Post by El CastorPost by GaryPost by El CastorPost by d***@gmail.com<< A total of 82million people visited Spain in 2017, according to the Spanish Prime Minister. Pictured are tourists soaking up the sin on Barceloneta Beach >>
Soaking up the sin??? There's no wonder the tourists are pouring in.
Eugene FitzAubrey
Hey! Spain is a great country to visit! Endless beautiful castles.
Great beaches on the Costa del Sol. The Alhambra of Granada and the
Grand Mosque of Cordoba. The Cathedral of Seville with Columbus'
Casket resting on the shoulders of four bronze Spanish kings and
queens, and the best gazpacho in the world. And did I mention the
tapas and beer served in the afternoon at a sidewalk cafe?
I've never been to Spain. But when I was a kid (age 10) my parents
and I visited France. We stayed in a hotel in Alsace. When we
walked out into the country -- we saw the ruins of at least two
Medieval castles. They were so beautiful ! And majestic ! I can
well understand why the Medieval peasants were so impressed by them --
and the lords and ladies who lived in them.
The Spanish value their history, and are set on preserving it. A
beautiful country with castles and cathedrals around every corner. The
weather in the south is exactly like coastal California -- minus the
fires and mud slides. (-8
Slavery in Spain can be traced to the times of the Greeks, Phoenicians
and Romans. In the 9th century the Muslim Moorish rulers and local
Jewish merchants traded in Spanish and Eastern European Christian
slaves. Christian Spain began to trade slaves in the 15th century and
this trade reached its peak in the 16th century. The history of
Spanish enslavement of Africans began with Portuguese captains Antão
Gonçalves and Nuno Tristão in 1441. The first large group of African
slaves, made up of 235 slaves, came with Lançarote de Freitas three
years later.[6] In 1462, Portuguese slave traders began to operate in
Seville, Spain. During the 1470s, Spanish merchants began to trade
large numbers of slaves. Slaves were auctioned at market at a
Cathedral, and subsequently were transported to cities all over
Imperial Spain. This led to the spread of Moorish, African, and
Christian slavery in Spain. By the 16th century, 7.4 percent of the
population in Seville, Spain were slaves. Many historians have
concluded that Renaissance and early-modern Spain had the highest
amount of African slaves in Europe.[7]
After the discovery of the New World, the Spanish colonialists decided
to use it for commercial production and mining because of the absence
of trading networks.[8] The native Indian population was used for this
labor but they died in large numbers as a result of war, diseases,
exploitation and social disruptions.[8] Meanwhile, the need for labor
expanded, such as for the production of sugarcane.[8] The problem of
the justness of Indian slavery was a key issue for the Spanish Crown.
Bartolomé de las Casas was concerned about the fate of the natives and
argued in 1516 that white and black slaves should be imported to the
Indies to replace the Amerindians.[8] African slaves did have certain
advantages over native slaves as being resistant to European diseases
and more familiarity with agricultural techniques.[8] This preference
led to the development of the Atlantic Slave Trade.[8] It was Charles
V who gave a definite answer to this complicated and delicate matter.
To that end, on November 25, 1542, the Emperor abolished the
enslavement of natives by decree in his Leyes Nuevas New Laws. This
bill was based on the arguments given by the best Spanish theologists
and jurists who were unanimous in the condemnation of such slavery as
unjust; they declared it illegitimate and outlawed it from Americanot
just the slavery of Spaniards over Indiansbut also the type of
slavery practiced among the Indians themselves[9] The labor system of
Encomienda was also abolished in 1550.[8] However these laws did not
end the practice of slavery or forced labor immediately and a new
system of forced native Indian labor began to be used repartimiento
and mita in Peru. Eventually this system too was abolished due to
abuses.[8] By the 17th century, forced native Indian labor continued
illegally and black slave labor legally.[8]