Do you recall what Boabdil’s mother said to him?
Boabdil, or Muhammed XII of Granada, was the last Moorish ruler of Granada and as other parts of the Moorish empire in Spain fell to the Castilleans only Granada was left in 1491. Boabdil had to cede the city to Ferdinand and Isobella but was allowed to omit the indignity of kissing the hands of Los Reyes in his capitulation (thanks to the insistence of his indomitable mother, Aixa).
But Aixa was no softy: as her son paused to look back at the Alhambra (with its Blue Rock Thrushes) from the rocky outcrop known as the Moor’s Sigh, and was moved to tears, she said ‘Do not weep like a woman for what you could not defend like a man’.
Thanks Mum!
But she has a point. Whenever we love something, like biodiversity perhaps, we should be prepared to defend it and not just mourn its loss when we could have done more.
How history does repeat itself. After Ferdinand and Isabella took Granada they allowed the Moors to remain in the area of Granada Province and integrate with the catholic population. Later along came the Inquisition amongst others, overturned that ruling and began to harass, murder and throw out the Muslims and anyone else not committed to the Christian religion. Diversity does seem to be an issue at present with very powerful people being prepared to overturn improvements made in the past and that applies to biodiversity as well.
Do you recall what Boabdil’s mother said to him?
Put that down, you don’t know where it’s been? If you pick at it then it’ll no be getting any better? Would you shut up, I’ve got a headache?
I’m just playing the odds here, but I bet she said one of those to him. Everyone’s mum has said that to them at some point.
It is also suggested, I am not sure if it is right, that the Alhambra was constructed in a show of defiance in adversity; they knew the were losing but wanted to show unlimited resources in order to put off the enemy. So then on loss of biodiversity….
So why are we fighting as individuals and not one!