Las Casas’ book reported the atrocities committed by the Spanish in the American colonies, and became enormously popular in the rebelling provinces and throughout Protestant Europe. They also connected the Spanish response in the provinces to their treatment of indigenous people in the Americas, informed by Bartolomé de las Casas’ Brevísima relación de la destrucción de las Indias (“ A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies”). The Dutch resistance printed and distributed propaganda that emphasized the barbarism and violence of the Spanish Catholics. As governor of the Netherlands, he directed a brutal campaign against the riots, including executing Dutch nobles, pillaging and destroying rebel cities and massacring thousands of civilians and surrendered soldiers. Philip II sent the Duke of Alba to suppress political dissent in the region. In 1567 the Hapsburg Netherlands, long under the control of the Holy Roman Empire, revolted against the rule of King Philip II of Spain, whose aggressive counter-Reformation actions were widely unpopular in the Calvinist provinces. Its roots are in the Reformation, as the Spanish monarchy expanded its reach in Europe in the 1500s.

It is true that there is a long tradition of anti-Spanish sentiment in Northern Europe. While Hispanidad refers to this time as proof of the greatness of the Spanish Empire and its legacy, the Black Legend identifies a tradition of “Hispanophobia” that started with resentment of the empire’s success. “What other country, if you think about it, can say that it discovered a new world? That three ships embarked…with capital that was not only Spanish but also privately invested, and were able to change history forever? And, above all, what other nation continues to maintain these linguistic, historical and cultural links with almost one third of the entire world?”Ĭasado’s vision of Hispanidad - with an appreciative nod to capitalism and private enterprise - pairs with another account of Spanish history, la Leyenda Negra or the “Black Legend.” Both ideas draw from Spain’s “Golden Age” at the height of its empire around the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. I spoke with attendees at the parade, many of whom expressed a sense of attack against their national identity - ranging from internal division in Catalonia and discussions over Franco’s legacy to a general need for order and security. At the Fiesta Nacional, for example, ever-present was the emphasis on the unity of Spain, which has been threatened by the independence movement in Catalonia this year. The most visible event of the national holiday, a military parade through the north of Madrid hosted by the king and attended by politicians and government authorities, therefore comes off as a defiant, deeply conservative affirmation of what it means to be Spanish.Īs in the United States, these expressions of national fervor depend on a strong sense of victimization. Popular opposition to military intervention, for example, has remained strong since the end of the dictatorship: more than ninety percent of Spaniards opposed the invasion of Iraq, to which the country contributed troops and military intelligence. In the United States displays of militarism and zealous patriotism are more normalized than in Spain, where they are still largely conspicuous and unsettling. Hispanidad is still quite closely associated with the forty-year dictatorship of Francisco Franco that ended with his death in 1975. Casado was talking about Spain’s annual Fiesta Nacional, which brings together a number of celebrations of Spanish history and the state on October 12 th - including Columbus Day, National Armed Forces Day, Day of the Spanish Language, and the unofficial Day of Hispanidad, or Hispanic-ness. In his rousing and ambitious campaign announcement speech to Andalucía’s regional Popular Party - one of the two largest parties in Spain - leader Pablo Casado made a number of claims that, while not particularly accurate, reveal much about how nationalism works in Spain and what it has in common with American strains.

It may be a small, dark comfort to know that the United States is not alone in having a leader prone to making extreme nationalist statements. It is probably the most brilliant era, not of Spain, but of Man, together with the Roman Empire.” “Hispanidad is the most important landmark of humanity, in my opinion only comparable with Rome.

Black legend history