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Comment by elnatro | Hacker News Reader

I find it hard to believe that there would be no cultural heritage after ~700 years.

What I think you want to say is that the "identity" of modern Spain and Portugal has been shaped and defined by its opposition to the moor/muslim/north-african identity.

I do disagree with your last sentence, a lot of Portuguese are proud of their north-african connections. Most families come from "newly-christians" after all (and you gotta blame Spain's Phillips for that one).

I'd really like to know how you reach the conclusion of "most families" when we are talking about two ethno-religious minorities, that allegedly were victims of indiscriminate killings, and mass deportations to the Low Lands, North Africa and to the Americas, but end up leaving a gigantic genetic footprint.

At least be coherent.

It's easy to know who comes from a "newly-christian" family in Portugal. Their surnames are those of trees or animals.

I know this cause I'm one, and I'm Portuguese.

>Their surnames are those of trees or animals.

Not every Pereira or Coelho is descendent of new Christians. Some sure, but definitely not all.

I have to admit that I included Portugal without giving it much thought.

I was honestly mostly thinking about Spain and added Portugal assuming they would be the same from the perspective of identity. I stand corrected.

Granada was dominated by the Moors for 700 years. The rest of the Spain (and Portugal) wasn’t.

Later Medieval-era Spanish identity was anti-Moor but not always was the case. Keep in mind that the country of Spain did not exit until the 1500s.

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