In 1913 Loyot Jewish and Julian, an official from the State Department, won a literary competition organized by " The English and American Illustration " work entitled " The Black Legend and Historical Truth " . Juderías coined the phrase "Black Legend " to refer to the negative view that was abroad in Spain, the English, its history and its work in the world:
"For black legend Endemic ent environment created by you l fantastic stories about our country have come to light in almost all countries, with grotesque descriptions 
have been or whenever the English character as individuals or as a collectivity, denial, or at least the systematic ignorance of what we are fa vourable and honorable in various manifestations of culture and art, the charges at all times have been launched against Spain on the ground for it in fact exaggerated, misinterpreted or false in its entirety, and finally the assertion in apparently respectable books and true (...) that our country is, from the point of view of tolerance, culture and political progress, an unfortunate exception in the group of European nations. In short, we understand black legend, the legend of the inquisitorial Spain, ignorant, bigoted, unable to be among civilized peoples the same now as before, always ready to violent repression, the enemy of progress and innovation, or, in other words, the legend, having begun to spread in the sixteenth century, following the Reformation, has continued to be used against our since then and especially at critical moments in our national life. "(Jewish Quarter, 23-24).
It is from the book of Jewish when the term "Black Legend" serves to describe all that series of unfair accusations about the history of Spain had been pouring the rest of European nations.
If now, from a minimally objective historiography, we can talk precisely of 'Black Legend' is because it has been shown that such accusations are basically exaggerate, distort, falsify decontextualizing and political work in Spain and rulers, and particularly that relating to the time when most international power was deployed "English Monarchy" (under the reigns of Charles V and Philip II). That is why Juderías characterize the anti-English Black Legend of two main elements: the omission and exaggeration. Omission all that may favor Spain and exaggeration of what can harm it. Nevertheless, a characteristic that distinguishes the Black Legend of similar is their enormous influence and persistence over time. If we establish its origin in the sixteenth century, even today, four centuries later, its effects are felt.
A consideration of the Black Legend, highly significant, is that only Spain has a black legend and it does not, however, no nation in the Protestant area and not even the Catholic Portugal, despite having given rise to a considerable colonial empire. Why should this?
Spain and territorial policy was forged in struggle against Islam. And in their efforts to cover the territories occupied by it adopts plans and programs (ortograma) imperialists who aligned themselves with the defense of the values \u200b\u200bof the Catholic faith while they rely on politically and ideologically. Spain is becoming a "Catholic Universal Empire," an empire that would extend their language, customs, morals, religion and its institutions to the rest of the people and, especially, the newly discovered American territories. In this process Spain is forced to confront the Protestant Reformation, which is used politically and ideologically by the emerging European powers to weaken the English Monarchy in an inevitable dialectic struggle between States.
It is in this context of confrontation between Catholic Spain and Protestant powers emerging when the Protestant side generates the anti-English Black Legend, especially in England, France and the Netherlands. The great power of the Catholic English Empire in the sixteenth century generates hatred and envy and in this sense, the Black Legend is, as Alvaro de Maor, 'to both anti-Catholic and anti-English ".
The Black Legend is developed mainly on the following charges:
- The unjust expulsion of Jews and Muslims the Hispanic kingdoms.
- The fanatical persecution of heretics and dissidents by the English Inquisition.
- The companies imperial warmongers English Catholic monarchy in Europe over of the XVI and XVII (and especially under the reign of Philip II) in order to eradicate Protestantism in their territories.
- The systematic work of plunder of cultural annihilation, massacre and enslavement of indigenous peoples during the conquest of America.
All these complaints may be divided between a "black legend" European, oriented to attack the English Inquisition and Philip II (in his personal behavior and his imperial policy) and ' American black legend " intended to disparage and defame the English conquest of the New World.
While these allegations are borne, in principle, on the political aspects of Spain, that is, on its action in the world, simultaneously extending also to the social aspect: the reference to the character and customs of the English.
Moreover, the fact that between the first and most active propagandists are English national character helps give credence to such offenses.
Indeed, the pamphlets that sparked the Black Legend were prepared, curiously, by two English. The "Very Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies" (1542) written by the Dominican missionary Fray Bartolome de las Casas was instrumental in the development of the "American Black Legend ', the English on the work of extermination and plunder the New World . Moreover, "Relations" (1594) written by Antonio Pérez (former secretary of Felipe II fled to England), which accuses the King of adultery and the murder of his son, Prince Don Carlos, gave rise to the legend Philip Black II, a key element of the 'European Black Legend. "
Although the origin of the black legend must be placed in the sixteenth century, when the English Empire deployed its full potential, it will be in later centuries, in parallel with the decline and fall of the same, when it becomes widespread and more elaborate development. In this sense, the critical determinants in Spain of the eighteenth century French Enlightenment (Montesquieu, Voltaire), the exotic vision of Spain and the English have the romantic travelers of the nineteenth century (especially after the War of Independence), the employment of Black Legend makes the nascent American power in order to hide their own faults and to deprive Spain of her last overseas territories and, therefore, the assumption of the Black Legend by the English themselves from the disaster of 98.
Juderías Julian in the early twentieth century, he realizes that "fault principalis ima the formation of the Black Legend have it ourselves. The reason we have two or n is: first, because we have not studied it with interest, attention and the that foreigners love thing, (...) we had to learn in books written by extra dren and inspired, as a rule, the disdain for Spain, and, second, because we have always been lavish in unfavorable information in bitter criticism. We can not complain because of the anti-English legend . This will not disappear until we correct ourselves of these defects . " (Juderías, 27).
A century later we see with bitterness as such defects are not corrected but have further aggravated. The ideological claim of "Catholic and Imperial Spain" during the Franco period 
has made, with the advent of democracy, the Black Legend has returned to get in full swing. The association, almost reflex, including "Franco" and "English Empire" makes are recognized for all the old accusations against Spain. To anyone who is considered "progressive" the mere mention of the word Spain cause a mixture of disgust and shame so that their use will be practically restricted to times when the English sports teams participating in international competitions. In most cases, particularly those with a political connotation, is preferred to use the term "English State".
In such nonsense have managed to make good use separatist nationalism Catalan, Basque and Galician, with the great alliance of the political left, threatening to seriously threaten the unity of Spain. And is that "fault paramount" of this situation are those left (PSOE and IU) that, after the fall of the Soviet Union, have been drifting toward positions "ethical" in which intermingle viscously Ideas so dark, confused and metaphysical as 'humanity', 'Culture', 'tolerance', 'democracy' and 'Peace', suitably dressed with a good dose of "false consciousness" and "bad faith."
The great ally of the Black Legend, throughout our history, is the traditional inferiority complex of the English "which leads us to reject our own things as the vilest and Revelation of the universe and to prefer the foreign by the mere fact of being ". As stated Juderías, "recognize our faults is a virtue, but admit and not substitute the atrocities that we attribute and we believe that everything is bad, is foolish in brains that can only be disturbed by a sterile and self-defeating pessimism and a science that have failed to properly digest. " (Juderías, 19-20).
Juderías Julian is not the first to claim the work of Spain in the world against unfair criticism from abroad. He himself cites as a pioneer in the defense of Hispanic values \u200b\u200bagainst attacks from other nations, Francisco de Quevedo, who in the sixteenth century leaves unfinished a work similar to that of Jewish entitled "Spain times defended and now the novelero slander and seditious. " Others who worked in that regard, to cite only the most popular authors were Saavedra Fajardo, in the late seventeenth century, and Father José Forner Gallows in the eighteenth, Marcelino Menendez Pelayo, Juan Valera and Gumersindo Laverde century nineteenth and twentieth century and continuing the work of Jewish, Rafael Altamira, Ramón Menéndez Pidal, Claudio Sánchez Albornoz, Antonio Domínguez Ortiz, Vicens Vives, etc.
This blog but as a basic historiographical data can be found in different books and websites devoted to the Black Legend aims to provide an interpretation of the same from the point of view of the Philosophy of History "philosophical materialism" espoused by Gustavo Bueno, especially in his book "Spain compared to Europe."
The most common defense of Spain against the ravages of the Black Legend is given from Catholic religious positions, although we seem very honorable, are insufficient because of its idealistic argument based (spiritual) easily derived in "rosy legend." We opted for a defense to "heavy artillery" based mainly on the claim by the philosophical materialism of Ideas 'Empire' versus 'Humanity', 'Civilization' vs. 'cultural relativism' and 'Hispanic' vs. 'Europe'.
