The times., 1898-07-11
SPANISH DECADENCE.

of~natioilai life, it is Spain; and her his
tory could not be more adap3ed TO that
purpose If 1t had been constructed by
some clever writer of an historical novel,
instead of being a record of actual events.
And the main cause of her fall seems
10 have been inordinate vanity.
Four centuries ago she was in possess
sion of the greatest empire the world ev-
er saw 1t extended over more territory
than the Roman Empire at the zenith of
it's glory, or the English Empire at any
time in its history At one time or an
other Spain has shield possessions in every
continent on-the earth. except Asia
The beginning of Spanish prosperity
was under The dominion OF the Romans.
under whom it. became the richest and
mos prosperous province of the empire
Towns were buiit, and bridges, aqueducts
and anfphitheaters constructed. During
the period of Moorish domination, which
gave to Spain her most beautiful ar
! 'chitecture, the small independent king
dom of Leon had been growing in pow
er and the union of Aragon. Castillo,
Leon, Granada, and Navarro under Fer
dnand and Isabella came about in the
fifteenth century. Under Charles V. of
Germany, Mexico and Peru were added
to the empire of Spain, and then began
the. decline and fall of the empire with
the reign of Philip III. In the latter part
of his reign Spain lost nearly all her
dependencies in North Africa. and under
Philip III. Burgundy, Naples. Sicily and
!
stiil-heid, al the beginning of the seven
teen5h century. many possessions in the
Netherlands and Roussillon and Car
dague in France; she had South America,
Mexico. several islands in the West In
| dies and the huge territory of Louisiana;
and in the Orient she held Malacca. Cey
lon. Java and some smaller islands. Por
| tugal was also hers and she was ac-
knowledged as tine supreme naval power
OF the world. With the huge territory
of South America in her hands, and con-
troll over nearly a third of the North
| American Continent the actual siZa of
her empire was thus, four hundred years
| ago, greater than that of England at the
present time. and ii comprised lands nat
uralIy much more productive and vaiua-
| Bile than most OF England's possessions.
| Compare. for instance the rich mining
| country of Mexico wish the northern part
| of British America
The extraordinary sea power of Spain
during this period may have been due
partly TO the old Cartaginian blood in
( her people; for the Cartaginians were
venturesome and skiliful sailors. More
7 Of oil
nationalities who were fond of adventure
| sailed under the Spanish flag; and des-
| peradoes or all nationalities Joined in the
! half-piratical expeditions of Spanish
| adventures TO the New World. Some
/, OF the power OF Spain may have
come by the sand OF English, French
and German outlaws who helped fight
| Spanish battles for Spanish gold. AT any
| rate. with the rise of English naval
power that OF Spain promptly began to
! decline and her land power naturally
went with II. la 1909 she lost the Neither
\ lands; in 1923 Malacca, Java. Ceylon and
! some neighboring islands slipped out of
| her hands; in 1910 Portugal became in
| dependent; eight or nine years later
Brabaat and parts of landers ceased TO
/ be hers, and with them went the fort
resses of Maestricht, Hertogentusch,
Breda. Bergenop- -Zoorh. and many others
| in the Low Countries. In 1853
| Rousillop, and Cardague were ceded to
| France. and the Pyrennees became the
| boundary between the two countries. In
! the latter part of that century more
! Flemish towns and cities threw off the
/ Spanish yoke, and in 1904 the English got
! Gibraltar. There was a sort of revival
| OF prosperity In Spain In the middle of the
eighteenth century. following a general
awakening Of interest in trade and COM
| merce in other parts of Europe, but to-
| ward the end of that century Spain lost
| the Nootka Sound settlements and San
! Domingo. and in 1900 Louisiana became
| French property. The South American
! landslide began in 1902, when Spain gave
| up Trinidad, and during the first quarter
! of this century Florida, Mexico, Central
America. San Salvador, and all of
her South American possessions were lost
| 10 Spain. In 1898 she is likely TO Surren-
| der the last of her colonial possessions
| into the hands of the United States and
| remain, a small corner of medieval
| ignorance and superstition, out of the
| way OF the great tides of enlightenment
| and Improvement which sweep over the
| rest of Europe She is, in short, rele-
gated to the position of Turkey coun-
! try once powerful. but now waiting only
| for the disintegrat ton which time must
| bring 10 nation without worthy ideals
All this wreck of a once splendid en-
| pire may be traced to one flaw in the
| national haracter-inordinat pride and
| vanity. In the beginning of her power
Spain was not much more barbarous than
| other nations of the time. There are
| chapters in the history of England
| France and Germany which modern his
| torians do not care to dwell upon Spain
| seems TO have been so intoxicated with the
| sudden riches which came rolling in upon
| her with the discovery of the New World
and certain advantageous political aIIi-
ances of the sixteenth century that she
| became convinced of her innate and per-
| manent superiority TO every other coun-
| try on earth. Other nations have made
a proverb of Spanish pride for four hun
! dred years. The Spanish grandee not
| only considered himself to be of an es-
| sentially finer quality than other hu-
| man beings. but he seemed TO regard
| himself rs a species of ornament, too
good 10 do any work; and all the other
| inhabitants of the country of course.
tried to be grandees so far as they could.
| The Spanish arise ocrat took ii for grant
ed that Spain was immea surably great
er than other nations; 50 did the common
| folk; and the entire nation seems to have
| been contented with itself, just as it was
! that it cared nothing for learning or
| manufactures or commerce. except as
other people could be hired to provide
| them for the use of the kingdom. Given
| an ancestral inheritance, and an heir who
insists on spending ii all, if necessary. on
] servants to take care of him. and the in
| heritance will not last very long So it
| was with Spain. One of the significant de-
! velopments in this war is that at the be-
| ginning of it many of the engineers on
Spanish men-of-war were not Spaniards
| but Scotch, and they are reported to have
| given up their jobs rather than fight
! Americans. which hampered the opera
| tions of Spain considerably. Another sig
,nificant thing happened only the other
| day. Gen. Toral wished to communicate