Untold History: Liberty and Human Dignity In the Spanish Empire - Paul Schwennesen

The AIER Standard

In this episode, Ethan sit's down with Paul Schwennesen, AIER Graduate Fellow, to discuss his research on the Spanish empire and its unlikely liberal impulses. When people think of liberty in the Western World, they typically point to the English tradition and the Scottish Enlightenment. When people think of the Spanish, they might remember them as brutal conquerors with few philosophical insights. Schwennesen's research adds an important nuance to this historical narrative, pointing out that ideas such as the rule of law, human rights, and market exchange showed themselves throughout the empire's history. Although Paul does not claim that the Spanish empire was a liberal civilization, his insight provides important facts about the reality of Spanish rule and what that might say about human nature.