The Camino Across Spain that Changed American History

John was a forty-something married man in Boston with four kids. When his employer asked him to make a second business trip to Paris in two years, John and his wife agreed that he should take his 12 year old son with him this time because the son was intellectually gifted and would benefit greatly from the experience. Midway across the Atlantic Ocean on their journey, they experienced an emergency and had to make an unplanned stop in Spain. After landing, John decided to play it safe and travel by land. They arrived late, but safely.

That unremarkable sounding journey was actually a crucial point in American history because:

• The year was 1779 and the father was John Adams, a Founding Father of the United States and second President of the United States. Adams was on a mission to gain support from European powers for the United States of America in its fight for independence against Great Britain.
• The son was John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States.?
• Their ship they were on developed a leak in the middle of the ocean and barely made it to the closest port in north-west Spain.
• The land route the Adams took for a large part of the journey?was the centuries old religious pilgrimage trail called the Camino de Santiago. They took a mule train from the end of that trail in Santiago de Compostela to Bilbao, Spain, where they caught ships for the rest of their journey. Along the way, they saw pilgrims walking to (or returning from) the shrine to the apostle, St. James.?

Had the ship sunk, two future US Presidents would have gone with it, certainly changing American history.

Beyond that, the journey across Spain made an indelible impression on both future Presidents. In particular, getting such a long and thorough experience of a country where a church intertwined with and dominated a government probably shaped their opinions about the importance of the separation of church and state. Both recorded many of their impressions in their diaries, which can be found online at The Massachusetts Historical Society. Here are some of the biggest quotes from John Adams, the father:

• About the Origins of the Camino de Santiago - “Mr. Lagoanere told Us, that the Original of the affair of St. Iago, was this. A Shepherd saw a bright Light there in the night. Afterwards it was revealed to an Archbishop, that St. James was buried there. This laid the foundation of a Church, and they have built an Altar, on the Spot, where the Shepherd saw the Light... Upon the Supposition that this is the Place of the Sepulture of St. James, there are great Numbers of Pilgrims who visit it every Year from France, Spain, Italy and other Parts of Europe, many of them on foot….”?
• What Happens When A Central Church Dominates Government - “I see nothing but Signs of Poverty and Misery, among the People. A fertile Country, not half cultivated, People ragged and dirty, and the Houses universally nothing but Mire, Smoke, Fleas and Lice. Nothing appears rich but the Churches, nobody fat, but the Clergy. The Roads, the worst without Exception that ever were passed, in a Country where it would be easy to make them very good. No Simptoms of Commerce, or even of internal Trafic, no Appearance of Manufactures or Industry…But there is no Appearance of Commerce, Manufactures or Industry. The Houses are low, built of brick and Mud and Pebble stones from the fields. No Market worth notice. Nothing looks either rich or chearfull but the Churches and Churchmen. …? The Villages are all built of Mud and Straw. They have no Timber nor Wood nor Stone. The Villages all appear going to decay. Every Village has Churches and Convents enough in it, to ruin it, and the whole Country round about it, even if they had nothing to pay to the King or the Landlord. But all three together, Church, State and Nobility, exhaust the People to such a degree, I have no Idea of the Possibility of deaper Wretchedness.”
• On Having a Respectful Space with Religion - "It was the day of the Feast of the King, and We happened to be at the Celebration of high Mass. We saw the Procession, of the Bishop and of all the Canons, in rich Habits of Silk, Velvet, Silver and Gold. The Bishop, as he turned the Corners of the Church, spread out his Hand to the People, who all prostrated themselves on their Knees as he passed. Our Guide told Us, We must do the same, but I contented myself with a Bow..."
• On the Physical Hardship on the Trail - “It is five and Twenty Years that I have been, almost constantly, journeying and voyaging, and I have often undergone severe Tryals, great Hardships, cold, wet, heat, fatigue, bad rest, want of sleep, bad nourishment, &c. &c. &c. But I never experienced any Thing like this journey. -- Every Individual Person in Company has a great Cold. We go along barking, and sneezing and coughing, as if We were fitter for an Hospital than for Travellers, on the Road… The Children are sick, and in short my Patience was never so near being exhausted as at Present."

In summary, the Adams’ journey across Spain offers a few leadership lessons:

• Nothing beats slow travel (e.g., hiking) as a way to learn about a country. Both Adams gained many insights by moving beyond the fancy meals and receptions and mixing with everyday people.
• Taking a child on a work experience can make a huge positive impression on them. Just make sure you have all the logistics figured out.?
• Journaling is a powerful way to synthesize and record your lessons learned from your experiences. Both Adams’ diaries from their Spain experiences can still be read at the Massachusetts Historical Society website.

These days, hundreds of thousands of hikers still walk the Camino de Santiago trails across Spain to Santiago de Compostela. It can be just as life-changing for pilgrims today as it was for the Adams.

About the Author of this Article: Victor Prince is the #1 executive coach for financial services executives. He is also author of The Camino Way: Lessons in Leadership from a Walk Across Spain (HarperCollins/AMACOM, 2015) and other leadership books. He also is a corporate trainer who helps organizations build leadership, strategy, communications, and critical thinking skills .

Copyright 2024 Victor Prince