Morisco Revolt
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The Morisco Revolt occurred in 1568. It was a rebellion by the remnants of the Spanish Christian converts from islam community in Granada against the Kingdom of Castile.
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[edit] The defeat of Muslim Spain
During the Reconquista large numbers of Spanish Muslims were forced to flee their homes in Spain and moved to North Africa or other Muslim territories. But not all left and hundreds of thousands of continued to live there as Mudéjares, especially in the area of Granada.
The Muslims who remained in Spain were promised religious tolerance, but in the early 16th c. were all forced to convert to Christianity, and became known as Moriscos.
Despite their baptism, they continued to be distrusted by the "Old Christian" population from northern Spain who considered them insincere converts and crypto-Muslims, and the Moriscos suffered increasing intolerance and persecution in the Spanish Inquisition.
[edit] The Ottoman threat
By the mid-16th century, the Ottoman Empire emerged as the dominant Muslim power and in the Mediterranean. Increasing clashes with the Castillian kings and their allies exacerbated an already tense period. Fearing that the Moriscos of Granada might aid a potential Ottoman and Barbary Muslim invasion of Spain, Philip II of Spain is said to have goaded Granada's Moriscos into an open revolt; thus giving him grounds to expel them. There was certainly discussion at the Ottoman court of armed intervention in favour of the Morisco Revolt, but in the event the Sultan preferred to take Cyprus from the Republic of Venice.
[edit] The rebellion
It is alleged that to provoke a rebellion, Phillip II broke his promises previously made in treaties made with the Muslims and issued an edict requiring Moriscos to give up their Arabic names, their traditional Moorish dress, and even prohibited the speaking of Arabic and Berber. They were also told that they would have to give up their children to be educated by Christian priests.
The increasing persecution of the remaining Morisco population of Granada, led to the outbreak of armed rebellion. The insurrection was led by Aben Humeya which took the form of guerrilla warfare against the Castillan forces in the Alpujarra mountains.
The suppression of the revolt was handled by Philip's half-brother Don Juan de Austria, the illegitimate son of Charles V - and was fought with a large number of troops from Spain and Italy who ended the revolt in 1571. During this extended revolt however, the Muslim Ottoman armies successfully invaded Cyprus in 1570 while Spanish forces destroyed the observatory in Istanbul. Don John of Austria went on from suppressing the revolt, to become famous for defeating the Ottoman fleet at the Battle of Lepanto.
[edit] The aftermath: the expulsion of the Moriscos
Following the suppression of the revolt Philip II forced the dispersal of the Morisco population of Granada to other areas. Philip II had assumed that this dispersal would weaken the links between members of the Morisco community and would facilitate their assimilation into the Christian population; instead, the measure worsened the situation. Many of the Granadine Moriscos were scattered across Castile, influencing the local Moriscos who had been become more integrated. Conflict between Moriscos and Christians increased, leading to the final expulsion of the Moriscos by Philip III in 1609.
[edit] People of the war
Among those who fought in the war there was El Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, the son of a Conquistador and an Inca princess, who became a captain.
