Memorial to the Expulsion of Muslims, Antequera, Spain. January 2018
No hard feelings
The Muslims took the Iberian peninsula in just six years from the Visigoths (famous sackers of Rome). By 717 CE, they controlled most of what is now Spain and Portugal and stayed there for about 700 years. Of course, it was not as cut and dried as that - a LOT more history intervened. In the end, the Muslims did control most of Spain, and slowly the Spanish forces "retook" their country. By 1492 the Spanish controlled the Iberian Peninsula again and gave Muslims (and Jews) the boot. Convert or leave - it was simple. If a person refused? Auto-da-fé - burned alive. And we all thought ISIS was bad in Iraq and Syria....
The fall of Antequera in 1410 was important to the advancing Spanish army because now they could attack Granada, the last Muslim stronghold, unopposed. Antequera was at an important crossroads on both the north-south road between the sea and Madrid AND the east-west road from Seville to Granada. Today it also stands at the intersection of two new high-speed rail lines. The old citadel (Alcazaba) is now a museum and provides great views over the city and Peña de los Enamorados, a striking mountain nearby. Under the walls of the Alcazaba I found the statue pictured above.
Spain has history, good and bad. Since it used to be huge and powerful in world history, its good and bad are proportionately extreme. The "Reconquista" (retaking) of Spain is the stuff of legend, but it was also very very real. The Muslims were in Spain for 700 years and took it from the Visigoths (whom I might note were also not local people). 700 years is an incredible span of time -and then the Spanish kicked people out after that - wow! My warped sense of justice would love to see Native Americans come to the East Coast and ship everyone back to Europe and Africa - it's only been 300 years. Ridiculous, right? I am sure the Muslims in Spain felt that same ridiculousness.
What impressed me in Spain was its brutal recognition of history. Spanish history is frequently portrayed minus the nationalistic rhetoric that predominates in many other European countries. Spain was far from perfect in its past, and these days it is very sang froid about telling its history. "This is what actually happened." I liked it.
The statue above quite graphically shows people being driven out. That really happened and it was terrible because anyone being driven from their home is terrible, no matter what the context. The victors do control the telling of history, so to do so truthfully and even brutally, in spite of national legend and fiction, is a true mark of civilization.
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