Ferdinand of Aragon Quotes
Therefore, we request that you understand this text, deliberate on its contents within a reasonable time, and recognize the Church and its highest priest, the Pope, as rulers of the universe, and in their name the King and Queen of Spain as rulers of this land, allowing the religious fathers to preach our holy Faith to you. You owe compliance as a duty to the King and we in his name will receive you with love and charity, respecting your freedom and that of your wives and sons and your rights of possession and we shall not compel you to baptism unless you, informed of the Truth, wish to convert to our holy Catholic Faith as almost all your neighbors have done in other islands, in exchange for which Their Highnesses bestow many privileges and exemptions upon you. Should you fail to comply, or delay maliciously in so doing, we assure you that with the help of God we shall use force against you, declaring war upon you from all sides and with all possible means, and we shall bind you to the yoke of the Church and of Their Highnesses; we shall enslave your persons, wives and sons, sell you or dispose of you as the King sees fit; we shall seize your possessions and harm you as much as we can as disobedient and resisting vassals. And we declare you guilty of resulting deaths and injuries, exempting Their Highnesses of such guilt as well as ourselves and the gentlemen who accompany us.
Also known as Ferdinand II or Aragon. We have provided an extensive quotation from the letter. In retrospect, it is incredulous today that Ferdinand would make such demands or even would believe that the Indians would understand the terms or their consequences, the threats. Even the promises that are made were ignored because of the Indian’s “intransigence.”
Ferdinand V, 1452-1515, King of Spain, Letter to the Taino/Arawak Indians, ~1500
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Conceptually this is one of the most absurd documents in history, written by a European King to the native Indians of the new world, virtually all of whom were illiterate, knew nothing of Christianity or of European politics.
Juan Lopez de Vivero. This document was a written declaration of sovereignty and war, read by Spanish military forces to assert their sovereignty (a dominating control ) over the Americas and their peoples. He issued it on “behalf of the King, Don Fernando, and of Doña Juana I, his daughter, Queen of Castille. and León”. It was read to the native peoples of the New World in Spanish which they did not understand and then were held to it on penalty of death thereafter. It was the legal and philosophical foundation for the worst example of colonial abuse in history.
This bull, divided up the lands being “discovered” between Spain and Portugal and left Spain to conquer and colonize the New World.
While he fairly described the Spanish intentions, the reality which was not known at the time, was that most of the deaths in South America were caused by disease brought by the Spanish for which Europeans had some immunities and the natives of the New Word, none.
This decree is an example of the Catholic Church’s official response to the advent of slavery in the New World. Slavery here should be distinguished from what the Catholic Church called “just title” slavery, which approved of the practice in circumstances in which the person was deprived of their liberty justly. Specific examples have included slaves captured in war, persons condemned to slavery for a crime, and those who sold themselves into slavery. For an example of a type of “just title” slavery being legitimatized, see Nicholas V {612174}. The practice of enslaving entire ethnic groups like South American natives was, however, “never before heard of” and was immediately condemned. In many cases the line between slavery for no morally justifiable reason, i.e. racial slavery, and “just title” slavery remained unclear to Catholic laity and clergy alike.
This was a large part of the “moral” justification of conquering the New World peoples.
Marquis de Seignelay. At the time, a perfectly acceptable justification for war on a people was that they were interfering in the plan to convert the area to one particular religion, in this case, Catholicism.
Some Mexicans have always resented the U. S. for “colonizing” Arizona and other territory that once belonged to Mexico. This quotation is very revealing concerning the reality on the ground. The Apache were on the land when the Mexicans moved in to “civilize” the territory. However, the Apache, by violence, drove the Mexicans out. At that point the Mexicans were happy to sell Arizona to the Americans and the Gadsden Purchase brought Arizona to the United States as a territory. The Americans however didn’t buy the land from the Apache, the owners before the Mexicans claimed it. Many Apaches continued the violence against whoever tried to settle in the area. Eventually, the Americans accomplished what the Mexicans did not—militarily subduing the Apache.
He reversed the Spanish policy of keeping guns from the American Indians. He provided arms with the express intention that they destroy each other. This policy almost worked for the Indians of California but several Indian tribes were exterminated.
Johannis Leo de Medici. He had been a slave captured by Christians but was freed and converted by the Pope who commissioned the study. This work was the primary European resource on Africa for years. It demonstrates that Black slavery existed as an African institution for some time before the Europeans and Americans took it to a new plateau.
The contrast between the Christian piety memorializing the taking of the city and then as soon as the ceremonies were complete the pillaging and plundering, is dramatic. Religion controlled and permeated the military thoroughly at the time—even to the organization of un-Christian acts like plunder and murder of civilians.
In this case, the Pope was obeyed on the issue of slavery. However, Papal injunctions against slavery have not always had the desired effect. See {617632}
The “enemy of the human race” is the Devil, Note that the Pope labels as “allies” of the Devil those who advocate and participate in slavery. Slavery was not only immoral, but the Devil was behind it all. The fact that slavery persisted on a massive scale by Catholic countries illustrates that while the Pope was a powerful leaders and figure, even he could not influence all the “sinners.”
This is a very interesting historical and psychological hypothesis, but it is supported by very few especially English and Anglo Americans. They find it absurd that they would ever feel guilty and lawless for not following a treaty between two enemies—Spain and Portugal and formalized by the Pope whose authority they had rejected. What Lopez Tijerina refers to as “piracy” was privateering which most countries engaged in with no guilt whatsoever. There is guilt for the Anglo discrimination against the Hispanics of the new world on the part of many Anglos but it is for their past discriminatory behavior not for opposing the Spanish or the Catholic countries.
The commander complained of the brutal behavior of Bolivar and the revolutionaries, but the atrocities committed by the Spanish forces were even worse and both sides fought with techniques that had no civilized restraints.
Just like Spain and Persia, the Arabs by fighting lost not only more land, but also lost the respect of most of the non-Muslim War. The conscious decision to choose an irrational strategy that would cause loss of life, land and respect has none-the-less repeatedly been chosen by the Arab culture. much to its detriment. Azzam is one of the few Arabs to admit this to the non-Islamic World.
Ferdinand II was King of Aragon from 1479 to his death. As the husband of Queen Isabella I of Castile, he was King of Castile from 1474 to 1504 as Ferdinand V. He reigned over a dynastically unified Spain jointly with Isabella; together they are known as the Catholic Monarchs. Ferdinand is considered de facto the first king of Spain, being described as such during his own lifetime, although Castile and Aragon remained de jure two different kingdoms until the Nueva Planta decrees of 1707 to 1716.
