The Morisco Diaspora and the Morisco Networks across the Mediterranean

Abstract

The expulsion of the Moriscos from Habsburg Spain between 1609 and 1614 represents the largest expulsion of a minority in Europe in the early modern period, an important episode of ethnic, political and religious cleansing which affected about 300,000 forced migrants. This book studies for the first time how this group, which was affected by discrimination, religious persecution, and repression, displayed physical and spiritual resilience and prepared themselves for imminent radical measures by forming networks which helped them before, during, and after the expulsion to contact authorities in France, Italy, Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, Egypt and the Ottoman Empire in order to ask for help and to establish themselves in the news lands and form Diaspora communities which in many places have remained visible until today. Contributors are Luis F. Bernabé Pons, Hossain Bouzineb, Houssem Eddine Chachia, Mercedes García-Arenal, Catherine Infante, Tijana Krstić, Amine Oulad Lmaroudia, Bruno Pomara, Barbara Ruiz-Bejarano, Ana Struillou, and Gerard Wiegers.