The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 22, July 1918 - April, 1919 Page: 198

The Southwestern Historical Quarterly

The Introduction summarizes the early Phoenician, Roman and
Visigothic influences on the history of Spain, discussing briefly
as well certain geographical and climatic features which have
played an important part in her career. The main chapters trace
the political events in Castile and Aragon to the epoch of the
Catholic Monarchs. The essential features of the Reconquest are
set forth, ending with the subjugation of Andalucia and the con-
finement of the Moors to Granada. The far-reaching outcome of
the events of this period was the inculcation of "a programme of
militant Catholicism," though the monarchs of this early era, we
are told, were not intolerant; indeed, they "deliberately strove to
render the lot of the Moors . . . agreeable," and the latter
"were protected and often actually favored." The intolerance and
bigotry shown by the latter-day Spaniards resulted from subse-
quent religious and political considerations which were character-
istic of later epochs. This is an important distinction, worthy of
careful consideration. Castile's relations With Portugal in the
West and with Aragon in the eastern part of the peninsula pre-
sented important problems whose solution ultimately determined
Spain's expansion into the Atlantic, and kept Castile from being
a Mediterranean power; the conquest and colonization of the
Canaries were initiated, and "a long step on the road to the discov-
ery of America, was thus taken; Castile's part in the Hundred
Years' War indicates that she was not isolated from the other
European States; indeed, her rulers aspired to the imperial crown
and her cosmopolitan interests were indicated by the presence of a
Castilian embassy at the court of Tamerlane at Samarcand during
the reign of Henry III (1390-1406).
He who is interested in the real content of history, as distin-
guished from the narrative of a succession of historical events, will
be pleased indeed with the portion of this volume which deals with
the early social classes and political institutions of Castile. There
is no attempt, however, to trace the early development of these in-
stitutions, or to show their relation to those in the colonies which
were probably derived from them. Due attention is also given to
the political expansion of Aragon, whose conquests, together with
those of Catalonia "laid the foundation for Spain's preeminence
in Europe during the sixteenth century," thus directing "her im-

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