Spain: The First Globalization

The documentary sets out to reread the period that began with the reign of the Catholic Monarchs and continued with Europe reaching the American continent. Its argument is that this period shaped the later history of Spain and of the world, and that the first globalization began here. The account is built as an answer to the widespread negative story told about the Spanish empire, and it openly takes a side. That reading is contested; there are very different assessments of what colonial rule meant for indigenous peoples, and the film stands on one side of that argument. Historians and academics speak on screen, and the case is largely made in their words. The ties between Mexico, Spain and Asia hold a place of their own inside the account. The hundred and seven minutes are used to cover a wide stretch of time. José Luis López-Linares’s Spanish documentary was completed in 2021.