Status Updates From The Story of Spain

In conclusion:
I don’t think I’m a fan of Franco. He was blessed with political skills, but I gather he was anti-liberal/anti-democratic. He aligned himself with Catholicism, yet personally killed thousands of his own people. His political party, Francoism, was pro-military, while at the same time, hypocritically pro-Catholicism. Where does Catholicism agree with killing thousands of people?(not my Catholicism)

Ambiguity about Franco:
The Spanish Civil War may be considered a pre staging area for WW2, but the US ultimately befriended Franco,(who was supported by the Fascists and Nazis.). The republic was only half heartedly supported by France and the Soviet Union. The US remained neutral until WW2 broke out. Then, the US publicly befriended Franco while simultaneously declaring war on Germany and Italy? That’s confusing

Persistent theme:
The book mentions the commonplace of harems during the Islamic rule, 800(started with Egypt 3000 BC),and the idea that during the Reconquista,Catholicism abolished Islam. But, the idea of harem/brothel persisted and I suspect may have been one source of the persistence of seeming anarchism (1920). Also,noticeably, every time something “good“ takes place in Europe, Spain lags behind by 30 years?

Stretched too far?
The book discusses:colonization of Americas, Spanish Inquisition,Conflict with France,legislate morality, etc. All these elements combined to create a huge decline in Spain, at least until Ferdinand VI, 1750. My sense is that the country involved itself in too many problems. Instead of simultaneously hanging on to the colonies and fighting with France, perhaps it should have let the colonies go

Spain deserves credit:
In the beginning of the book,the author says that Spain is noticeably absent from European intellectual advances. But, I think Spain deserves credit for some navigation/shipbuilding advances Without advances in navigation/shipbuilding,the discovery 1492, might not have happened until much later. Also keep in mind: Spain, Mexico, and Brazil are in the top 20 largest economies in the world

The birth of modern Spain:
I’m up to the marriage of Ferdinand/Isabella, a huge event in the history of Spain. It seems mostly political, but did contain some sort of love. Not only did the marriage unite two important regions in Spain, but created a strong Catholic monarchy. It’s speculated that Ferdinand’s conquest of Granada created the much needed funding for Columbus’ discovery of America.