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There is a great deal of attachment to one's ethnic group where a person will blend their sense of self with their ethnicity to the point where they feel actions committed by the group reflect on them. When the actions are good there is a sense of pride. When the actions are bad... um... it's explained away instead of an honest assessment made. In other words, people like to think the dark side of human nature only applies to others.
I will do the very rare honest assessment of what I argue are negative events for Spaniards.
- How the Amerindians and SSA slaves were treated was obviously horrible. It's irrelevant that people in the 16th century think very differently than we do today. There was already an understanding that what was happening was fucked up. There were already voices being raised and that although officially Amerindians couldn't be slaves (eventual government order) they lived pretty much like slaves. It's one thing to sign off on an order and it's another to be able to enforce it thousands of miles across an ocean.
It's fucked up. Although I would totally have slaves anyway but I'd be chill about it unless I get some back talk. I just can't accept back talk.
- The Rif Wars
There is something to be said about conscripting convicted felons into the army. The Spanish Foreign Legion (modeled after the French Foreign Legion) was mostly made up of Spaniards with shady backgrounds who would butcher entire villages if one of their bros got sniped at. They were led by a psychopath(a Galician, actually Millan-Astray) and Franco(another Galician) was his second in command. Sociopaths under strict discipline make for efficient soldiers... and they're efficient cuz they're cold blooded. They enjoy killing. If you want to look into the mind of a sociopath with a license to kill you should look at Chris Kyle's book; it's, um, very different from the movie about his life. The guy was a sociopath. Anyway, they butchered entire villages if someone sniped at them. They would put the blame on the nearest village and... that was the end of those folk.
I'll keep adding stuff as it comes to me.
Feel free to add your own.
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