Autobiography - The Galindo Group

Ram Galindo THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN Page 200
The 10 th and 11 th Centuries, until the Almoravid invasion in 1086-1092 (to reinforce the
Islamic occupation), had seen a lot of racial intermingling among Europeans and Moors.
European princes would give their daughters in marriage to Asian or Maghrib (North
African) Emirs to cement peace pacts, and vice-versa. Intermarriage in the lower
classes appears to have been acceptable and common also. Yet, neither Europeans
living under Moorish control, known as Mozarabes, nor Moors marrying into European
households became Asian-Maghrib in culture or religion. Most spoke Latinia or Aljamia,
as the early Spanish language was called, and Arabic. Complementing, or perhaps as
the cause of this cultural intercourse, the two powers had maintained a working
economic relationship through tributes paid by the occupied to the victor, in both
religions. Thus a semi-peaceful coexistence had been reached.
The Emirs were learned and cultured while the Europeans were barbarian. But the
occupying Moors distrusted each other and looked after their personal interests only.
During the Reconquista, most often they were unable to form strategically unified fronts
among themselves. The Christian kings, all descendents of just a few progenitor
families, slowly developed first a sense of common economic interests and later of
territorial integrity. Toward the end of the 12 th Century, echoing the Crusades to the
Holy Land, religion became the most powerful rallying cry of the Reconquista.
The Asian-Maghrib invaders never forcibly imposed their religion, preferring instead to
collect a tax for the right to worship freely. Perhaps, as they had done elsewhere, they
could have imposed Islam successfully in the early years of their occupation, before
Christianity became such a strong faith. But as a result of this freedom of religion
(although taxed), despite almost eight hundred years of Moorish occupation, Spanish
people never became Islamic. Thus when Mohammedan Caliphs twice sent large
Moslem forces (Almoravids in 1086 to 1091 and Almohads in 1148 to 1155), in northern
Spain further incursions were not taken lightly. To the contrary, the need for expansion
of territory and trade was driving policies among the northern kingdoms themselves and
each time these Moslem reinforcements appeared, they steeled the Christian’s resolve
to completely repulse the Maghrib invaders.
Following the feudalist Teutonic-Frankish tradition of ignoring primogeniture, Sancho III
“The Great,” double great-grandson of Galindo II Aznarez, who had inherited or
annexed by marriage and/or by force Castile, Aragon, Navarre and Ribagorza,
bequeathed his territories to his four male children (more than one mother) in the year
1035. Garcia, the oldest and most important, received Navarre and Pamplona, which
was the headquarters of the father. Ramiro received Aragon. Gonzalo received
Sobrarbe-Ribagorza. Ferdinand received Castile. The proper inter-family marriages
were consummated when necessary to cement these assignments. The Galindo gene
was pressed into the royal families of the four kingdoms.
Toward the end of his sons’ lives, the four kingdoms were reconsolidated into three.
Upon the assassination of Gonzalo, his surviving noblemen asked Ramiro to take
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