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Post by legacyofthesword on Sept 20, 2020 2:28:37 GMT
Was recently watching a YouTube video (which happened to be about gun culture in the U.S., so to avoid politics I'll refrain from posting a link). The video claimed that one reason for the failure of Spain to colonize North America (at least, with any degree of success resembling Central and South America) was the fact that Spanish citizens weren't allowed to own firearms (and I assume other weapons, given the rarity of firearms in the era). Hence, Spanish colonists had to rely on the protection of the military. And given the nomadic and decentralized lifestyle of many of the Native American tribes the Spanish were in conflict with in North America, it was very difficult for the Spanish military to permanently conquer the tribes the same way they did the huge civilizations in Central and South America.
Any truth to this theory? I did a lot of Googling, but couldn't find anything about 16th century Spanish weapons laws.
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Post by treeslicer on Sept 20, 2020 3:53:08 GMT
Was recently watching a YouTube video (which happened to be about gun culture in the U.S., so to avoid politics I'll refrain from posting a link). The video claimed that one reason for the failure of Spain to colonize North America (at least, with any degree of success resembling Central and South America) was the fact that Spanish citizens weren't allowed to own firearms (and I assume other weapons, given the rarity of firearms in the era). Hence, Spanish colonists had to rely on the protection of the military. And given the nomadic and decentralized lifestyle of many of the Native American tribes the Spanish were in conflict with in North America, it was very difficult for the Spanish military to permanently conquer the tribes the same way they did the huge civilizations in Central and South America. Any truth to this theory? I did a lot of Googling, but couldn't find anything about 16th century Spanish weapons laws. Yes, its true. It didn't become general until the 1600's. The policy was continued by some post-colonial governments. I know for a fact it left the colonists in Mexico helpless to resist marauding Yaquis, Apaches, and Comanches throughout the 1700's, and after the end of Spanish control, as late as the 1840's, as described by George Frederick Ruxton, who saw the results during his epic journey across Mexico on the eve of the Mexican War. Large parts of northern Mexico were sparsely populated because of the Indian threat. Ruxton was allowed to carry his own weapons under a permit, and it made him rather popular as a traveling companion.
There's an article on Mexican gun laws at Wikipedia which is at variance with what I've said above, dating restrictions in Mexico to the early 1800's, but the discrepancy is likely due to ignoring that Spanish noblemen were allowed arms, but commoners (and peasants in particular) weren't. The Spanish legal tradition has always treated arms as a granted privilege, rather than a right. The various Mexican constitutions have waffled back and forth on the issue.
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Post by legacyofthesword on Sept 20, 2020 18:12:04 GMT
Very interesting, thanks for the reply.
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