⚔️ Why is the Reconquista not just a "Conquista" (conquest) ?

Reconquista Episode I

The term Reconquista is a heavyweight when we think about Spanish History. But... what is it? Where does it come from? What does it imply?

This is the first episode of a series I will make in this newsletter about the Reconquista. Subscribe to not miss the following ones.

Direct translation

First of all, let's start by its translation to English. Reconquista means re-conquest in Spanish. This is a key aspect of this historical process, as there is a debate on whether it was a conquest or a re-conquest.

What is the term referring to in Spanish History?

The Reconquista is defined by the Spanish Language Royal Academy (RAE in Spanish) as the recovery of the Hispanic territory invaded by Muslims in the year 711 AD, which finishes in 1492 with the conquest of Granada by the Christians.

The Triumph of the Holy Cross in the battle of las Navas de Tolosa, by Marceliano Santa María Sedano - Museo Nacional del Prado

As you read Spain's official definition, you can tell that this refers to the Christians recovering the territory from the Muslims. But... why are they recovering it instead of just conquering it?

The Prelude

In 711, a Muslim army invaded the Visigothic Kingdom that ruled over modern day Spain at the time. This kingdom, headquartered in Toledo, was Christian. It was a Christian Monarchy, which fell apart after the Battle of Guadalete in 711 AD against the Muslims who entered from the South of the Iberian Peninsula.

Asturias, the region in Northern Spain where the Reconquista started

What happened with the Visigoths?

As "Spain" was invaded from bottom to top, the Muslim invasion didn't manage to cover the whole territory. There were some regions in the North of the Peninsula where the difficult terrain and weather made the invasion impossible for the Muslim army, which came from Africa.

The Reconquista

It was in these regions in Northern Spain where the Reconquista started, as this last resistance of Christians in the North was the group who started conquering the territory back. I say back because it's believed that these Christians were Visigoths. And there is evidence that shows that when the Christians conquered some Spanish cities centuries later from the Muslims, they said they restored them.

Legendary Hero of Medieval Spain

There were many heroes in the Reconquista, as it's a process that lasted over 700 years. It finished with the famous Catholic Kings of Spain, who right after conquering Granada funded Christopher Columbus' first trip to America in 1492.

But the initiation of this is attributed to Don Pelayo, often referred to as the first King of Asturias. His army won the Battle of Covadonga in Asturias, and this is the event that traditionally marks the beginning of the Reconquista.

But we will talk about this figure in depth in another episode, as well as other events that happened in this 7-century-long historic process.

Church of Covadonga in Asturias, commemorating the battle of Don Pelayo

The debate

There is some debate in Spain on whether this is true, or if Don Pelayo is a fictional character. Some people argue that Reconquista is a term that was created centuries later as an ideological weapon. There is evidence of Christians considering they restored their kingdom in the Middle Age. However, they didn't call it Reconquista, so the term itself is actually of new creation. About Don Pelayo, we will speak in another episode.

Still, all opinions are always welcomed and probably none of them will ever be 100% accurate as we are discussing facts that happened centuries ago. Maybe in the future we get more evidence for any of the theories, as Toledo's Visigothic Old Town is believed to still be buried underground!

See you soon!

I hope you enjoyed this explanation of the term Reconquista and understand it better when I refer to it in the future. I will talk more about this topic soon!

Miguel
Author of History of Spain & Flavours of Spain