black legend

English - English

Definition of black legend in English English dictionary

The anti-Hispanic Black Legend (Spanish: Leyenda Negra) is the depiction of Spain and Spaniards as bloodthirsty and cruel, greedy and fanatical with the intention of defaming the country of Spain and its inhabitants. The term was later extended to include all Hispanics and their countries of origin, in particular the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America, as well as persons residing in the United States of America of Spanish or Spanish-speaking Latin American descent

Stories from the Spanish colonies in the Americas that led to the general belief, eagerly endorsed by such rivals as Britain and Holland, that Spain exceeded other nations in cruelty to its subject populations. The 16th-century historians Bartolomé de Las Casas and Garcilaso de la Vega documented the treatment of the Indians in New Spain (Mexico and Guatemala) and Peru, respectively, and laid the foundation for the legend. Though Spain may not actually have surpassed other colonial powers in cruelty, the Spanish conquest clearly reduced the numbers of indigenous peoples rapidly and caused them great suffering

Hyphenation

black leg·end

Turkish pronunciation

bläk lecınd

Pronunciation

/ˈblak ˈleʤənd/ /ˈblæk ˈlɛʤənd/

Etymology

() The term was coined by Julián Juderías in his 1914 book La leyenda negra y la verdad histórica (The Black Legend and Historical Truth).