1492: Year of Liberation

Since history works on the basis of precedents and Britain is a country whose legal system is based on precedent, let’s remember 1492 that was a significant year in the history of the Western World. By 1492, two Spanish kingdoms, the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon were united by the marriage of Fernando of Aragon and Isabel of Castile. It was a momentous event that led to the expulsion of the Moors (Muslims) from Continental Europe.

I constantly remind readers about the words of the Spanish thinker José Antonio Primo de Rivera who said “By the Force of Reason or by the Reason of Force”. Freedom that cannot be peacefully achieved must be achieved by the Force of the Spear.

The stories about the Campeador or el Cid (name given to him by the Muslim invaders), one of the Spanish noblemen that led the wars to throw Islam out of Spain,  are legendary and Rodrigo Díaz de Bivar was celebrated even by Hollywood with Charlton Heston being one of the most remarkable actors that played the role of the Cid.

1492 was also the year in which a man born in Genoa, the land of my ancestors and one the states that make up today’s Italy, got the support of the Spanish Crown to carry out the exploration that led to the discovery of the so called New World. Cristoforo Colombo – Cristobal Colón in the Spanish version of the name – led the way and what we know as America was named after Americo Vespucci, another Italian born in Firenze (Florence) who, like Cristoforo Colombo, went to Spain and was then known as Américo Vespucio.

Free Man and Strength of the Spear – it was no coincidence that my parents of Italian and Spanish descent named me Carlos Gerardo (Karl Gerhardt – Karl meaning Free Man and Gerhardt meaning  Strength of the Spear), both names of Germanic origin that combined with Italian and Spanish inheritance sum up the traditions of the Crusaders.

The so called greatness of Islamic Culture was none of the sort. In actual fact, it was created by Greek and Indian heritage without which there would not have been any so called ‘greatness of Islamic Culture’. Once Greek and Indian elements were taken out of the equation, so called Islamic Civilization collapsed producing the backwards countries of today. The few exceptions to the rule are not exceptions are all because they have been produced with Western technology, Western money and Western Ideas.