Advice to Isabella I of Spain that mirrors today's politics
From Franco to banking: the advice given to Isabella I of Castile in 1492 reveals today's polarization.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Advising Isabella I of Castile: the past as a political weapon
What would you tell Queen Isabella if you could travel back to 1492? The question, posed online, has drawn answers ranging from the crudest anachronism to outright racism. Every comment reveals more about today's obsessions than about the fifteenth century.
Suggestions of an alliance with Franco or support for the Republic show how history becomes an ideological battleground. Those who recommend not marrying her daughter into the Habsburgs display a revisionism that ignores accomplished facts. At the extreme, openly racist advice appears, urging the avoidance of mixed marriage and the expulsion of populations.
Against the political rawness, a practical proposal emerges: that she create a bank, imitating the English. An idea which, had she trinc it, might have changed Spain's financial history.
In short, the "what advice would you give" exercise ends up being a self-portrait of the person opining. If Isabella lifted her head, the sensible thing would be to first ask what year it is.
What would you tell Queen Isabella if you could travel back to 1492? The question, posed online, has drawn answers ranging from the crudest anachronism to outright racism. Every comment reveals more about today's obsessions than about the fifteenth century.
Suggestions of an alliance with Franco or support for the Republic show how history becomes an ideological battleground. Those who recommend not marrying her daughter into the Habsburgs display a revisionism that ignores accomplished facts. At the extreme, openly racist advice appears, urging the avoidance of mixed marriage and the expulsion of populations.
Against the political rawness, a practical proposal emerges: that she create a bank, imitating the English. An idea which, had she trinc it, might have changed Spain's financial history.
In short, the "what advice would you give" exercise ends up being a self-portrait of the person opining. If Isabella lifted her head, the sensible thing would be to first ask what year it is.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (35 replies).
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