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the-proleteriat-collective · 2 years

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Extremadura, homeland of the first white colonizers of the American continents

In the hilltop town of Trujillo, above the sunburnt plain of Extremadura, there stands a statue of a man who changed the course of history. Francisco Pizarro was born here, the illegitimate son of a Castilian soldier. Five hundred years ago, he left to seek his fortune in the New World. With fewer than 200 troops and a few dozen dogs and horses, he conquered the vast empire of the Incas. The Spanish colonisation of South America had begun.

Francisco Pizarro wasn't Trujillo's only conquistador. His three half brothers were all born here, and followed him to the New World, as did their neighbour Francisco de Orellana, the first European to map the Amazon. So, what made this town such a rich breeding ground for soldiers and adventurers?

Well, Trujillo has always been a tough old place. "Its inhabitants normally survive on pillage and trickery," wrote El Idrisi, an Arab traveller, in the 14th century – and pillage and trickery were what the Pizarros did best. They sent back shiploads of plundered gold and filled their home town with flamboyant mansions. Francisco was murdered in South America (serves him right), still searching for El Dorado, and Trujillo sank back into obscurity. Half a millennium later, the town that his riches built remains.

It used to take seven hours to drive the 250km from Madrid to Trujillo. Now the trip takes under three, along a modern motorway which has opened up a part of Spain that was once way off the tourist trail. Driving through Extremadura – still the poorest, most sparsely populated part of Spain – you begin to understand why it produced so many conquistadors. Baking hot in summer and bitterly cold in winter, it's a hard land that breeds hard people with little to lose. A place where widows still wear black, and some houses still have no running water.

Cortés, scourge of the Aztecs, also came from Extremadura, and the view of his homeland hasn't changed much since he set off to conquer Mexico. Stunted oaks and olive trees provide the only cover in this harsh terrain. But although it sounds bleak, this dramatic landscape has a barren beauty. Far from the crowded beach resorts, this is Spain's unspoilt heartland. It's popular with hunters and birdwatchers, rather than sunbathers or sightseers. You feel like a real traveller here, not just another Brit abroad.

Without much work or money, Extremadurans have always been emigrants, but now the human traffic is starting to move the other way. Centuries of hardship have saved its historic towns from modernisation, and nowadays it attracts weekend visitors from Madrid. Trujillo's gold rush left it with a wealth of Renaissance architecture, and some of its finest buildings have been converted into holiday apartments and hotels. I stayed at Trujillo Villas, a cluster of robust granite houses built within the castle walls. The foundations are Roman; much of the masonry is medieval. From the battlements, you look out across dusty meadows, towards the Portuguese frontier. Birds of prey hover, the only sound is the wind, humming in the lemon trees. It's hard to believe Madrid is just hours away.

#colonization #white supremacy #whiteness #white people #latin america

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the-proleteriat-collective · 2 years

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