H. S. Chamberlain on Spain

[Silveira]

H.S. Chamberlain was one of the main racist theorists of the late 19th century. His ideas were very influential in the Germanic and, to a lesser extent, Anglo-Saxon world of that period. Chamberlain´s interpretation of Spanish history can also be applied to the Portuguese with much greater intensity.


from: www.hschamberlain.net/grundlagen/division2_chapter6.html


In consequence of this it is comparatively easy “to become a Jew,“ difficult, on the contrary, almost to the verge of impossibility “to become Germanic“; here as everywhere the power of the idea is supreme; but one should guard against following a true principle so far as to overlook the connection of natural phenomena. The richer the mind, the more closely and manifoldly is it connected with the substructure of a definitely formed blood. It is self-evident that in the unfolding of human qualities, the further their development has advanced, the higher must the differentiation in the physical substratum of our mental life have become, and the more and more delicate its tissues. Thus we saw in the former chapter how the noble Amorite disappeared from the world: by fusion with unrelated races his physiognomy was, as it were, wiped away, his gigantic form shrunk together, his spirit fled: the simple homo syriacus is, on the other hand, the same to-day as he was a thousand years ago and the mongrel Semite has to his perpetual contentment come out of the mixture in the crystallised form of the “Jew.“ The same has happened everywhere. What a magnificent people the Spaniards were! For centuries the West Goths were strictly forbidden to marry “Romans“ (as the rest of the inhabitants were called), whereby a feeling of race nobility was developed, which long prevented mixing even at a time when such a fusion of the population was desired and enforced by the authorities; but gradually ever deeper and deeper breaches were made in the dam, and after mingling with Iberians, with the numerous remnants of the Roman chaos of peoples, with Africans of the most various origin, with Arabs and Jews, they lost all that the Germanic people had brought with them: their military superiority, their unconditional loyalty (see Calderon!)‚ their high religious ideal, their capacity for organising, their rich artistic creative power; we see to-day what remained over, when the Germanic “blood,“ as the physical substratum, was destroyed. * Let us therefore not be in too great a hurry to assert that Germanicism does not lie in blood; it does lie in it; not in the sense that this blood guarantees Germanic sentiment and capacity, but that it makes these possible.




* Cf. Savigny‘s Geschichte des römischen Rechtes im Mittelalter, i., chaps. iii. v. This keeping of the Germanic race pure for centuries, in the midst of an inferior population, is seen not only in Spain but also in Northern Italy, where the Teutons lived under separate laws into the fourteenth century. See details below and in vol. ii. chap. ix. When criticising this book, Professor Dr. Paul Barth wrote in the Vierteljahrsschrift für wissenschaftliche Philosophie, 1901, p. 75, “Chamberlain might have gone further than he does into the influence of Semitic blood in Spain. By the addition of Semitic blood the Spaniards have become fanatical, they have carried every idea to its extreme, so that it loses all its reason and sense: religious devotion even to “cadaver-obedience“ towards their superiors, politeness which is painful, ceremonious etiquette, honour which has become the most insane sensitiveness, pride which is ridiculous grandezza, so that Spanish in popular speech among us has become almost equivalent to absurd.“

[SwordandCompass]

Silveira great find!This is a good find and one alex might take into play in his webpage!

[Silveira]

Well, most of the information and theories related to the "decline" of Spain and Portugal parroted by the extreme right derive from these sources. The "scholarship" of the Kemps and Ray Smiths of the world consists mostly in regurgitating long outdated material.

[SwordandCompass]

The person "ray smith" is diffidently billy pierce.The above paragraph shows exactly
how insane all these "nordists" and white nationalists are.They are all subversive....
The real problem is how some southern europeans wingers (in this case iberians) support these type of poeple.its an insult when i see southern european wingers support them by using there links and such.i said this once before its a slap in the face and they are all commite treason to the sovereignty of Portugal,Spain and other southern nations.

[Silveira]

The real problem is how some southern europeans wingers (in this case iberians) support these type of poeple.its an insult when i see southern european wingers support them by using there links and such.i said this once before its a slap in the face and they are all commite treason to the sovereignty of Portugal,Spain and other southern nations.

I think you are going to far by accusing these people of being "traitors", etc. They are, in my opinion, very misguided and do not realize the origin, past use and full implications of the ideologies they subscribe to. If these ideas were to be taken to their ultimate logic consequences southern European nationalities would undoubtedly suffer.

[Silveira]

I found this equally insane footnote in another chapter of the "Foundations of the 19th century":

* The Goths, who in a later age went over to Mohammedanism in great crowds, and became its noblest and most fanatical protagonists, are said to have at an earlier period adopted Judaism in great numbers, and a learned specialist of Vienna University assures me that the moral and intellectual as well as the physical superiority of the so-called “Spanish“ and “Portuguese“ Jews is to be explained rather by this rich influx of Teutonic blood than by that breeding which I have singled out to emphasise, and the importance of which he too would not incline to underestimate. Whether this view is justifiable or not may remain an open question.

OK. Iberian Jews are actually "Teutonic" Visigoths....

www.hschamberlain.net/grundlagen/division2_chapter4.html

[Melnorme]

I know there were attempts by some of the 'classical' white nationalists to divide between Ashkenazi ( 'evil Khazars!' ) and Sephardic ( 'true Israelites' ) Jews.

Here's one :

www.revilo-oliver.com/rpo/Another_Jewish_Problem.html

[Silveira]

Yes, some of these guys like to contrast the evil "mongol" Ashkenazi Khazars with the "pure semite" Sephardics. However, the theory of the above footnote, to which Chamberlain casts his doubts, states that Iberian Sephardim are in fact descendants of converted Visigoths, thus Teutonic, rather than Semites. This theory seems to emerge out of preocupation that the superior Teutonic vs. inferior Semite theory does not really explain Spain and Portugal´s decline on the world stage. Then again, the "race-mixing with Africans" theory comes into play.

[SwordandCompass]

Silveira said:

I think you are going to far by accusing these people of being "traitors", etc. They are, in my opinion, very misguided and do not realize the origin, past use and full implications of the ideologies they subscribe to. If these ideas were to be taken to their ultimate logic consequences southern European nationalities would undoubtedly suffer.

Sorry Silveira im not going to far by calling them traitors.Alot of those "misguided" as you call them are pushing 30!If they dont read or know exactly who they are supporting they are idiots and traitors! the only "ideologies" they know is saying "seig heil" they have no pride in Portuguese traditions,history and forfathers.They have no pride in iberian culture.They wish or dream of rebirthing hitler and live under subjected germanic rules.The only think i can see is they want to be accepted by others and by that they cherish and honor foreign symbols,people,and culture.while forgeting there iberian roots!

[Silveira]

Sorry Silveira im not going to far by calling them traitors.Alot of those "misguided" as you call them are pushing 30!If they dont read or know exactly who they are supporting they are idiots and traitors! the only "ideologies" they know is saying "seig heil" they have no pride in Portuguese traditions,history and forfathers.They have no pride in iberian culture.They wish or dream of rebirthing hitler and live under subjected germanic rules.The only think i can see is they want to be accepted by others and by that they cherish and honor foreign symbols,people,and culture.while forgeting there iberian roots!

I agree with what you are saying. You are referring to a tiny, insignificant group of ignorant oddballs which 99.9% of people in Portugal don´t give a damn about. Nevertheless, I wouldn´t say that they have no interest in Portugal/Portuguese culture, they are just ignorant of the true meaning of Portugal and find blind allegiance to foreign ideologies as a form of releasing their frustration.

[galvez]

The proper response is not to hate Germans or Nordics because a wannabe German by the name of H.S. Chamberlain, who believed the accomplishments of Greeks and Romans were exaggerated, wrote proto-Nordicist pieces a century or so ago and put-down the Iberians and similar groups.

The proper response would be to reflect on the fact that the Germans of today -- the people he thought to be "superior" -- are living in one of the most multiculturalist nations in the world, where race-mixing and interbreeding are at unprecedented levels.

The Germans of the early 20th-century were swayed very easily by fantasies in which they were the only humans on the planet -- the only humans -- and they could of course trample on the rights and freedoms of other European and especially non-European groups. In order to have slaughtered millions of fellow Europeans, these ideas were needed as a prerequisite. This is similar to the propaganda just before the atrocities of Abu Ghraib.

The guilt Germany bears today is not unwarranted and is not a conspiracy: it is the consequence of the dehumanization and resultant actions of it from ideologies like the one promulgated by Mr. Chamberlain. It would take brainwashing or narrow-mindedness to the extreme to believe that the vast majority of intelligent and sane Germans have been fooled into hating the actions of those who shared Mr. Chamberlain's views just a couple of generations ago.

When you come to believe that other groups are less human than yourself, you begin to treat others, consciously or subconsciously, as less human. The irony here is that at this point you begin to lose your humanity, because humanity requires that you have the capacity to be compassionate and empathetic to your fellow human beings.

[xxx]

Silveira said:

I found this equally insane footnote in another chapter of the "Foundations of the 19th century":

* The Goths, who in a later age went over to Mohammedanism in great crowds, and became its noblest and most fanatical protagonists, are said to have at an earlier period adopted Judaism in great numbers, and a learned specialist of Vienna University assures me that the moral and intellectual as well as the physical superiority of the so-called “Spanish“ and “Portuguese“ Jews is to be explained rather by this rich influx of Teutonic blood than by that breeding which I have singled out to emphasise, and the importance of which he too would not incline to underestimate. Whether this view is justifiable or not may remain an open question.


OK. Iberian Jews are actually "Teutonic" Visigoths....

www.hschamberlain.net/grundlagen/division2_chapter4.html

Silveira, it is great that you found that piece of art.

I have been long insisting in that the Visigoths went Moors all along and on different forums. This can be attested by reading any good History book about Spain, be it from an old or a new author.

It was the Visigoths who called in the Moors to support them on a rebelion, and it was them who first converted to Islam. And it was their descendents (among others who also converted) who were expelled from Spain for being ''Moors'' (i.e. Muslims).

From various sources I suspect that, where the treacherous people who called in the Moors, the party of the family of Witiza, were more pure Visigoths, those who fought on the side of King D. Rodrigo were a mixture of Hispano-Romans (i.e. romanized Celtiberians) and more civilized (romanized) Visigoths. In fact some authors suggest that the conflict between the party of D. Rodrigo and that of the Witiza family may have much to do with this fact.

It is also worth to notice that the Visigoths never got to set full domain in the area of Cantabria, as the population was overtly hostile to them in that mountainous region, just as with the Romans (there was never a full domain by the Romans, but their presence was limited to borders military garrisons much as in the borders with Germania). As such, they had to appoint a local chief as dux (later 'duque') to avoid trouble. Notice that Asturias, the region where the process of Reconquista 'officially' started, together with modern Cantabria, are the area we are talking about now. That means that the Visigoths would have never retreated to such an area, and would have most probably considered the Moslems as a better option than to have their heads chopped off by those highly hostile peoples.

So much for the Visigoths reconquering Spain. The Whimpigoths! ;D

[xxx]

galvez said:

The proper response is not to hate Germans or Nordics because [...]

[...] When you come to believe that other groups are less human than yourself, you begin to treat others, consciously or subconsciously, as less human. The irony here is that at this point you begin to lose your humanity, because humanity requires that you have the capacity to be compassionate and empathetic to your fellow human beings.

I much prefer to go out there and chop off a few nordic heads. Only when I grow old and tired of it I'll retire to a monastery and join you to discuss the bounties of forgiveness and compassion and if they actually belong to the species of human beings.

Utinam vulgus nordicus unam cervicem haberet! ;D

[Silveira]

So much for the Visigoths reconquering Spain. The Whimpigoths!

The Visigoths imbued very little of their original (Germanic/Northern) culture into the total Spanish cultural matrix because they were already very Romanized when they arrived in the peninsula and within a few generations they had absorbed the Hispano-Roman culture and customs to such an extent that, for all practical purposes, they ceased to exist as a separate ethnic entity in Spain. It was only in the 19th century that Germanic race theorists such as Chamberlain, trying desperately to find a "Germanic" origin for the achievements of an otherwise very un-Germanic part of the world (the peninsula) which acquired a relatively advanced degree of civilization more precociously than northern Europe, felt the need to exagerate the importance of the Visigoths in Spanish history. This is comparable to methods used by modern Afrocentric "scholars" who tend to "grab onto straws" and are compelled to exagerate insignificant details in order to "prove" that black Africans contributed significantly to the civilizations of Egypt, Greece, etc.

What is even more hilarious is the theory that Portuguese and Spanish Jews, many of whom incidentally gained positions of importance in the northern European countries to which they fled at a time when these nations began to dominate the world stage from the 17th century onwards, are actually of remote Visigothic descent, and hence superior to the "mogrelized" Catholic Spaniards.

[Silveira]

To its credit, the site about H.S. Chamberlain carries a very good refutation of Chamberlain´s appropriately titled "Foundations of the 19th Century" written by a Frank H. Hankins.

www.hschamberlain.net/hankins/racialbasis01.html