The
Arab Influence on Latin America by Nate Coddington
When
the Muslim armies sailed across the Strait of Gibraltar from Africa to attack
Spain, they travelled with an army only 10,000 strong. Their purpose was to
establish a new order, and replace the Visigoths who had dominated the
population for generations, along with the Latin Church. There was a distinct
difference between the poor and the wealthy, with opulent living for some, and
absolute poverty for others. The Jews suffered the most not even being able to
own land. The Visigoths army was almost 90,000 strong, but due to their
inability to adapt to the Muslims’ mobile warfare. They were slaughtered. The
Arabs set up a new order in Andalusia (southern Spain) with their capital in
Cordoba. The Muslims freed the slaves, lowered taxes, allowed freedom of
religion, and improved infrastructure. Spain, as a result, became far more
prosperous, and became a leading center for art, culture, architecture, and science
in Europe.[1]
As
a precursor to studying Middle Eastern History it is important to note that
even though most people think western and middle eastern culture are completely
different (and they are in many ways) that they are not as different as they might
seem. Our daily lives are affected by many technological discoveries and
inventions from the Middle East. But additionally, Muslim influence on western
extends beyond America’s borders, in this case, to Latin America.
Being
that Spain is the mother country to all of Latin America, and that Spain was
heavily influenced by its previous Muslim rulers, Latin America itself has been
influenced by Muslim Spain in many ways such as their ancestral and linguistic
history.
As
was said before, the majority of the Muslim population in Spain was in
Andalusia, which is also where the capital of Cordoba was located. Long after
the fall of Muslim Spain, when the Spanish Empire was expanding to the New
World, most of the Spanish emigrants came from Andalusia.[2]
Having studied in Chile, I was told by my history professor there that it was
the Andalusians who settled most of Chile, and that there is a lot of Arabic
ancestry in Chileans. Never before had I
connected the dots between Muslim Spain and the Muslim influence on Latin
America.
Additionally,
Muslim Spain had a profound influence on the Spanish Language. Many Spanish
words come from Arabic origin. For instance, the preposition “hasta” (English
“until”) comes from the Arabic word “hata,” which carries a similar meaning.
Other words include Spanish “ojala,” (English “hopefully”) which comes from the
Arabic phrase “wa sha allah,” which translates in English to “should God will
it.” The Spanish word “aceite” (English “oil”) comes from Arabic “az-zait.”
Still further well known Spanish words “almohada” (English “pillow”) and
Spanish “azucar” (English “sugar”) come from Arabic origin. Those are just some
of them.[3]
But
as you can see, Muslim/Middle Eastern history has had a profound effect on
western society in general, and some western societies in particular. Obviously
Muslim Spain had a huge effect on both the Spanish Empire as well as modern day
Spain. Spain additionally launched the influence of the Arabic world to the New
World.
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