as copper--have been the most abundant.

The very difficulties which Spaniards have had to overcome helped to develop virile traits which have made their civilization of more force in the world than might have been expected from a country of such scant wealth and population.[3]

[Sidenote: Geographical isolation the cause of Spanish individuality.]

The most marked result of these natural conditions has been the isolation, not only of Spain from the rest of the world, but also of the different regions of Spain from one another. Spaniards have therefore developed the conservative clinging to their own inst.i.tutions and the individuality of an island people. While this has r.e.t.a.r.ded their development into a nation, it has held secure the advances made and has vitalized Spanish civilization. For centuries the most isolated parts were also the most backward, this being especially true of Castile, whereas the more inviting and more easily invaded south and east coasts were the most susceptible to foreign influence and the most advanced intellectually as well as economically. When at length the centre accepted the civilization of the east and south, and by reason of its virility was able to dominate them, it imposed its law, its customs, and its conservatism upon them, and reached across the seas to the Americas, where a handful of men were able to leave an imperishable legacy of Spanish civilization to a great part of two continents.

[Sidenote: Events traceable to geographic conditions.]

Specific facts in Spanish history can also be traced very largely to the effects of geography. The mineral wealth of the peninsula has attracted foreign peoples throughout recorded history, and the fertility of the south and east has also been a potent inducement to an invasion, whether of armies or of capital. The physical features of the peninsula helped these peoples to preserve their racial characteristics, with the result that Spain presents an unusual variety in traits and customs. The fact that the valley of the Guadalquivir descends to the sea before reaching the eastern line of the Portuguese boundary had an influence in bringing about the independence of Portugal,--for while Castile still had to combat the Moslem states Portugal could turn her energies inward.

Nevertheless, one must not think that geography has been the only or even the controlling factor in the life and events of the Iberian Peninsula. Others have been equally or more important,--such as those of race and, especially, the vast group of circ.u.mstances involving the relations of men and of states which may be given the collective name of history.