Monday, September 26, 2011

Accidental Conquerors

The Spanish are referred to “accidental conquerors” because of their geography and history. First, their geography put them ahead of the game because of their proximity to the Fertile Crescent. They were raised growing up close to where civilization because, so there for they became more civilized before many other countries did. Because they were more civilized, they were more educated and better equipped to conquer under civilized countries. Their geography also helped them because their land runs east to west. The climate does not change from east to west, so if information, people, or ideas could spread throughout the territory without going through different day length, climate zone, and vegetation. Their history also helped them be conquerors because they had experience. They had already been in war for over 700 years. Because of that, they already had fighting skills and the powerful tools to use. Take the sword for example. They had been using swords throughout all the wars they had been in, so as time goes by, they would want to evolve their weapons to make them bigger and better. Over the years they started to make their swords lighter and more playable, but it was still as deadly as it was before. The main reason that the Europeans are referred to as “accidental conquerors” is because they were in the right place at the right time. They were at the right place because they were close to the Fertile Crescent and their territory ran along the lines of latitude, so ideas could spread easily. They were born at the right time because they grew up while the weapons used for war were constantly being evolved.