Morisco

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Morisco (Spanish "Moor-like") or mourisco (Portuguese) is a term referring to the Muslims of Spain and Portugal, who were forcibly converted into New Christians in the Spanish Inquisition. The term was also used to describe those who had converted pro forma, but were still secretly practicing their own faith. Converted Jews, or conversos, who similarly held to their faith in secret were referred to as marranos.^[1]

Contents 1 History 2 In literature 3 Extended meaning 4 Morisco descendants and Spanish citizenship 5 See also 6 External links 7 Further reading 8 Sources 9 References

[edit] History

From the late 1400s to the early 1600s Spanish Muslims were given the choice to either convert from Islam to Catholicism or leave Iberia. Those that converted became known as Moriscos. But even conversion did not stop their persecution, and the Moriscos were expelled by the decree of 1610 from Spain to North Africa after being persecuted by the Spanish Inquisition.

Prior to their forced conversions, the Moriscos were known as Mudéjars, and were allowed to practice Islam among Christians with certain restrictions.

The exact status of Mudéjars depended on the capitulation pacts and later royal decrees. After the fall of the city of Granada in 1492, the Muslim population was promised religious freedom by the Treaty of Granada, but that promise was short-lived. When conversion efforts on the part of Granada's first archbishop, Hernando de Talavera, brought little fruit, Cardinal Cisneros took more forceful measures, burning Arabic texts and staging prosecutions of Granada's Muslim converts from Christianity. In response to these and other violations of the Treaty's guarantees, Granada's Muslim population rebelled in 1499. The revolt, which lasted until early 1501, gave the Spanish authorities a pretext to void the rights and obligations in the surrender treaty. In 1501, Granada's Muslims were given an ultimatum to either convert to Christianity or emigrate. The majority converted, but only superficially, continuing to dress and speak as they had before and to secretly practice Islam and use the aljamiado writing system, i.e., Castilian or Aragonese texts in Arabic writing with scattered Arabic expressions. In 1502, however, the forced conversion was extended to the Mudéjars of Castile and Leon and in 1508, authorities banned traditional fashion. The Mudéjars of Navarre had to convert by 1515 and those of Aragon by 1525.

More restrictive legislation was introduced in 1526 and 1527 under Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.

Moriscos could buy a 40-year suspension of the laws, but in 1567, Philip II of Spain issued an edict requiring Moriscos to give up their Muslim names, their traditional Muslim dress, and even prohibited the speaking of Arabic. They were even told that they would have to give up their children to be educated by Christian priests. This led to another uprising in the Alpujarras from 1568 to 1571, resulting in the forced resettlement of the Moriscos of Granada upon its defeat - especially to the kingdom of Valencia. Only a few Moriscos, who had collaborated with the royal forces, were permitted to remain in the city and territory of Granada. The relocation affected not only the Arabized Granadines but also the Moriscos of Castile, quite assimilated by that time.

Despite all that, the Moriscos continued to be industrious and prosperous, and were the subject of envy from the Christian peasants. Moriscos were suspected of being in contact with the Turkish Empire and the Barbary pirates, conspiring against Spain. Aragonese and Valencian nobles, who appreciated them as cheap, hard workers, tried to protect them from expulsion, advocating patience and religious instruction. The Morisco workers were especially important in the agriculture of Valencia and Murcia.

Towards the end of the 16th Century, Morisco writers sought to challenge the perception of their culture as alien to Spain, with literary works purporting to present a version of early Spanish history in which Arabic-speaking Spaniards played a positive role. Chief among these is Miguel de Luna's Verdadera historia del rey don Rodrigo (c. 1545-1615).

The Moriscos were ultimately expelled from Spain between 1609 (Castile) and 1614 (rest of Spain), by Philip III, at the instigation of the Duke of Lerma. Estimates have varied on the number of expelled although contemporary accounts set the number at around 300,000 (about 4% of the Spanish population), a majority of which were expelled from the Crown of Aragon (modern day Aragon, Catalonia and Valencia). ^[3] Some historians have blamed the subsequent crisis of the Spanish Mediterranean on the replacement of Morisco workers by Christian newcomers, who were fewer and less familiar with the local techniques.

Adult Moriscos were assumed to be covert Muslims (i.e. crypto-muslims), but the arrangements for expulsion of their children presented Catholic Spain with a dilemma, as they had all been compulsorily baptized, and consequently could not legally be transported to Muslim lands. Some authorities proposed that children would be forcibly separated from their parents, but sheer numbers showed this to be impractical. Consequently, the official destination of the expellees was generally stated to be France (more specifically Marseille); but, after the assassination of Henry IV in 1610 few or none actually settled there. Those Moriscos who wished to remain Catholic (about 3,000) were generally able to find new homes in Italy (especially Livorno) but the overwhelming majority settled in Muslim lands, either within the Ottoman Empire or Morocco.

Some communities fought as corsairs based at Algiers,Cherchell and Salé, against Christians , and some Morisco mercenaries (in the service of the Moroccan sultan) armed with European-style guns, crossed the Sahara and conquered Timbuktu and the Niger Curve in 1591, and it is recorded that a Morisco worked as military advisor for Sultan Al-Ashraf Tumanbay II of Egypt (the last Egyptian Mamluk Sultan) during his struggle against Ottoman invasion of Egypt in 1517 led by Sultan Selim I, Morisco military advisor asked Sultan Tomanbey to use guns instead of depending mainly on cavalries.

An indeterminate number of Moriscos managed to remain in Spain, camouflaged among the Christian population, deciding to remain mainly for economic reasons. It is estimated that, in the kingdom of Granada alone, between 10,000 and 15,000 Moriscos remained after the general expulsion of 1609. ^[4] It has been suggested that the Mercheros (also Quinquis), a group of nomadic tinkerers traditionally based in the northern half of Spain, may have their origin from vagrant Moriscos.

[edit] In literature

Miguel de Cervantes' writings, such as Don Quixote and Conversation of the Two Dogs, offer interesting views of Moriscos and put them in a favorable light. In the first part of Don Quixote (before the expulsion), a Morisco translates a found document containing the Arabic "history" that Cervantes is merely "publishing". In the second part, after the expulsion, Ricote is a Morisco and a good mate of Sancho Panza. He cares more about money than religion, and left for Germany, from where he returned as a false pilgrim to unbury his treasure. He however admits the righteousness of their expulsion. His daughter María Félix is brought to Berbery but suffers since she is a sincere Christian.

[edit] Extended meaning

In historical studies of minoritisation, Morisco is sometimes applied to other historical crypto-Muslims, in places such as Norman Sicily, 9th century Crete, and other areas along the medieval Christian-Muslim frontier.

In the racial classification of colonial Spanish America, morisco was used for a certain combination of European and African ancestry.

[edit] Morisco descendants and Spanish citizenship

In October 2006, the Andalusian Parliament asked the three parliamentary groups that form the majority to support an amendment that would grant Morisco descendants facilities in access to Spanish citizenship. The proposal was originally made by IULV-CA, the Andalusian branch of the United Left.^[5] Spanish Civil Code Art. 22.1, in its current form, provides facilities to nationals of several countries historically linked with Spain and Sephardic Jews.^[6]

This measure could benefit about five million Moroccan citizens, who are considered to be descendants of Moriscos. It could also benefit an indeterminate number of people in Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania, Libya, Egypt and Turkey. ^[7]

This decision was a consequence of calls by some Spanish and Moroccan historians and academics since 1992 demanding similar treatment for Moriscos and Sephardic Jews. The bid was welcomed by Mansur Escudero, the chairman of Islamic Council of Spain. ^[8]

[edit] See also

• Aben Humeya
• Al-Andalus
• Aljamiado
• Almogavars
• Andalusian Arabic
• Conversos
• Crypto-Islam
• Crypto-Jews
• Hispano-Moresque ware
• Marranos
• Moors
• Morisco Revolt
• Mozarabs
• Mozarabic language
• Mudéjar
• Muladi
• Philip III of Spain
• Reconquista
• Renegade

[edit] External links

• A web site is dedicated to the research and study of the Moriscos - Moriscos.org
• Detailed article by Professor Vincent Barletta
• 1911 Encyclopedia
• The expulsion of Muslims from Spain by Professor Roger Boase
• Columbia Encyclopedia
• Aljamiado-morisco manuscripts
• Treaty of Granada
• Moriscos culture influence in Morocco. Study in Spanish with Arabic translation

[edit] Further reading

• Chejne, Anwar G. (1983). Islam and the West: The Moriscos, a Cultural and Social History. SUNY Press, pp. 250. ISBN 0-87395-603-6.  (read the book)
• Harvey, L. P. Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005.
• Perry, M. E. The Handless Maiden: Moriscos and the Politics of Religion in Early Modern Spain. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2005.

[edit] Sources

• Moriscos of Spain: Their Conversion and Expulsion, by H. C. Lea, (London 1901)

[edit] References