By Madelyn Ilarraza
Ask any Latino you know where their last name comes from. Thereâs an almost quiet consensus that it’s probably a Spanish name. While the term âHispanicâ technically means someone from a Spanish-speaking country, many Latinos do not claim the title due to its colonial roots. The Spanish Empire was one of the worldâs most prolific colonizers, controlling 35 colonies for half a millennium.Â
This was something I was well aware of when I visited Spain on an excursion while studying abroad. I knew my last name came from a hamlet in the province of Ălava, although I am Puerto Rican. I couldnât help but notice a few motifs they took from Puerto Rico, decorating the walls of my hostel and the streets of Toledo. Promotions for âPuerto Rican Nightâ at my hostel (all including an image of Bad Bunny from this yearâs Super Bowl). A lone Puerto Rican flag among a sea of Spanish flags, its white star seemed to dominate the yellow and red that immediately blended into the Islamic architecture of Toledo. I have no way of knowing the intentions behind the placement of that flag, but it felt almost poetic as it draped against the background of buildings designed by North African Muslims that were pushed out or either forcibly converted to Catholicism during the Inquisition.Â
I was surrounded by all this bloody history, but it was masked under the guise of religious tolerance. Every gift shop I walked into boasted symbols of all three Abrahamic religions, knick-knacks, and jewelry showing off a proud âCity of Three Cultures.â Down the street from the main plaza was Museo de la Tortura â or the Museum of Torture â which, in great detail, described the centuries-long systemic torture and killings of anyone outside the Catholic faith. There is no problem in using the Islamic and Jewish architecture to inspire future Spanish architecture. There is no problem in using the water technologies, such as acequias, created by Muslims during the Islamic period in the 8th and 15th centuries. The problem lies in giving credit to the other cultures that made Spain the powerhouse it is today and in accepting the differences among those cultures. Toledo prides itself on the idea of religious tolerance, and profits from that fantasy.
Religion wasnât only used as a weapon on the mainland of Spain. It also heavily controlled its colonies. Although Christopher Columbus was of Italian descent, it was King Ferdinand and Queen Isabellaâthe Catholic monarchs of Spainâwho permitted the explorer to set sail in 1492 in search of a westward route to Asia. The same Christopher Columbus, who instead landed in the Caribbean and was ultimately responsible for the enslavement and genocide of the Arawak and TaĂno indigenous peoples.Â
Pre-colonization, polytheistic and animistic religions were practiced. Columbus didnât just want to find spices in his quest to Asia; he also desired to spread his Catholic faith to different parts of the world. Only a year after he set sail on his voyage, in 1493, Pope Alexander VI decreed that the land âdiscoveredâ would be split by both Spain and Portugal, provided that the indigenous people were forcibly converted to Catholicism.Â
Following the colonization of the Caribbean and the rise of the slave trade, many new spiritualities and religions started forming, blending indigenous spiritualities with Yoruba practices and European demonology. These new practices include brujerĂa and santerĂa, which helped people reclaim parts of their culture that colonization tried to eradicate.Â
No matter how far back in history Spanish colonization goes, no matter how much is stolen and used to promote a fantastical idea of Spain, it is crucial to point out its inconsistencies in its narrative as a country. One tiny country in Europe occupied five continents at one point in history, and was responsible for the deaths and forced religious conversions of millions of people. It is critical that we do not forget that, despite what the sugarcoated history is being taught to us now.