![]() Thus, from the Inquisition's point of view a person who had been baptized into the Catholic faith but was found to be secretly practicing Jewish or Muslim customs was considered to be a Catholic culpable of heresy - and punishable under the law. Legally, the inquisition only had jurisdiction over Catholics. Torture was used, but no worse than in other jurisdictions of the time. Modern studies of the actual documents of the Spanish Inquisition show that it was no more cruel and bloodthirsty than other legal systems of the time. Protestant authors who wrote on the topic in the 16th century include the English historian John Foxe who published the Book of Martyrs in 1554 and the Spanish convert Reginaldo González de Montes, author of Exposición de algunas mañas de la Santa Inquisición Española ( Exposition of some methods of the Holy Spanish Inquisition) (1567). ![]() The gross disregard for human lives allegedly characteristic of the Spanish Inquisition has been one of the main elements of the Black Legend since its origin. See also: Spanish Inquisition and Historical revision of the Inquisition This modern tradition acknowledges that the Spanish Empire was the first empire to discuss and work towards the ethical treatment of its subjects and the rights of natives, though the objectives were not always put into practice. ![]() Deriving from the Spanish example, the term "black legend" is sometimes used in a general way to describe any form of unjustified demonization of a historical person, people or sequence of events.īy the end of the 20th century, history writing turned to a more neutral depiction of the Spanish Empire, which acknowledges the positive and negative aspects of colonization without portraying the Spanish Empire as either more or less evil than other colonial empires. This "White legend" Hispanophile tradition of historiography has been associated with nationalistic politics of Spain and conservative historiography in Latin America, and with Francisco Franco's dictatorial regime. Some historians have argued that the historians trying to correct for anti-Spanish bias in the description of Spanish colonialism went too far in the opposite direction andto the degree that they created a White Legend describing Spain's history in an exaggeratedly positive way. Inside Spain, the Black Legend has also been used by regionalists of non-Castilian regions of Spain as a political weapon against the central government or Spanish nationalism. The Black Legend and the nature of Spanish colonization of the Americas, including contributions to civilization in Spain's colonies have also been discussed by Spanish writers, from Góngora's Soledades until the Generation of '98. Other examples of the Black Legend are said to be the negative portrayals of the Spanish Inquisition in historiographical and artistic depictions. For this reason the Black Legend is often described as being politically motivated in the attempt to counter the power of the Spanish Empire. This work was later reproduced by groups and nations who opposed the Spanish Empire such as the Protestant Walloons, the French Huguenots, groups in Venice, and specially the rising powers of England and the Netherlands. The writings of Bartolomé de las Casas, particularly his " Brevísima relación de la destrucción de las Indias" from 1552, has often been described as the first work to contribute to the Black Legend. The style which describes events of Spanish colonization in a more benevolent or neutral manner has sometimes been referred to as the "White legend". A more pro-Spanish historiographical school emerged as a reaction, especially within Spain, but also in the Americas. The term was coined by Julián Juderías in his 1914 book La leyenda negra y la verdad histórica ("The Black Legend and Historical Truth"). The Black Legend particularly exaggerates the extent of the activities of the Inquisition, or the treatment of American indigenous subjects in the territories of the Spanish Empire, and non- Catholics such as Protestants and Jews in its European territories. Anti-Spanish propaganda was started in the 16th century when Spain was at its height of political power, by propagandists from rival European powers, namely the Protestant countries of England and the Netherlands, as a means to morally disqualify the country and its people. The Black Legend ( Spanish: La leyenda negra) refers to a style of historical writing or propaganda that demonizes the Conquistadores and in particular the Spanish Empire in a politically motivated attempt to incite animosity against Spain. The works by de Bry are characteristic of the anti-Spanish propaganda that originated in the 16th century as a result of the strong rivalry between certain Protestant countries, and Catholic Spain. A caricature by Dutch Calvinist Jean Théodore de Bry supposedly depicting a Spaniard feeding a child to his dogs.
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