Washington sentinel., 1898-07-23
go X
~ SENTINEL
oauses Of spain,s DECLINE.

barbarity as Turkeys. Spain has
been invaded as often as Belgium
or Holland. Though at one time
and another in her history, at war
with nearly every nation OF Europe
and Of the American continent, she
has not fought a great nation sin
gle Except in the war
which has just started with the
United Sta:es) since Philip H., in
1888, $40 years ago, sent his irwin
chile armada to overwhelming and
inglorious defel in his attempt to
invade England This is Spain S
record in her dealings with the
Worlt' S other nations.
1t is one of the iTonies OF history
that the events which made Spain
a great European State are coinci-
dent with the occurrences which
mark the beginning Of its decline
and fall. The marriage OF Ferdl-
nand Of Aragon and Isabella of
Castillo in I469, just before either
was crowned, brought a union be-
tween these two Kingdoms when
they went TO the throne. In I4o2
Granada was annexed and Moorish
power in Spain was completely ex
tinEaisbed. In I5IzaN N7'7EEc was
added to Ferdinand S other domin-
ions, Isabella being dead at the
time. All the peninsula was now
consolidated into one State. Un.
der the rule Of harles l. (the
Charles V. OF Germany and OF his.
tory, grandson OF Ferdinand,
which extended from 1910 to 1850,
Spain was by far the most power
full nation in the world. AS En-
peror OF Germany as we'll as King
Of Spain, Charles had a larger EN-
pire in area than Alexander's,
Trajan's, Charlemagne's or Vic
soria's, for Spain at that time
claimed dominion over the greater
part OF the New World. At that
time, and IN the reign from 1880 to
1898, OF his son, Philip H., who did
not have Charles's German possess
sions, but who ruled over his
Spanish domain in Europe and
America, Spain's power was sta
tiOnary, but after his son, the i'm
beetle Philip Ill, went to the
throne in 1898, Spain's decline and
fall began.
The causes which forced Spain's
decline and fall were in operation
long before Philip III. went to the
throne. They dated back to the
days OF Ferdinand and Isabella.
Columbus's discovery, indeed, OF
America in 1892 gave the New
World to these monarch's nation,
but Spain's moral and intellectual
ObliquitIes and defects rendered
the gift valueless. The most prom
inent OF these causes were the in
QUESTION and the religious perse-
cutions and atrocities which it in
cited; the ignorance, imbecility
and barbaTty Of mCst OF Spain S
rulers, and the habit which many
OF them had to bestow power on
worthless and irresponsible favor
iteoj the crupltv. insolence and
inc apabllity OF most OF her officials
in the colonies. and the expulsion
OF MOors and Jews from Spain.
The inquisition is placed hrst on
the list because it was the melting
cause OF most Of the other vices Of
the Spanish character which have
been mentioned. A discovery, or
a pretended discovery, OF a plot
among Jews and Jewish converts
to overthrow the Government led
Ferdinand and Isabella to ask Pope
SlXtus ~. to revise and reorgan-
ize the inquisition in Spain, and
the appeal being granted, IT went
into operation in Spain in I483,
though it became a peculiarly
Spanish rather than a Papal tri-
bunal, the Spanish crown appoint
Jag its officials, selecting its work
and regulating its conduct Under
the sixteen years administration
OF lorquemada, beginning in 1888,
nine thousand people were con-
signed 70 the flames, and Deza, his
successor, continued the work,
These are the figures of Liorente,
the historian OF the inquisition, and
though recent writers say they are
exaggerated, it is certain that the
atrocities of the inquisition in
Spain, in the Netherlands during
the Spanish rule and in Spain's
colonies, were barbarous beyond
any atrocities peTpetrated by any
other strictly European nation.
The strain OF savagery in the Span
ish character which the inquisitlon
revived and developed, and which
was exemplihed by Alva, Pizarro
and COrtez on two continents. was
illustrated by Burriel in the Virgin
ius massacre IN 1873, by WeYler in
Cuba 1907, and is apparently as
active and extended to-day as it
was tour centuries ago. Canning
gave them a correct designation
when he called the Spanlards the
Turks Of Western Europe"
The third OF the causes here
mentioned for Spain's downfall
the expulsion Of the Moors-is
often overlooked by the writer's in
citing the reasons Of that nations
ruin. The Moors were the scien-
fists, the litterateurs and the skilled
mechanics and agriculturists Of
Spain. The zealots-Ferdinand,
Isabella, the Philips and others
who had freed Spain from the pres
ence Of the in6del, robbed it Of the
element which had developed and
diversified its intellectual and IN
dustrial activities, and which had
given it place among the great
nations. When the Moors were
forced out a gap was made in
Spain's social and industrial sys-