The “Three Centuries” as a concealment of history in Spain and the Americas.

It is, to say the least, curious that both in Spain and in Spanish America, our history has been deliberately concealed based on three centuries:

• In Spain, with regard to the Visigothic Kingdom.
• In the Americas, with regard to the era of the Spanish Monarchy.

In their respective educational systems, Spain jumps very quickly from Rome to Al-Andalus, just as the Americas jump from the Conquest to (supposed) independence.

And while the Goths did not achieve a unified kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula until well into the 6th century, the truth is that their arrival in the 5th century was already decisive, as they became the dominant group in a context that also saw the presence of Suebi, Vandals, Alans, and, not to mention, Byzantines.

Equally decisive was the fall of this kingdom in the early 8th century.

And both in Spain and in the Americas, after the breakup of the Catholic Monarchy in the early 19th century, we invented myths to make ourselves more different from one another — myths that sought supposedly idyllic Arab, Celtic, Aztec, or Inca pasts, among others.

When, in the Americas, in reality, many traditions flourished during the viceregal period — from what began to take shape in the late 16th century and was broken in the early 19th century. And even though there was a political rupture, there was none culturally, as gastronomy, literature, and music still show us the strong and everyday ties that unite us.

Both in Medieval Spain and in Modern America, those three centuries that have been taken from us are vital to understanding our history, our culture, and our identity.

There would have been no Reconquista against Islam without a Visigothic Kingdom with its capital in Toledo — a kingdom that the Christians who had taken refuge in Asturias sought to recover, even if the future would turn out differently.

And on the other hand, the America we know is the heritage of a Monarchy that, in the New World, stretched from the North Pacific to Cape Horn and eventually extended across the globe as the first globalization, creating a shared cultural environment even within its natural diversity.

Let them not rob us of our history any longer.

Let Ancient and Medieval Spain be studied in the Americas, and let the Incanate and the pre-Hispanic world in general also be studied in Spain.

Our history is rich and complex, and far from dividing us, it is part of a shared heritage expressed in a language that is perhaps the most powerful in the world.

To recognize ourselves is to know ourselves, and vice versa. It is time to make History, so that we may invest in the future, knowing our potential.

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