Notes on Spanish History: Conversos, Moriscos, and the Fall of Granada

End Ottoman expansion: A strategic goal for Spain.
Improve reputation: Boosting the rulers' image with the Pope and other European rulers.
Distract feuding nobles: Unifying Castile by diverting attention from internal conflicts.
Stability: Achieved after Isabella and Ferdinand's marriage (Aragon + Castile).
Religious war: Catholics vs. Muslims, encouraged by the Pope to unite people.
Santa Hermandad: Contributed to the war effort.
Territorial expansion: Increasing the monarch's territory.
Economic motives: Granada's fertile land and control of Mediterranean trade.
Defense: Protecting against the Ottoman Empire.

Minority protection: Protected the rights of Muslims.
No intrusion: Christians were prohibited from entering Muslim houses without consent or insulting them.
Land preservation: Muslims retained their lands.
Freedom of movement: Muslims were allowed to leave or travel to Africa.
Freedom of religion: Mosques and religious endowments remained intact.
Prevent rebellions: A measure to ensure peace.

Population: Approximately 300,000, with a significant Muslim population.
Jews: Around 3,000, working as physicians, merchants, interpreters, and rulers. They had protected status (Dhimmi) under Muslim emirs, led by the nagid, who collected taxes and reported to the Nasrid dynasty. They were required to wear marks to distinguish them as Jews. Many fled after harsh massacres in 1391 in the Balearic Islands, Seville, and Catalonia.
Christians: Living in Muslim-populated areas, mostly Mozarabs who had converted to Islam. Not happy with Dhimmi status, Jews had offered safe passage to other Christian lands. Christians remaining were mostly merchants from Genoa, Spain.

Military superiority:
- 13,000 horsemen.
- 40,000 foot soldiers.
- Support from gentry, vassals, and Hermandad soldiers.
- Artillery: 200 cannons used in sieges from 1487-1491.
Finance:
- Cruzada Tax: From the Pope starting in 1485.
- 10% church revenues.
- $800 \text{ million (maravedis) from 1484-1492}$
- Santa Hermandad grants: $300 \text{ million from 1482-1490}$
- Loans from grandees, townsmen, and Mesta (sheep owners): $315 \text{ million maravedis in 1489}$
- Jewish tax: $58 \text{ million from 1482-1491}$
Internal fighting in Nasrid Family:
- Boabdil was captured in 1483 and released, then took Granada.
- Captured at the siege of Loja in 1486.
- Intercepted army sent by Al-Zagal to relieve the siege of Malaga in 1487.
- Family rivalry between Abu 1-Hasan Ali, Muhammad Al-Zagal, and Muhammad XII (Boabdil).
- Boabdil rebelled against his father, splitting the kingdom in two.

Before 1492:
- Allowed to practice their religion, culture, and language.
- Lived in Aljamas (Muslim communities).
- Christian rulers saw them as economically productive.
- Permitted to worship freely with some restrictions.
- The Treaty of Granada (1491) included tolerance of their rights.
- Significant populations in Aragon and Valencia, engaged in agriculture and craftsmanship.
After 1492 (Forced Conversion + Persecution):
- 1492: Fall of Granada; the Treaty of Granada initially guaranteed religious freedom for Muslims.
- 1499-1502: Forced conversions began under Cardinal Francisco's campaign in Granada.
- 1502: Muslims in Castile ordered to convert or leave; Islam became illegal.
- Moriscos: Converted Muslims who practiced Islam in secret, monitored by the Inquisition.
- Expulsion: After a decade of increasing suspicion, Moriscos were expelled from Spain (1609-1614).

Options: Jews were given the option to convert to Christianity or face expulsion.
- Around 200,000 Jews converted due to the Alhambra Decree and the Inquisition.
- 40,000 to 100,000 Jews left Castile.
- Around 50,000 Jews left permanently.

Established Paymasters (Pagadores): To ensure soldiers were paid.
Isabella: Organized military units to be paid from local town revenues.
Ferdinand: Responsible for military achievements; his success relied on Isabella's support.

Ovan Falwa (1504): Proclamation requiring Muslims to perform outward signs of being Christian (eating pork, drinking wine); relaxation of laws on ritual ablutions and Zakat (giving to the poor).
Crypto-Islam: Pretending to be Christian but secretly practicing Islam.
"Limpieza de Sangre" (Purity of Blood): Statute of Purity of Blood. Salamanca 1482 extended to religious orders, universities, and the Cathedral of Seville from 1515, excluding those of Conversos and Morisco blood; however, it was not part of the law initially. It was tolerant under Talavera, Archbishop of Granada, and Lopez de Mendoza, Count of Tendilla, following the Granada Treaty.
Cardinal Cisneros: From 1499, less tolerant. He carried out forced baptisms, and burned Arabic books (October 1501).
Revolt in the Alpujarras Mountains (1500).
Inquisition Moved to Granada: 12 February 1502.
Further Persecution (1526): Based on clothing and jewelry.

Before 1492:
- Lived in Spain for a long time, working in medicine, finance, and as jewelers.
- Tolerated and protected by monarchs; given Dhimmi status by emirs.
- Served as tax collectors and court advisors; many converted.
- Conversos were judged by both Christians and Jews.
After 1492:
- Alhambra Decree (1492): Many converted but still practiced Judaism in secret.
- Inquisition tried and executed Crypto-Jews who were tortured.
- "Limpieza de Sangre": Laws discriminating against anyone with Jewish ancestors.

Began in 1478: Order came from the Church, but monarchs requested it.
Target: Primarily aimed at Conversos, suspected of being fake Christians still practicing Jewish traditions.
Tomas de Torquemada: A strict Dominican monk of the Tribunal of the Holy Office, appointed in 1483 to uphold Catholic religious orthodoxy. He burned around 2,000 people as an inquisitor.