Black Legend - White Legend

White Legend

The term "White Legend" refers to a counter narrative to the black legend that depicts Spanish colonial history in an idealized way as enlightened and benevolent, minimizing any negative consequences of Spanish colonialism and denying any oppression against minorities in medieaval Spain. In spite of being actively promoted by members from every side of the political spectrum, these narratives are often seen as being associated with mainly with the dictatorial regime of Francisco Franco, which associated itself with the imperial past that was depicted in thoroughly positive terms. But also American historians of the 19th and 20th centuries, such as John Fiske and Lewis Hanke, have been described as going too far towards idealizing Spanish history in their attempts to counter the Black legend.