Status Updates From Puerto Rico: An Interpretiv...

“When the Europeans reached the African continent...they were neither the first foreigners nor the most cultured groups the Africans had encountered. Nor were they much more advanced economically or socially. They were, however, a highly militarized people, with an arsenal of weapons, and the determination to use them in their quest for wealth, power, and glory, even if that meant enslaving millions of Africans.”

“Muslims and Jews, who accepted the offer to convert, rather than risk eviction, could never adequately prove the religious orthodoxy demanded of them. Nor could they escape the requirements of the insidious system that requires suspicious Catholics to produce certificates of “purity of blood” (limpieza de sangre) as proof of decent from the “old Christians”.

“Over time, the society came to define its actions by many religious and military values. Military values of discourage, endurance, and honor, for instance, were often confounded with the Christian principles of compassion, caring, and generosity as the ideals to which warriors and civilians aspired.”

“After centuries of intermittent fighting the [Iberian Peninsula] was finally returned to the Christians, but the effects of the war brought about some changes in the economy and the society. The constant demand for warriors, for instance, contributed to the creation of a military culture that rewarded and elevated those who live by the sword to positions of importance in the society.”