Toledo
What do you think of when you hear the word “Toledo”?
First of all, it may depend on the pronunciation. People in America would pronounce it as [təˈlidoʊ] (with a short ‘i’ like in ‘hit’), while many would say [toleðo] (same quick speed but with ‘e’ as in ‘made’). Or, perhaps a even weirder one as [tolˈeːðoː] (with a long stressed dutch ‘ee’). You may try listening to the pronunciations by copying the symbols here. Male American English, Castilian Spanish, and Male Dutch are recommended as readers.
The American Toledo
It is just a hour drive away from me, a small city located on the south side of the Michigan-Ohio border, where Maumee River runs into Lake Erie. It was a disputed area between Michigan and Ohio about two hundred years ago, when Michigan was about to become a state of the US. Two states nearly went into bloody war as Michigan finally compromised to hand over Toledo to Ohio in exchange for the recognition of the Upper Peninsula.
The Original Toledo de la Mancha
Like half of the American names, Toledo of Ohio has its European Origin, Spain. From my limited history knowledge gained by playing Europa Universalis IV, Toledo was the political center of Kingdom of Castile until late 16th century when Ferdinand II brought the empire to its peak at Madrid.
The importance of the city Toledo thus explains why it is used to name cities in many American regions. Apart from Ohio, there are many other cities named after Toledo in the US and in Mexico, Uruguay…
The aristocratic family, de Toledo, is also derived from the reconquer of Toledo by the kingdom of León. One notable figure is the “Iron Duke” Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, who notoriously served as the Governor of Habsburg Netherlands during the early time of the eighty-year Dutch Revolt, which leads to our third meaning of Toledo:
The Common Virtual Learning Environment of the KU Leuven Association (since 2001)
For many students in US, let’s say Toledo it’s the Belgian counterpart of ‘Canvas’.
My experience with Toledo platform was not that perfect during those exchange days. Too many bugs drove you crazy in the lockdown era. As I mentioned, my interest in history only grew after I left the continent, so, at that time I simply thought it is a funny name pronounced with a dramatic Flemish ‘e’, even though a friend learning Linguistics from Spain mentioned a bit on the city. Thinking back, I did notice some names and locations with strong Habsburg Spanish ties in Leuven, such as schools and churches.
It may be surprising that a Flemish Institution opt to name its online platform after a name with colonial and imperial implications. Perhaps they were not as rebellious as their compatriots in the north.
Anyway, I feel happy that I may link the name Toledo with some world history and my life stories. A year ago I was planning to a trip to Toledo Ohio but decided to cancel as I thought there was nothing special to see with relatively expensive trip cost.