The Spanish Empire closely followed the voyages of the Portuguese, sent Columbus to discover the New World, and sent Magellan to complete the first human voyage around the earth, becoming a maritime hegemon in one fell swoop. A large number of supplies and gold poured into Spain, and the Spanish capital became the center of the world. However, in order to stabilize their position, the Spanish aristocrats did not want to see the development of commercial and industrial forces threatening them, so they drove away the foreign industrial and commercial entrepreneurs, and they held a lot of money and did not invest in the industry and commerce of their own countries. of various luxuries. As a result, the wealth harvested from the New World was squandered in large quantities, and wealth poured in like water, and then poured out like water. In the end, except for the extravagant social atmosphere, nothing was left, and it was difficult for ordinary people to even obtain basic clothing, food, housing and transportation. Spain, a generation of world hegemons has finally fallen.
From the film, you can deeply feel this deep-rooted oppression and inequality. The protagonist, Alatriste, saved the life of the Spanish Archduke on the battlefield, and thus was reused, but the Archduke told him: "Even on the battlefield, we are not equal, and God did not want us to be equal". Alatriste saved the British prince, what did he get? Alatriste and his comrades bleed on the battlefield, in exchange for military pay that could not be paid for months, what kind of rags the hero was wearing, and what the nobles were wearing. Facing the woman he loves, Alatriste proposes marriage with the jewelry exchanged for the necklace given by the king, but he is blocked by the nobles at the door. When he is brave, he defeats the opponent with one enemy and two, but the king walks away from the house of the beloved woman. Come out, Alatriste is doomed to lose. The beloved woman was infected with syphilis from the king. In the sanatorium, Alatriste put jewelry on her neck, kissed her and told her "I should have married you", what kind of loneliness he felt in his heart. Alatriste's adopted son fell in love with a noble girl since childhood. When the girl was appointed to marry the Grand Duke of Spain, for love, the girl offered to run away with him, but on the way to the appointment, she whispered in her ear "You will be the Grand Duke, Your descendants will be archdukes", yes. If she eloped, she would be a commoner, and her descendants would be oppressed by nobles from generation to generation. How could she exchange her happiness for the eternal misery of her descendants?
In the end, the Spanish spear phalanx, which had won countless battles, was defeated by the enemy, and the proud Spanish mercenaries fought to the end, and their courage and dignity were amazing. But what is a hero for? Even the bravest heroes could not change the fate of Spain. A great civilization will not be easily destroyed by foreign enemies, only by waiting for it to rot from within.
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