Did the Spanish conquerors smell bad? The myth that endures in America

An obsession in all the historical fictions that represent Spaniards and, in general, Christians of the Middle Ages or the beginning of the Modern Age is to paint them with dirty clothes and eternally stained faces. This myth about the lack of hygiene of Christians has a chapter of its own around the Spanish conquerors who went to America. If in Europe what is done is to exalt Muslim habits over Christians, on the other side of the pond the argument is the same but between conquerors and indigenous people. Some smell dirty and others like roses, according to a popular belief still in force in Latin America. The writer Álber Vázquez, who has just published the novel ‘Pizarro and the conquest of the Inca Empire’ (The Sphere of Books) and has already dealt with the period in books such as ‘Vasco Núñez de Balboa’ and ‘The advanced Juan de Oñate’, A few days ago, he sowed controversy on social networks arguing that yes, indeed, the conquerors after journeys that lasted months and walks through the jungle and rough territories ended up smelling of lightning. «The Spanish conquerors smell bad, just like the Roman legionnaires, the Mexica warriors or the soldiers of Genghis Khan smelled bad. The Russians who are waging war on the Ukrainian front smell bad. Throughout history, smelling bad has been normal, habitual, everyday, and more so in military campaigns. It smelled bad because there was no other way to smell. If they take away our running water and deodorants, in forty-eight hours we stink,” Vázquez tells ABC. Related News standard No Marcelo Gullo: “Before Spain arrived, cannibalism and brutalizing machismo reigned in America” ​​César Cervera The Argentine professor publishes ‘Nothing to ask for forgiveness for’ (Espasa) to dismantle the current lies about the Spanish past No The specialist Consuelo Sanz de Bremond Lloret thinks the same, who from her Twitter account and her blogs Clothing and customs in Spain (from the Middle Ages to the 18th century) and Stories for curious minds dedicates herself daily to demystifying deeply rooted topics about this period. Her opinion is that even in adverse situations there have been formulas to maintain hygiene whatever the time: «I have not found any data to confirm this myth. We know that body odor varies for different reasons. To name a few: food, clothing fibers and hygiene products. For now, the hygienic conditions on a ship should not have been the most optimal, but there is evidence that there was water so that people could wash their faces and hands, that there was bleach and soap to wash clothes and that cleaning was done ship, with buckets of water that were completed by rubbing the surface with aromatic herbs and disinfectants. As for the crew, they had to shave once a week and comb their hair every day to remove parasites. They had to wash their feet using vinegar, as well as their heads to remove lice. They had at least two shirts (this garment had to be changed twice a week), two pairs of sailor pants or zaragüelles, and woolen garments. The clothes that went directly on the skin were made of vegetable fiber, so they were easier to wash and dry. Linen and cotton absorb sweat, are antibacterial and protect the skin. The other garments were shaken and brushed with bristle brushes. Hygiene methods in the conquest At the time of the conquerors, there is still evidence of the existence of public baths in the main Christian cities, medieval recipe books for cleaning the body and removing stains from clothing. The only certainty in this image of a society that, to today’s eyes, could seem careless, is that at the beginning of the 16th century new hygiene regulations appeared in Christian Europe in view of the belief that bacteria entered through the pores of the skin. infections. Hence, doctors momentarily discouraged hot or steam baths, without this being an obstacle for even ordinary people, of course kings and nobles, to perform an exhaustive and daily cleaning of the different parts of their body through method dry as was the rubbing of the garments. «In the expeditions by land, the conquerors carried their supplies and weapons, and the porters everything necessary to live, from clothing to food. Of course, after a ride you end up sweaty and covered in dust. Although the first conquerors wore shirts, woolen garments and armor, wearing shoes or boots, they would soon adapt to hot and humid places, so they would use linen or cotton garments, along with the jacket and espadrilles. The lack of clean water in some of the expeditions would be a problem, as Bernal Díaz del Castillo tells us, in ‘True History of the Conquest of New Spain’, that after finding ‘good water’ they got fed up with it to drink and wash cloths or when they got to a fountain they stopped ‘to wash and eat from the misery that we had experienced'”, explains Sanz de Bremond Lloret, who is about to publish a book with the historian Javier Traité where he reflects on the smells of the Middle Ages. Death of the tlatoani Moctezuma Xocoyotzi. ABC Those who defend the idea that European habits were dirtier than the indigenous ones usually use as evidence the fact that the leader Moctezuma was, according to the chroniclers, subjected to several daily baths and was obsessed with the hygiene of his subjects . The chroniclers mention with surprise that Mexica women bathed regularly. However, it is not possible to elevate the customs of a part of an indigenous people to the category of rule of the entire continent. Those same chroniclers also speak of the excess of blood, viscera and dismembered bodies in the streets of some towns that practiced human sacrifice. That couldn’t be very hygienic… other stories in history news No Putin’s cruel historical lie with which he justifies his war against the West news No Marcelo Gullo: «Before Spain arrived, cannibalism and stultifying machismo reigned in America » «The dichotomy between smelly Spaniards and perfumed indigenous people is absurd, false and mythological and is not present in the sources. It was built by the supporters of the good savage, of unscientific indigenism, of the pre-Hispanic Eden. This malicious myth must be combated, to the extent that myths can be combated: we can provide evidence that such a dichotomy lacks scientific rigor, but someone enlightened will always come out who will tell us that his particular and unfounded opinion is on the same level and deserves the same respect as the considered analysis of history”, explains Álber Vázquez , who emphasizes that the indigenous peoples that the Spaniards encountered did not smell better than these: “At least, not their troops, their warriors, the men who gave the physical battle to the conquerors».