In this blog you are to comment on one or more of the assigned articles in relation with any of the topics touched on in the lecture PDFs every week. Your posts should be brief (150 words or the equivalent to 1 paragraph) and, most importantly, a reflection of your preparation for class.
This week, I found the article "DNA study shows 20 percent of Iberian population has Jewish ancestry" was very interesting because of its personal implications for Jews and non-Jews in Spain. From a historical standpoint, this really isn't "news" to me because obviously there has always been intermixing of cultures, religions, and ethnicities among people especially when they try to blend in/assimilate to other groups in order to avoid persecution or simply just to live peacefully and quietly. The articles says "About 20 percent of the current population of the Iberian Peninsula has Sephardic Jewish ancestry, and 11 percent bear Moorish DNA signatures, a team of geneticists reports.The genetic signatures reflect the forced conversions to Christianity in the 14th and 15th centuries after Christian armies wrested Spain back from Muslim control." So a total of 30% of the population is actually not of Spanish descent. But what is "spanish descent" anyways? What does that mean? Nowadays, to be "Spanish" is associated with having come from Spain and the Iberian Peninsula, as apposed to Latin America or South America (ie. any other spanish-speaking places). However, the people who came from Spain....didn't really even "come from" Spain in the first place! Like the article alludes to, in fact Spain is largely comprised of the Muslim, Jew, and Catholic groups of people who have all lived in Spain and been either the victors or the losers. Either way, they've all been living in the Iberian Peninsula, and if you were to say that to be "spanish" means calling the Iberian Peninsula home for generations, then yes, it is actually no surprise at all that Muslims, Jews, and Catholics are pretty much all equally "spanish". Simply, "spanish" as a PLACE of origin would apply to all these groups, but "spanish" as a POLITICAL tool and description would only apply to the Catholics since they have traditionally been the victors throughout history.
After reading the assigned articles for this week, I was shocked to learn that Catalonia was attempting to become an independent state. On one hand the split seems natural; Catalonia has an economy as large as Portugal’s and is seen by many inhabitants as a sovereign political and legal entity. Conversely, Catalonia was never one of the main Christian Kingdoms and does not have a history of dominance like Castile and Portugal, which were both once colonial empires. Furthermore, the article suggests that passing the bill, which calls for a referendum on independence, is merely a strategic move to display strength and authority; many political officials believe that Catalonia wishes to have a more significant role in the upcoming fiscal negotiations and the bill was merely passed to send a distinct message: they are a force to be reckoned with. Catalonia’s deficit continues to grow and officials do not want to contribute as much money to the central government to subsidize poorer regions as they once did. Although Catalonia primarily wants a better fiscal deal, the future referendum to determine independence is a serious threat to Spain’s “territorial integrity”. After the Reconquest, Spain, as a unified force, established an immense colonial empire and was seen as ‘all powerful’. Now, due to political, cultural, and economic reasons, Spain does not wield the same authoritative power as it did and, thus, regions like Catalonia are beginning to test boundaries.
At the end of Mondays lecture, we started really going into detail with the Jewish culture and how they were impacted throughout the Iberian Peninsula. One of the articles “Ladino Today” emphasizes the language of the Jewish society in the older days which sounds a lot like Latino or Latin. There must be a big correlation as to the two cultures. Wait… there is, because 20% of the Iberian Peninsula has a Jewish ancestry. In my opinion, this means that many Latino or Hispanic people can trace their family to Jewish ancestry so there’s a strong correlation between the two cultures especially being originated in the Iberian Peninsula. In lecture, it was explained that in the 13th-15th centuries, the Jewish community was blamed for the social and economic problems, including the black plague. According to the article “Crypto Jews,” Torrecilla was absolutely right. The article goes in depth with the inquisitions and the acts of inequality with the Jews; they had to endure many hardships. On another note, as for Catalonia, the quest of independence continues. I am also taking Spanish 44 and we are currently in the “strive for independence” with Latin America, and this definitely ties into it. As for Columbus, we are also learning about him as well and my midterm essay is about how when we were younger, we praised Columbus with discovering the America but as we grow older, we decrease the praise because of what ACTUALLY happened, you know?
The extensive religious history of the Iberian peninsula is very interesting. This region experienced take-overs from just about every religion and the the battle continues today. The continuous fight between the Christian and Muslim world affected society in several ways, especially those who did not practice either religion. The article about Crypto Jews highlights the turmoil and displacement that Jews in Spain experienced once they were exiled in 1492. They dispersed themselves and probably lost some aspects of their culture because they no longer were a united community. In lecture, Torrecilla pointed out the Jews' importance in Iberian society. They were considered to be some of the most active members in society who earned high status and became wealthy. I think that Spain would want to keep them around because of their lucrative lifestyle which could have boosted the national economy. But the intolerance of the Inquisition must have thought this was a trivial contribution that was outweighed by their "foolish" faith. Luckily, with the founding of the New World, the exiled Jews were able to expand their horizons and took advantage of the new economic opportunities. But unfortunately, their faith and customs wouldn't be nearly as strong and significant with a scattered population. Practicing in secret (especially after the Office was established in the New World) must have been very scary and minimal, since it was easy to get caught by the praying eyes of the Office members.
As I have learned in lecture, Jews, Muslims and Catholics have been pushed in and out of Spain over the years. Some converting in the other religions depending who was ruling. Also I recall that the catholic religion was not tolerant with the other religions and exiled moors and Jews from Spain when they were in control. After being kicked out of the country, for example the Jews, had to find a new home therefore have spread to many parts of the world. As mentioned in one of the readings, some crypto-Jews settled in the “New World” in parts of Mexico and New Mexico. Another article mentions that about a third of the population in Spain has Jewish ancestry, and I feel that there is also a large population of Jewish people or with Jewish ancestry in the Americas. For example, Mexico is mostly composed of Catholics but I have met a quite number of Jews and it is the same case here in Los Angeles. Jews have spread through the world that is why I also thing that the Ladino language can be saved.
article:Columbus Day to Native American Day? While it is argued that Christopher Columbus’ arrival to the Americas in 1492 is the greatest discovery, it is more than evident that his “discovery” brought devastation, torture, and death to the people who truly “discovered” America. His arrival destroyed the natives’ civilizations, their ways of living, and imposed the European way of life. Through Bartolomeo de las Casas we learn that Columbus’ sole goal was finding gold and riches, taking advantage of the native’s generosity and ignorance. More often than not, natives were made into slaves, tortured, and forced to convert to Catholicism. Columbus himself takes an active role in converting the “barbarians”; his methods cruel and inhumane. From what we know of Columbus, it seems his only positive contribution to society is linking the New World with the Old World. The name change of the holiday seems right and fair; honoring those who founded America.
From all of these week’s articles, the one that caught my attention the most was “DNA Study Shows 20 Percent of Iberian Population has Jewish Ancestry.” Jews are known for their religion always causing them problems in the Iberian Peninsula. Roman Catholic Visigoths and the Almoravids persecuted them and Muslims charged them a special tax for not converting to their religion during their ruling. In addition, as we learned in Monday’s lecture, during the 14th and 15th century Anti-Semitic persecutions in Christian kingdoms occurred when Jews were blamed for all of the social and economic problems occurring. Eventually, in 1492, the Jews were finally expelled from Spain for not converting to Catholicism. Therefore, upon reading the article I found it quite interesting that ancestry of a group of people so mistreated runs through the veins of Iberians. Yes, the Jews were expelled, but they left some genetic heritage in the Iberian Peninsula that is still present nowadays. The article also presents two views of Spanish history. One that Spanish civilization is Catholic with foreign influences, and the other that Catholics, Jews, and Muslims all influenced Spain. I agree with the second point of view because these were three important cultures in the history of Spain since they were all present in early Spanish history and they all somehow ended up influencing aspects of Spanish culture.
The Sephardic Jews have been subjugated to constant criticism and punishment for being different. The idea of being "Spanish" only further hindered the Jews from being respected and it seemed that it would be more and more difficult for them to gain power in Spain, especially since they were culturally and verbally different from the rest of the people in the Iberian Peninsula. Currently, there is an ensuing belief of being Spanish, and just like Americans, they are a multicultural influenced country with origin dating back to immigrants that helped the country become what it is today. Choosing to forget those who have helped you since the beginning and have been treated so wrongly but continue to be proud to live in that same place, make the injustice unbearable. I have always had difficulties understanding this cruelty for the minority people who only help… especially when they are genetically related.
My favorite topic in this week’s articles and lecture was the controversy of Christopher Columbus. Although in lecture, we basically learned about his discovery of North America in 1492 and the implications of that for Spain, there is so much more behind the story. Before Christopher Columbus arrived in North America, there had been Native Americans living there for thousands of years. Furthermore, I learned a while ago that Columbus and his men actually enslaved the Native Americans there and treated them very poorly. It was interesting to read the article regarding the possibility of changing Columbus day to “Native American Day” in California. I do understand the rationale behind the idea, and that the Native Americans should actually be the ones given credit for “discovering” North America. However, I do believe Columbus’ finding America was crucial to modern day history and the world would not be the same now if he had not discovered North America. Despite the controversy and possible misattribution of the discovery of North America, I do believe that Columbus Day should stay intact as a holiday. It is very important that the Native Americans lived here first, and I believe that should be emphasized and studied on Columbus Day, as well as Columbus’ interactions with the natives. I don’t think that doing away with the holiday completely is the right answer. One other thing I found interesting was how North America as a Spanish colony became a kind of safe haven for Jews. Once it was decreed in Spain that every Jew had to become a Christian or leave the country, many left for North America for their religious freedom. IN the article on “Crypto-Jews” it even says that in New Mexico you can still find this “crypto-Jewish” heritage where Hispanic communities retain Jewish customs. Although there is a lot of debate on “who was here first” and who really discovered America, I believe what matters is that people understand all sides of the story and peoples reasoning for moving to North America.
Someone should not be awarded something that was found under false pretenses. Christopher Columbus believed that he reached Asia, when he landed in the Americas. However, it can be argued that there were many positives outcomes due to his voyage, such as brining attention to new resources. Though the manner in which he treated the natives to this land, was intensely unethical. Columbus should not be celebrated for the discovery of the Americas because it was inhabited and thus discovered before he ever step foot on the land. Instead natives should be celebrated instead. This “Natives Day” would open the spectrum to more people, giving all different people to celebrate this ancestral origin. It is understandable that the Columbus Day is something that the Italians are proud of, but with “Natives Day” they can celebrate their native ancestral origin too. In Los Angeles specifically, it is an insult to celebrate something as Columbus Day, which celebrates the genocide of native people.
This weeks' readings centered around the idea of two or more ethnicities combining together to form this new culture, language, and identity. For example, the Ladino population refers to a specific Jewish population that began in the Iberian Peninsula who were Jewish but lived a predominantly Spanish lifestyle. Also, the fact that 20 percent of the Iberian population has Jewish ancestry proves that the Jewish and Spanish nationalities have undergone a long process of intermarriage and creating a new identity where people speak Ladino and are both Jewish and Spanish. The most relevant article to our class lectures is the one where Catalonia declares intent to hold independence referendum. This article explains that in 2014, the government of Catalonia will state whether it desires to follow a path of independence, pending approval of the national government. Catalonia doesn't want to contribute to subsidize much poorer regions in Spain when the people in the community are facing economic struggles as well. In lecture, we are learning about the themes of unity and nationalism and its beginnings in Spain. This act on Catalonia's part is a major threat to Spain's territorial integrity and could cause other nationalistic groups like the Muslims and Basques to claim their own sovereignty apart from Spain. If this is the case, then Spain has major financial, cultural, and political issues that it needs to confront in the upcoming years.
I can only imagine what the deeply religious catholics of Spain and Portugal feel about learning that their is a quarter of people with Jewish ancestry. The Spanish Inquisition started in 1478 really forced the Jews into conversion into catholicism, and those who did not comply would face severe consequences. It appears that the Jews were far greater numbers which shouldn't come as a surprise. Currently the religious institutions might be having mixed feelings about this news but that just shows the ever increasing world population. In the article in the Los Angeles Times I feel that the changing Columbus Day to Native American days is very appropriate. Isabela and Fernando did indeed fund the Columbus expedition but it was the removal of the Natives and their suffering is to be attributed and remembered with respect.
In todays lecture, we learned about the Catholic Monarchs and how the Christian Kingdoms Castile and Aragon unified together to overthrow Muslims from Grenada. What I found most interesting was the Spanish inquisition, which was aimed to expel all 'false christians' from Spain. This was a problem during those times because the Christians had suspicion that there were muslims and jews who say they converted to Christianity (conversos) , but may have still been practicing their own beliefs. Therefore, since Christian kingdoms wanted to unify the Iberian Peninsula and have one religion, they created the Spanish inquisition. This caused panic and many jews were expelled. In relation to this, what I find surprising is how in the article, " DNA study shows 20 percent of Iberian population has Jewish ancestry",it states how 20 % of current population of the iberian peninsula has Sephardic jewish ancestry and 11 % bear moorish dan signatures. This show how despite the Christians attempt to dominate Spain in all aspects, they did not succeed because this show how Spain is currently enriched by 3 historical cultures, catholic, jewish, and muslim. DEspite being expelled, they left an important mark in Spain and are part of Spain identity because they still exist in the countries population. In my opinion, I feel that it was injustice and cruel for the Christians to force two groups to abandon their religion and forced to convert to a foreign religion simply because they are overpowered. However, I also see why Christians forced one religion on the population because being unified culturally, religion, etc was key to being dominant.
In this week’s lecture we began to see the Jewish community resurface as a rich and diverse culture that is beginning to gain recognition as a major constituency of Spanish identity. I was shocked by the “20 percent” that constitutes the Spanish population as Jewish, which raised another question regarding how Jewish can identify with this staggering statistic that could potentially question their identity. With Spain having a history of enforcing their catholic ideology to all inferior religions, this has and continues to potentially be damaging to conversos, or Muslims who converted to Christianity. Future generations can be torn between two identities and in some ways feel betrayed by their own Spanish heritage and pride. Spain’s nationalism could potentially be damaging not only to its unitary Catholic ideology, but to the national loyalty to Jews who have been faithful and obedient toward the Spaniards.
What I found most interesting about this week’s lectures and readings were the Jewish people. Professor Torrecilla said that Jewish people have probably occupied the Iberian Peninsula for 2000 years, probably before the Christians even arrived there. And up until the 15th century, they were allowed to live freely as Jews. The article “Crypto-Jews” restates what we learned in lecture, that in 1492 the Catholic monarch ordered Jews to convert or leave the Iberian Peninsula. The term “crypto-Jews” means secret Jews and that is exactly what many Jews became. They had to hide their Judaism and pretend to be Catholic in order to be accepted. The effects of this today can be seen with last week’s article that stated that Spain would be given citizenship to Jews. In addition, this week’s article “Crypto-Jews” states that in New Mexico there is a crypto-Jewish heritage which resulted in Jews fleeing the Iberian Peninsula Columbus discovered America. In order to flee the watchful eye of the Catholics in the Iberian Peninsula, the Jews sought religious freedom in the Americas. They also moved more and more west when the religious prosecution started in the Americas. That is very interesting because we know why there are Jews in New Mexico. Finally, the article “DNA study shows 20 percent of Iberian population has Jewish ancestry” shows how big of an impact the Jews have made on the Iberian Peninsula. This isn’t that surprising since they have remained in the Iberian Peninsula through all the wars, conquests, and re-conquests.
Up until the time period that we studied this week, it seemed like Jews in the Iberian Peninsula were mostly tolerated, even if they weren't fully embraced. I got the sense that they’d been in the region for so long that they were just accepted. I was surprised that after the Inquisition’s huge institutional effort to expel Muslims and Jews, such a large part of the Spanish population would have Jewish ancestry. But perhaps I shouldn’t have been, considering the number of crypto-Jews that remained in Spain. I’m really interested in how these secret Jews managed to survive while holding onto their beliefs. I wonder how many people today have Jewish traditions in their family without necessarily realizing those practices descended from the Jewish faith. I see some obvious similarities in how the Jews and Muslims were historically treated in Spain, and I think some of the animosity toward Muslims still exists. But it seems to me that the attitude toward Jews might be changing, especially considering last week last week’s article that talked about how Spain was granting citizenship to ancestors of Jews who were expelled during the Inquisition.
I found the article describing how there was a law proposed in California to eradicate Columbus Day to be very interesting. The proposed by would replace the day with a Native Americans day and change the day to a paid holiday in California, shutting down state offices. Honestly, in the politically correct world that we are living in, I'm surprised that it took this long for this bill to be proposed. Although Columbus did open up the Americas to Europe, his voyages came at an extreme cost to many of the indigenous people. In lecture, Professor Torrecilla mentioned that Columbus' voyages helped open up the new world to colonialism and trade and could be argued as the greatest single event in mankind. This however is flawed logic, as at some point in later history, other explorers would have eventually located the Americas if Columbus didn't. Columbus introduced various diseases and thought the people to be extremely barbaric. Without a doubt, the arrival of Europeans brought great suffering and massive genocide across the Americas. The fact that we celebrate such a holiday is in poor taste and lacks any indication of the understanding of complex historical events. As for Italians, the holiday may have helped to strengthen their national identity and help fight against racism in the past, but at this point in our state's and nation's history, the holiday serves as more of a reminder of injustice than cultural heritage.
This week's lecture and readings surround the idea of identity and culture. I want to follow up with the Huffington Post article about the Bill that was proposed to remove the Columbus Holiday from California. It is clearly unethical to celebrate this man's mistakes for it is a fact that he did not land where he wanted to land. I believe it is naturally accepted to have the Native American Day to take the place of Columbus Day in order to start a shift of appreciating the history and struggle of Native Americans as they fought to assimilate and become conquered by those who came to the "New World" as it was not new at all. It had been discovered already. Recognizing Columbus has provided for a false reality as it has shaped modern history and how it is taught in the classrooms starting at a young age. I remember learning about Columbus and acknowledging Columbus for having "discovered" the Americas. I believe this bill is set in the right direction to demystify the false history and start educating America with the reality of historical events.
This week, I found the article "DNA study shows 20 percent of Iberian population has Jewish ancestry" was very interesting because of its personal implications for Jews and non-Jews in Spain. From a historical standpoint, this really isn't "news" to me because obviously there has always been intermixing of cultures, religions, and ethnicities among people especially when they try to blend in/assimilate to other groups in order to avoid persecution or simply just to live peacefully and quietly. The articles says "About 20 percent of the current population of the Iberian Peninsula has Sephardic Jewish ancestry, and 11 percent bear Moorish DNA signatures, a team of geneticists reports.The genetic signatures reflect the forced conversions to Christianity in the 14th and 15th centuries after Christian armies wrested Spain back from Muslim control." So a total of 30% of the population is actually not of Spanish descent. But what is "spanish descent" anyways? What does that mean? Nowadays, to be "Spanish" is associated with having come from Spain and the Iberian Peninsula, as apposed to Latin America or South America (ie. any other spanish-speaking places). However, the people who came from Spain....didn't really even "come from" Spain in the first place! Like the article alludes to, in fact Spain is largely comprised of the Muslim, Jew, and Catholic groups of people who have all lived in Spain and been either the victors or the losers. Either way, they've all been living in the Iberian Peninsula, and if you were to say that to be "spanish" means calling the Iberian Peninsula home for generations, then yes, it is actually no surprise at all that Muslims, Jews, and Catholics are pretty much all equally "spanish". Simply, "spanish" as a PLACE of origin would apply to all these groups, but "spanish" as a POLITICAL tool and description would only apply to the Catholics since they have traditionally been the victors throughout history.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the assigned articles for this week, I was shocked to learn that Catalonia was attempting to become an independent state. On one hand the split seems natural; Catalonia has an economy as large as Portugal’s and is seen by many inhabitants as a sovereign political and legal entity. Conversely, Catalonia was never one of the main Christian Kingdoms and does not have a history of dominance like Castile and Portugal, which were both once colonial empires. Furthermore, the article suggests that passing the bill, which calls for a referendum on independence, is merely a strategic move to display strength and authority; many political officials believe that Catalonia wishes to have a more significant role in the upcoming fiscal negotiations and the bill was merely passed to send a distinct message: they are a force to be reckoned with. Catalonia’s deficit continues to grow and officials do not want to contribute as much money to the central government to subsidize poorer regions as they once did. Although Catalonia primarily wants a better fiscal deal, the future referendum to determine independence is a serious threat to Spain’s “territorial integrity”. After the Reconquest, Spain, as a unified force, established an immense colonial empire and was seen as ‘all powerful’. Now, due to political, cultural, and economic reasons, Spain does not wield the same authoritative power as it did and, thus, regions like Catalonia are beginning to test boundaries.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of Mondays lecture, we started really going into detail with the Jewish culture and how they were impacted throughout the Iberian Peninsula. One of the articles “Ladino Today” emphasizes the language of the Jewish society in the older days which sounds a lot like Latino or Latin. There must be a big correlation as to the two cultures. Wait… there is, because 20% of the Iberian Peninsula has a Jewish ancestry. In my opinion, this means that many Latino or Hispanic people can trace their family to Jewish ancestry so there’s a strong correlation between the two cultures especially being originated in the Iberian Peninsula. In lecture, it was explained that in the 13th-15th centuries, the Jewish community was blamed for the social and economic problems, including the black plague. According to the article “Crypto Jews,” Torrecilla was absolutely right. The article goes in depth with the inquisitions and the acts of inequality with the Jews; they had to endure many hardships.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, as for Catalonia, the quest of independence continues. I am also taking Spanish 44 and we are currently in the “strive for independence” with Latin America, and this definitely ties into it. As for Columbus, we are also learning about him as well and my midterm essay is about how when we were younger, we praised Columbus with discovering the America but as we grow older, we decrease the praise because of what ACTUALLY happened, you know?
The extensive religious history of the Iberian peninsula is very interesting. This region experienced take-overs from just about every religion and the the battle continues today. The continuous fight between the Christian and Muslim world affected society in several ways, especially those who did not practice either religion. The article about Crypto Jews highlights the turmoil and displacement that Jews in Spain experienced once they were exiled in 1492. They dispersed themselves and probably lost some aspects of their culture because they no longer were a united community. In lecture, Torrecilla pointed out the Jews' importance in Iberian society. They were considered to be some of the most active members in society who earned high status and became wealthy. I think that Spain would want to keep them around because of their lucrative lifestyle which could have boosted the national economy. But the intolerance of the Inquisition must have thought this was a trivial contribution that was outweighed by their "foolish" faith. Luckily, with the founding of the New World, the exiled Jews were able to expand their horizons and took advantage of the new economic opportunities. But unfortunately, their faith and customs wouldn't be nearly as strong and significant with a scattered population. Practicing in secret (especially after the Office was established in the New World) must have been very scary and minimal, since it was easy to get caught by the praying eyes of the Office members.
ReplyDeleteAs I have learned in lecture, Jews, Muslims and Catholics have been pushed in and out of Spain over the years. Some converting in the other religions depending who was ruling. Also I recall that the catholic religion was not tolerant with the other religions and exiled moors and Jews from Spain when they were in control. After being kicked out of the country, for example the Jews, had to find a new home therefore have spread to many parts of the world. As mentioned in one of the readings, some crypto-Jews settled in the “New World” in parts of Mexico and New Mexico. Another article mentions that about a third of the population in Spain has Jewish ancestry, and I feel that there is also a large population of Jewish people or with Jewish ancestry in the Americas. For example, Mexico is mostly composed of Catholics but I have met a quite number of Jews and it is the same case here in Los Angeles. Jews have spread through the world that is why I also thing that the Ladino language can be saved.
ReplyDeletearticle:Columbus Day to Native American Day?
ReplyDeleteWhile it is argued that Christopher Columbus’ arrival to the Americas in 1492 is the greatest discovery, it is more than evident that his “discovery” brought devastation, torture, and death to the people who truly “discovered” America. His arrival destroyed the natives’ civilizations, their ways of living, and imposed the European way of life. Through Bartolomeo de las Casas we learn that Columbus’ sole goal was finding gold and riches, taking advantage of the native’s generosity and ignorance. More often than not, natives were made into slaves, tortured, and forced to convert to Catholicism. Columbus himself takes an active role in converting the “barbarians”; his methods cruel and inhumane. From what we know of Columbus, it seems his only positive contribution to society is linking the New World with the Old World. The name change of the holiday seems right and fair; honoring those who founded America.
From all of these week’s articles, the one that caught my attention the most was “DNA Study Shows 20 Percent of Iberian Population has Jewish Ancestry.” Jews are known for their religion always causing them problems in the Iberian Peninsula. Roman Catholic Visigoths and the Almoravids persecuted them and Muslims charged them a special tax for not converting to their religion during their ruling. In addition, as we learned in Monday’s lecture, during the 14th and 15th century Anti-Semitic persecutions in Christian kingdoms occurred when Jews were blamed for all of the social and economic problems occurring. Eventually, in 1492, the Jews were finally expelled from Spain for not converting to Catholicism. Therefore, upon reading the article I found it quite interesting that ancestry of a group of people so mistreated runs through the veins of Iberians. Yes, the Jews were expelled, but they left some genetic heritage in the Iberian Peninsula that is still present nowadays. The article also presents two views of Spanish history. One that Spanish civilization is Catholic with foreign influences, and the other that Catholics, Jews, and Muslims all influenced Spain. I agree with the second point of view because these were three important cultures in the history of Spain since they were all present in early Spanish history and they all somehow ended up influencing aspects of Spanish culture.
ReplyDeleteThe Sephardic Jews have been subjugated to constant criticism and punishment for being different. The idea of being "Spanish" only further hindered the Jews from being respected and it seemed that it would be more and more difficult for them to gain power in Spain, especially since they were culturally and verbally different from the rest of the people in the Iberian Peninsula. Currently, there is an ensuing belief of being Spanish, and just like Americans, they are a multicultural influenced country with origin dating back to immigrants that helped the country become what it is today. Choosing to forget those who have helped you since the beginning and have been treated so wrongly but continue to be proud to live in that same place, make the injustice unbearable. I have always had difficulties understanding this cruelty for the minority people who only help… especially when they are genetically related.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite topic in this week’s articles and lecture was the controversy of Christopher Columbus. Although in lecture, we basically learned about his discovery of North America in 1492 and the implications of that for Spain, there is so much more behind the story. Before Christopher Columbus arrived in North America, there had been Native Americans living there for thousands of years. Furthermore, I learned a while ago that Columbus and his men actually enslaved the Native Americans there and treated them very poorly. It was interesting to read the article regarding the possibility of changing Columbus day to “Native American Day” in California. I do understand the rationale behind the idea, and that the Native Americans should actually be the ones given credit for “discovering” North America. However, I do believe Columbus’ finding America was crucial to modern day history and the world would not be the same now if he had not discovered North America. Despite the controversy and possible misattribution of the discovery of North America, I do believe that Columbus Day should stay intact as a holiday. It is very important that the Native Americans lived here first, and I believe that should be emphasized and studied on Columbus Day, as well as Columbus’ interactions with the natives. I don’t think that doing away with the holiday completely is the right answer. One other thing I found interesting was how North America as a Spanish colony became a kind of safe haven for Jews. Once it was decreed in Spain that every Jew had to become a Christian or leave the country, many left for North America for their religious freedom. IN the article on “Crypto-Jews” it even says that in New Mexico you can still find this “crypto-Jewish” heritage where Hispanic communities retain Jewish customs. Although there is a lot of debate on “who was here first” and who really discovered America, I believe what matters is that people understand all sides of the story and peoples reasoning for moving to North America.
ReplyDeleteAlexis Aguila
ReplyDelete703929757
Someone should not be awarded something that was found under false pretenses. Christopher Columbus believed that he reached Asia, when he landed in the Americas. However, it can be argued that there were many positives outcomes due to his voyage, such as brining attention to new resources. Though the manner in which he treated the natives to this land, was intensely unethical. Columbus should not be celebrated for the discovery of the Americas because it was inhabited and thus discovered before he ever step foot on the land. Instead natives should be celebrated instead. This “Natives Day” would open the spectrum to more people, giving all different people to celebrate this ancestral origin. It is understandable that the Columbus Day is something that the Italians are proud of, but with “Natives Day” they can celebrate their native ancestral origin too. In Los Angeles specifically, it is an insult to celebrate something as Columbus Day, which celebrates the genocide of native people.
This weeks' readings centered around the idea of two or more ethnicities combining together to form this new culture, language, and identity. For example, the Ladino population refers to a specific Jewish population that began in the Iberian Peninsula who were Jewish but lived a predominantly Spanish lifestyle. Also, the fact that 20 percent of the Iberian population has Jewish ancestry proves that the Jewish and Spanish nationalities have undergone a long process of intermarriage and creating a new identity where people speak Ladino and are both Jewish and Spanish. The most relevant article to our class lectures is the one where Catalonia declares intent to hold independence referendum. This article explains that in 2014, the government of Catalonia will state whether it desires to follow a path of independence, pending approval of the national government. Catalonia doesn't want to contribute to subsidize much poorer regions in Spain when the people in the community are facing economic struggles as well. In lecture, we are learning about the themes of unity and nationalism and its beginnings in Spain. This act on Catalonia's part is a major threat to Spain's territorial integrity and could cause other nationalistic groups like the Muslims and Basques to claim their own sovereignty apart from Spain. If this is the case, then Spain has major financial, cultural, and political issues that it needs to confront in the upcoming years.
ReplyDeleteBy Ferenk Cifuentes
ReplyDeleteThurs 1p
I can only imagine what the deeply religious catholics of Spain and Portugal feel about learning that their is a quarter of people with Jewish ancestry. The Spanish Inquisition started in 1478 really forced the Jews into conversion into catholicism, and those who did not comply would face severe consequences. It appears that the Jews were far greater numbers which shouldn't come as a surprise. Currently the religious institutions might be having mixed feelings about this news but that just shows the ever increasing world population. In the article in the Los Angeles Times I feel that the changing Columbus Day to Native American days is very appropriate. Isabela and Fernando did indeed fund the Columbus expedition but it was the removal of the Natives and their suffering is to be attributed and remembered with respect.
In todays lecture, we learned about the Catholic Monarchs and how the Christian Kingdoms Castile and Aragon unified together to overthrow Muslims from Grenada. What I found most interesting was the Spanish inquisition, which was aimed to expel all 'false christians' from Spain. This was a problem during those times because the Christians had suspicion that there were muslims and jews who say they converted to Christianity (conversos) , but may have still been practicing their own beliefs. Therefore, since Christian kingdoms wanted to unify the Iberian Peninsula and have one religion, they created the Spanish inquisition. This caused panic and many jews were expelled. In relation to this, what I find surprising is how in the article, " DNA study shows 20 percent of Iberian population has Jewish ancestry",it states how 20 % of current population of the iberian peninsula has Sephardic jewish ancestry and 11 % bear moorish dan signatures. This show how despite the Christians attempt to dominate Spain in all aspects, they did not succeed because this show how Spain is currently enriched by 3 historical cultures, catholic, jewish, and muslim. DEspite being expelled, they left an important mark in Spain and are part of Spain identity because they still exist in the countries population. In my opinion, I feel that it was injustice and cruel for the Christians to force two groups to abandon their religion and forced to convert to a foreign religion simply because they are overpowered. However, I also see why Christians forced one religion on the population because being unified culturally, religion, etc was key to being dominant.
ReplyDeleteIn this week’s lecture we began to see the Jewish community resurface as a rich and diverse culture that is beginning to gain recognition as a major constituency of Spanish identity. I was shocked by the “20 percent” that constitutes the Spanish population as Jewish, which raised another question regarding how Jewish can identify with this staggering statistic that could potentially question their identity. With Spain having a history of enforcing their catholic ideology to all inferior religions, this has and continues to potentially be damaging to conversos, or Muslims who converted to Christianity. Future generations can be torn between two identities and in some ways feel betrayed by their own Spanish heritage and pride. Spain’s nationalism could potentially be damaging not only to its unitary Catholic ideology, but to the national loyalty to Jews who have been faithful and obedient toward the Spaniards.
ReplyDeleteKassandra Rivera UID:704055523
What I found most interesting about this week’s lectures and readings were the Jewish people. Professor Torrecilla said that Jewish people have probably occupied the Iberian Peninsula for 2000 years, probably before the Christians even arrived there. And up until the 15th century, they were allowed to live freely as Jews. The article “Crypto-Jews” restates what we learned in lecture, that in 1492 the Catholic monarch ordered Jews to convert or leave the Iberian Peninsula. The term “crypto-Jews” means secret Jews and that is exactly what many Jews became. They had to hide their Judaism and pretend to be Catholic in order to be accepted. The effects of this today can be seen with last week’s article that stated that Spain would be given citizenship to Jews. In addition, this week’s article “Crypto-Jews” states that in New Mexico there is a crypto-Jewish heritage which resulted in Jews fleeing the Iberian Peninsula Columbus discovered America. In order to flee the watchful eye of the Catholics in the Iberian Peninsula, the Jews sought religious freedom in the Americas. They also moved more and more west when the religious prosecution started in the Americas. That is very interesting because we know why there are Jews in New Mexico. Finally, the article “DNA study shows 20 percent of Iberian population has Jewish ancestry” shows how big of an impact the Jews have made on the Iberian Peninsula. This isn’t that surprising since they have remained in the Iberian Peninsula through all the wars, conquests, and re-conquests.
ReplyDeleteUp until the time period that we studied this week, it seemed like Jews in the Iberian Peninsula were mostly tolerated, even if they weren't fully embraced. I got the sense that they’d been in the region for so long that they were just accepted. I was surprised that after the Inquisition’s huge institutional effort to expel Muslims and Jews, such a large part of the Spanish population would have Jewish ancestry. But perhaps I shouldn’t have been, considering the number of crypto-Jews that remained in Spain. I’m really interested in how these secret Jews managed to survive while holding onto their beliefs. I wonder how many people today have Jewish traditions in their family without necessarily realizing those practices descended from the Jewish faith. I see some obvious similarities in how the Jews and Muslims were historically treated in Spain, and I think some of the animosity toward Muslims still exists. But it seems to me that the attitude toward Jews might be changing, especially considering last week last week’s article that talked about how Spain was granting citizenship to ancestors of Jews who were expelled during the Inquisition.
ReplyDeleteI found the article describing how there was a law proposed in California to eradicate Columbus Day to be very interesting. The proposed by would replace the day with a Native Americans day and change the day to a paid holiday in California, shutting down state offices. Honestly, in the politically correct world that we are living in, I'm surprised that it took this long for this bill to be proposed. Although Columbus did open up the Americas to Europe, his voyages came at an extreme cost to many of the indigenous people. In lecture, Professor Torrecilla mentioned that Columbus' voyages helped open up the new world to colonialism and trade and could be argued as the greatest single event in mankind. This however is flawed logic, as at some point in later history, other explorers would have eventually located the Americas if Columbus didn't. Columbus introduced various diseases and thought the people to be extremely barbaric. Without a doubt, the arrival of Europeans brought great suffering and massive genocide across the Americas. The fact that we celebrate such a holiday is in poor taste and lacks any indication of the understanding of complex historical events. As for Italians, the holiday may have helped to strengthen their national identity and help fight against racism in the past, but at this point in our state's and nation's history, the holiday serves as more of a reminder of injustice than cultural heritage.
ReplyDeleteThis week's lecture and readings surround the idea of identity and culture. I want to follow up with the Huffington Post article about the Bill that was proposed to remove the Columbus Holiday from California. It is clearly unethical to celebrate this man's mistakes for it is a fact that he did not land where he wanted to land. I believe it is naturally accepted to have the Native American Day to take the place of Columbus Day in order to start a shift of appreciating the history and struggle of Native Americans as they fought to assimilate and become conquered by those who came to the "New World" as it was not new at all. It had been discovered already. Recognizing Columbus has provided for a false reality as it has shaped modern history and how it is taught in the classrooms starting at a young age. I remember learning about Columbus and acknowledging Columbus for having "discovered" the Americas. I believe this bill is set in the right direction to demystify the false history and start educating America with the reality of historical events.
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