The “Black Legend”

by | Mar 6, 2023 | History

 

Do you think that the “Black Legend” is a fair and accurate portrayal of Spanish colonization? Why or why not? Be sure to compare the Spanish model of colonization with those of other European nations in making your argument.

 

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.


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God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

Sample Solution

The “Black Legend” is a term coined by historian Angel Losada to refer to the negative depiction of Spanish colonization in Europe. It claims that Spanish colonists were particularly cruel and oppressive towards indigenous populations, more so than other European colonial powers. Historians have argued that this narrative was primarily driven by political, religious and cultural prejudice against Spain itself. Although there are some examples of extreme cruelty by individual Spanish colonizers, it is not an accurate representation of the whole experience.

Sample Solution

The “Black Legend” is a term coined by historian Angel Losada to refer to the negative depiction of Spanish colonization in Europe. It claims that Spanish colonists were particularly cruel and oppressive towards indigenous populations, more so than other European colonial powers. Historians have argued that this narrative was primarily driven by political, religious and cultural prejudice against Spain itself. Although there are some examples of extreme cruelty by individual Spanish colonizers, it is not an accurate representation of the whole experience.

When compared to other European nations such as Britain or France, it can be seen that similar forms of oppression took place during their respective colonialism periods. For example, the practice of slavery was widespread amongst all colonial powers at varying degrees, including Spain. Furthermore, many Native Americans suffered from diseases spread unintentionally by Europeans which had devastating effects on their societies and communities alike; something experienced under both Spanish and non-Spanish rule. In addition to this, while torture and executions were used as punishment for those who opposed colonial control in some cases, these same practices were also carried out in other colonies where no Spaniards were present – again indicating a wider problem with colonialism rather than just one nation’s actions specifically.

Ultimately then while it may be true that some Spanish colonizers did exhibit extremely violent behavior towards indigenous people groups – something which should never be condoned or normalized – this does not reflect on the overall picture of colonialism as a whole or accurately portray how all Spanish settlers behaved during their time abroad; indeed if anything it serves more to illustrate how flawed any model based on unchecked power dynamics between oppressor and oppressed ultimately is regardless of where it originates from or who carries out its implementation . As such we should strive learn lessons history ensure similar mistakes made past repeated going forward create better future generations come without resorting unfair categorization particular set peoples solely because nationality race creed applies them uniting together recognize shared humanity transcend differences mend bridges divide us reclaim dignity rightfully ours stand together united fight tyranny oppressive systems continues exist society today

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