ng her rapid and clashing downfall.

Christopher Columbus came to Spain from the east; he sailed westwards
from Spain and discovered--for Spain!--two vast continents.

The importance of this event for Spain is apt to be overlooked by those
who are blinded by the unexpected realization of Columbus's daring
dreams. It was as though a volcanic eruption had taken place in a virgin
soil, tossing earth and grass, layers and strata of stone, hither and
thither in utter confusion, impeding the further growth of young
plantlets and forbidding the building up of a solid national edifice.

Instead of devoting their energies to the interior organization of the
country, Spaniards turned their eyes to the New World. In exchange for
the gold and precious stones which poured into the land, they gave that
which left the country poor and weak indeed: their blood and their
lives. The bravest and most intrepid leaders crossed the seas with their
followers, and behind them sailed thousands upon thousands of hardy
adventurers and soldiers.

But the Spaniards could not colonize. They lacked those qualities of
collectivity which characterized Rome and England. The individualistic
spirit of the people caused them to go and to come as they chose without
possessing any ambition of establishing in the newly acquired
territories a home and a family; neither did the women folk
emigrate--and hence the failure of Spain as a colonizing power.

On the other hand, those who had sailed the seas to the Spanish main,
and had hoarded up a significant treasure, invariably returned, not to
Spain exactly, but to their native town or village. Upon arriving home,
their first act was to bequeath a considerable sum to the Church, so as
to ease their conscience and to assure themselves homage, respect, and
unrestrained liberty.

The effects produced by this phenomenon of individualism were manifold.
They exist even to-day, so lasting were they.

A new nobility was created--wealthy, powerful, and generally arrogant
and unscrupulous, which replaced the feudal aristocracy of the middle
ages.

Secondly, oligarchy--or better still, _caciquismo_, an individualistic
form of oligarchy--sprung up into existence, and rapidly became the bane
of modern Spain; that is, ever since the Bourbon dynasty ruled the
country's fate. As can easily be understood, this _caciquismo_ can only
flourish there where individualism is the leading characteristic of the
people.

Thirdly,