Medieval History Report: Reviewing Racism and Europe's Creation

This report reviews Ana Monteiro-Ferreira's article, "The Creation and Concept of Europe and the Ideological Germs of Racism." The article explores the historical impact of the Crusades and Reconquista on the formation of Europe and the development of racist ideologies. It examines the influence of the Roman Catholic Church and the treatment of African slaves in Spain and Portugal. The review highlights the article's discussion of slavery, feudalism, and the similarities in the foundation of Portugal and the United States concerning the enslavement of African people. The report concludes that the article offers valuable insights into the impact of slavery on European societies during the medieval period and its role in shaping modern nations. The article's discussion of the historical context provides a comprehensive understanding of the role of slavery and its impact on European societies during the medieval period.

Running head: MEDIEVAL HISTORY
Medieval History
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1MEDIEVAL HISTORY
Introduction
The aim of this paper os to review the article named ‘The Creation and Concept of
Europe and the Ideological Germs of Racism’ by Ana Monteiro-Ferreira. The article was
published in the year 2018 (Monteiro-Ferreira, 2018). This article has dealt with the issue like
the crusades and Reconquista. The European history will be discussed as per the information of
this article through reviewing it properly.
Review of the article
The contact between Portugal and Africa in the medieval period of the European history
and its outcomes has been discussed widely in this article. According to the author, the two
countries Portugal and Spain had been built as per the needs of the European Churches and
spread the message of Christianity all over the continent. The main purpose had been to rebuild
the Christian Kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula of that time (Monteiro-Ferreira, 2018). The
developments in the Mediterranean basin were immense. All the sections in the society like the
knowledge, culture, commerce and civilizations had evolved in this time a lot. As the main
purpose of every power was to gain the leadership they took the path of religion through
Christendom. The description of the prowess of the Western Roman Empire has been depicted in
great many ways by the author (Monteiro-Ferreira, 2018).
The concepts of racism in the unified state of Portugal and Spain have been displayed
here as well regarding the treating the African people as their slaves. The roots of racism have
been found in the article through the discussion on the relationship between the African slaves
and the Spanish and Portuguese civilizations in Europe (Monteiro-Ferreira, 2018). The
description of the Holy Crusades and its influence on the contemporary Europe has been widely

2MEDIEVAL HISTORY
discussed. The military expeditions in the different Christian kingdoms of the Western Europe
supported by the Roman Catholic Churches had gained prolific success and the Christian power
had been successful in regaining the Holy Land of Jerusalem from the grasp of the Muslim
powers (Monteiro-Ferreira, 2018). The issues within the society regarding feudalism have also
been highlighted in this article. In this article, the author has gone through about the issues
regarding slavocracy.
The author has compared the foundation of Portugal and crating the nation of United
States of America in terms of African slaves. The similarities have been found in the foundation
of both the states indeed (Monteiro-Ferreira, 2018). The impact of slavery of the black skinned
African people has been a major fact for the discussion. The fact of slavery has been the main
topic of discussion in this article. The situation of slaves before and after the 16th century was so
pathetic and they were being tortured in an inhumane manner. Thus the condition of slavery has
been focused on in this article.
Conclusion
On a concluding note, it can be said that the article by Ana Monteiro-Ferreira has been
much enthralling for the understanding of the impact of slavery on the European societies in the
medieval period. The slavery had been practiced in the regions to create the countries like
Portugal and USA. This article can be considered as an effective document to know about the
situations of that time.

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References
Monteiro-Ferreira, A. (2018). The Creation and Concept of Europe and the Ideological Germs of
Racism. Journal of Pan African Studies, 11(8), 46-64.