ESPAÑA (La Expulsión de los Moriscos) - Documental
Este documental nos cuenta quiénes eran los moriscos, cúal era su organización, las zonas en las que estaban asentados, costumbres y hábitos; y cómo fue posible realizar una expulsión de cerca de 300 mil personas a diferentes puntos del Magreb.
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00:00The soldiers advance over the crowd, which takes refuge in some steep cliffs.
00:06The fugitives throw millstones.
00:09They shoot old musketons.
00:11They face the troop that annihilates them with their chest uncovered.
00:16Some women commit suicide by throwing themselves with their children in their arms.
00:21The victory is clear, forceful, a massacre.
00:25The survivors are dragged to the sea.
00:29On the coasts, the boats pick up those who are going to be expelled.
00:33Strangely, the beaches are full of people as if it were a party.
00:38The elderly are taken in arms to the boats.
00:41Some scream with joy to go to the promised land, thus abandoning a country that pursues and condemns them.
00:47Others cry what they leave behind, the land of the dead.
00:52Rumors spread.
00:54It is said that the boats are not safe, that the captains throw the passengers into the sea.
01:00They have been robbed along the way.
01:03They rob them on the beach.
01:05They rob them on the boats.
01:07They claim that on the coasts in front of them, greater evils await them,
01:11that nomadic tribes from North Africa attack them, assault them, rape them and kill them.
01:17They say it is the punishment for their sins.
01:31But what have all these people done to suffer this unusual series of punishments?
01:37What have they done to be torn from their homes?
01:42This is the chronicle that explains the keys to an expulsion of several hundreds of thousands of people
01:48that took place from 1609 to 1614 throughout the peninsular territory.
01:54The expulsion of the Moriscos.
01:57The expulsion of the Moriscos.
02:00The expulsion of the Moriscos.
02:03The expulsion of the Moriscos.
02:06The expulsion of the Moriscos.
02:09The expulsion of the Moriscos.
02:16But who were the Moriscos?
02:19Did they come from a distant territory?
02:21Was it a minority group?
02:23Or, on the contrary, did they make up the majority of the population?
02:27The Moriscos were descendants of the inhabitants of Al-Andalus,
02:41a territory of the Iberian Peninsula that was under Muslim rule between 711 and 1492.
02:50In this period, many ancient Christians adopted the Arabic language and became the Muslim religion.
02:59The Moriscos, at the time of their expulsion,
03:02we can say that there are 350,000, around this number,
03:08maybe a little more, a little less.
03:10And they are divided into, fundamentally, three important groups.
03:17The Valencians, which are around 120,000, 130,000,
03:23and they represent a third of the population of the former Kingdom of Valencia.
03:28Then the Aragonese, which are around 70,000 people,
03:38and they represent 20, 25% of the population of Aragon.
03:45And the Castilians, very scattered,
03:48in almost all the territories of the Crown of Castile,
03:53that is, from the Cantabrian to Andalusia.
03:57But in the north there are very few.
04:00Galicia, Asturias, the Basque Country, they don't know them.
04:04But further south, yes, they are important.
04:07There are cities like Ávila, which have a fairly important Moriscan presence,
04:13and so all the cities of Old Castile, of New Castile,
04:20of today's Monza, of Andalusia, of Extremadura,
04:25have a Moriscan community.
04:29The origin of the Moriscans must be sought, therefore,
04:33within the same Iberian Peninsula.
04:35They didn't come from outside, quite the opposite.
04:40They were families that, generation after generation,
04:44had been for many years, many centuries, in the peninsular territory.
04:50They had been born in these lands, they had grown up in these lands,
04:54and they had seen their children born and raised in these lands.
05:00They were initially the majority group.
05:03They inhabited most of the territory,
05:05facing the small group of Christian conquerors,
05:08located in the north of the peninsula.
05:12The Christian forces advanced over Al-Andalus,
05:16and later occupied large territories in the Valley of Duero,
05:19Ebro and Tajo.
05:22Finally, Levante, Murcia and Andalusia.
05:26Some of the inhabitants of the conquered lands fled south,
05:30or moved north to Africa.
05:33Others remained under Christian rule,
05:35and maintained their Muslim religion.
05:38They were called Mudéjares, the domesticated.
05:42They were Muslims who remained in Christian lands.
05:46They had certain rights, such as preserving their religion,
05:49although paying more taxes than the Christians,
05:52or being servants of the lords.
05:57Later, when they were forced to convert to Christianity,
06:01they were called the New Christians of Moros.
06:05The people called them Moriscos, a term that was imposed.
06:12Mudéjar, in reality, means domesticated.
06:15It is an Arabic word adapted by the Christian conquerors,
06:19in the sense that the Moro population has been domesticated,
06:23it can be said perfectly,
06:25so I have said that there is no offensive intention,
06:29and these Moros are given a large area of freedom,
06:34of worship, of institution, of rights and of customs.
06:38Things will then decrease,
06:40as time progresses chronologically,
06:43and as the numerical inequality progresses,
06:47that is, as it balances,
06:49and these Moros will end up practicing Islam,
06:53being forced to be baptized,
06:56and, therefore, the so-called Morisco drama will begin,
07:00which I call a drama,
07:02because being baptized without their will,
07:05in general, evidently,
07:07the Church and the ecclesiastical authorities
07:10agreed to give these baptisms for valid,
07:13and that is an individual drama, also collective,
07:16but, evidently, when one's beliefs are touched,
07:19it is touched more than one's physical.
07:27Thus, the Mudéjares, and then the Moriscos,
07:30constituted a very large community,
07:33majority, which, progressively, was minorized,
07:37and, later, expelled.
07:41First, they were forced to be baptized,
07:44and abandon their religious and cultural practices,
07:47even so, they were still considered suspicious.
07:50The idea of their expulsion,
07:52began to take shape.
07:54However, a century passed,
07:56until a definitive decision was adopted.
07:59One of the most outstanding,
08:02most surprising facts,
08:04when one approaches the phenomenon
08:07of the expulsion of the Moriscos,
08:10is that it is a decision that, in principle,
08:13is taken, or at least,
08:15is intuited in the year 1000,
08:18and, in fact, is delayed until the year 1609.
08:21The fact that approximately three decades pass
08:24between one circumstance and another,
08:27can lead to thinking,
08:29and, in fact, it can be certified,
08:32that, in some moments of that period,
08:35it seems appropriate and pertinent
08:38to proceed with this expulsion,
08:41while in another, it seems, on the contrary,
08:44to make no sense to carry out this measure.
08:49In the year 1609,
08:51during the government of the Duke of Lerma,
08:54valid of King Felipe III,
08:56the measure was adopted.
08:58That year, the definitive expulsion of the Moriscos was ordered.
09:02Around 300,000 were forced to leave the peninsula,
09:06and with it, most of their belongings,
09:09their workshops, their crops,
09:12their houses, their origins.
09:18Many years of coexistence were left behind,
09:21sometimes peaceful,
09:23sometimes agitated with the Christian settlers.
09:26A wide and rich cultural and scientific legacy was left behind.
09:29A great wealth of agricultural and artisanal knowledge was left behind.
09:33The history of an expulsion was left behind,
09:36whose consequences were as broad as deep.
09:41Felipe III succeeded his father,
09:44Felipe II, in 1598,
09:47and he had to face a rather difficult situation,
09:52because, for example, the situation in Flanders,
09:57that is, in what is today Belgium and the Netherlands,
10:02was worrying for part of the underdeveloped population,
10:08and he faced different issues.
10:11In the Mediterranean, too, there was concern
10:14about relations with, in particular, Morocco,
10:19because the king of Morocco, the soldier, died in 1603.
10:28So, it was a rather complex situation,
10:31and we can add a plague epidemic,
10:35particularly strong,
10:37that struck almost all of Spain between 1597 and 1602.
10:46So, Felipe III had to think, in a difficult situation,
10:53how to maintain the reputation of Spain.
10:56And it was in this context that the possibility of expulsion of the Moriscos was examined,
11:02as it has been in the plans for some time,
11:07there are opponents and adversaries,
11:09and Felipe III was inclined, soon, to expulsion.
11:23What did the Moriscos do?
11:25Were there rich Moriscos?
11:27Were they all Christians?
11:29Were they all Muslims?
11:31Did they have any kind of organization?
11:34The Moriscos developed a cultural, technological and scientific universe
11:39of great variety and wealth.
11:42Its legacy is still lost, both in the peninsula and in North Africa.
12:02The Moriscos
12:12All are one in evil.
12:14With this affirmation, the Valencian cleric Jaime Bleda,
12:18one of the great supporters of the expulsion,
12:21tried to unify all the Moriscos.
12:24It was a normal and frequent accusation among the detractors of the Moriscan population.
12:29And it was also an imprecise, unfair, pre-racist assertion.
12:37Trying to unify all the attitudes of the Moriscos
12:40was as exclusive as trying to unify all the attitudes of the Christians.
12:46There was no block in either case,
12:49although there are still extremists who affirm it today.
12:53There were Moriscos dedicated to agricultural tasks, many.
12:59There were also prominent shoemakers, carpenters and orphans.
13:04Others were doctors, literates, and even some came to serve as inquisitors.
13:12In addition, although they were a minority,
13:15we can also speak of rich, powerful, respected Moriscos.
13:20In the Kingdom of Granada,
13:22there were families who converted to Christianity during the Mudejar period.
13:26Through marriages, many of them managed to integrate into the Christian oligarchy.
13:34One of the different views that we can take to the history of the Granadian Moriscos
13:39is the one that leads us to the collaborationist families.
13:44Not all the Moriscan or Muslim elements
13:47suffered the expulsion and a systematic humiliation,
13:51but a series of families that actively collaborated with the monarchy,
13:55by degree or by force,
13:57but that obtained in exchange a series of benefits
14:01that placed them as intermediaries between the Moriscan community and the Crown,
14:05and therefore allowed them not only to maintain their position,
14:09but also to increase their power and their wealth.
14:20Not all Moriscans were Muslims.
14:23Not all Moriscans were Christians.
14:26On the one hand, those who were converted
14:28were forcibly deprived of the intention and means to profess Christianity.
14:32On the other hand, the constant persecution of those who converted
14:36and the gradual disappearance of the Muslim religious elite
14:40led to an impoverishment of the memory of the community.
14:59The social organization of the Moriscans was complex.
15:03They were vassals of their lords, but they had their own representatives.
15:07They were in charge of maintaining order in the community.
15:11In many populations there were two institutions,
15:14the Christian one and the Moriscan Aljama.
15:17The Aljamas were a kind of councils organized by the Mudéjares.
15:22They were popularly called Morerías.
15:26They administered internal justice,
15:30regulated economic and property matters,
15:34channeled the relations of the group with the nobility,
15:38and, among other matters, collected taxes and fees to pay.
16:00The specialization, or rather, the reduction of their work,
16:04came later and in a forced way,
16:07as an imposition,
16:09through prohibitions and regulations of all kinds.
16:12This was the way in which the Christian authorities
16:15prevented the Moriscans from performing certain trades.
16:21The Christian artisans were one of the most xenophobic professional groups with the Moriscans.
16:27Their rejection acquired greater dimensions
16:30in the professional disciplines in which the Moriscans were their competitors.
16:34They even tried to impose blood statutes in their confederations and guilds.
16:40The objective was clear,
16:42to prevent the entry of workers with non-Christian origins.
16:51The liberal professions ran the same way.
16:54The Moriscan medicine, for example,
16:56suffered during the 16th century
16:58a strong harassment and a harsh persecution.
17:01Many Moriscans were expelled from the university.
17:04Others were directly prevented from accessing it.
17:07In this scenario, the falsifications were recurrent,
17:11and so many became old Christians.
17:16The situation was undoubtedly paradoxical.
17:19The Muslim doctors had been highly requested by Christian kings and bishops.
17:24But now they were persecuted,
17:26although their medicine, practice and observation were excellent.
17:34Even the monarch himself, Philip III,
17:36the king who expelled the Moriscans,
17:38was saved from death in his childhood by a Moriscan doctor.
17:42Throughout the Arab world,
17:44Europe benefited from significant advances in different scientific fields.
17:49Without the astrolabes and compasses,
17:51ocean travels would not have been possible.
17:54Without zero, equations and algorithms,
17:57the development of the economic system would not have been achieved.
18:01Without the Papal States,
18:03the development of the economy would not have been possible.
18:06Without the Papal States,
18:08the development of the economy would not have been possible.
18:11Without paper and ink,
18:13the regulation of printing would not have been achieved.
18:16Without the translators of Toledo,
18:18many scientific and philosophical works of antiquity would have disappeared.
18:23THE CONSTRUCTION AND THE FIELD
18:37Their contribution was limited to the hardest jobs,
18:40construction and the field.
18:42And also in these areas,
18:44they demonstrated a great ingenuity and a generous capacity for work
18:48that, on many occasions,
18:50was worth the criticism and envy of their Christian companions.
19:00The nobles were aware of the important contribution of the Moriscan community.
19:05A Castilian saying said,
19:07whoever has moro, has gold.
19:09That is, a man with Moriscan vassals used to accumulate great wealth.
19:14He was a prosperous, rich, fortunate man.
19:21The Marquises were very supportive
19:24of keeping the Moriscans in their populations
19:27because they constituted the tax base
19:30on which the taxes were recorded.
19:33Since the old Christians,
19:35who brought from Castile to repopulate other towns,
19:39were exempt from paying these tributes
19:42to make it easy for them to come to these lands.
19:45While the Moriscans,
19:47in exchange for staying in their central lands,
19:51had to pay the Marquis
19:54for the wars they fought and other expenses.
20:03Agriculture was the work of many Moriscans.
20:06Along with other villagers,
20:08they developed a sophisticated system of communal work.
20:13Repairing the fields,
20:15flattening the roads,
20:17distributing the irrigation,
20:19everyone collaborated, everyone benefited.
20:24In addition, the Moriscans introduced important advances in the field,
20:29from the devices used,
20:31to irrigation systems,
20:33from new crops introduced to exotic fruits.
20:37Azequias, aljibes, norias, oranges,
20:40tangerines, melocotones, albaricoques...
20:43The Arab legacy is still present in the Spanish field.
20:48The Moriscans, as Muslims,
20:50who in their days cultivated the land very well,
20:54and practiced the irrigation system very well,
20:59today there are traces of those azequias,
21:02of those canals,
21:04that allowed the water to flow from this river,
21:07from Almanzora,
21:09to the arid lands around it.
21:12And they were able to create a vergel,
21:15an oasis, around this castle.
21:19These are traces that still persist today.
21:24In fact, Cuevas, Cuevas de la Almanzora,
21:27to this day,
21:29has been in this region,
21:31and not only in it, but in all of Almería,
21:33an example of agriculture
21:36characteristic of an arid zone,
21:40and is a direct trace of the Moriscans
21:43who in their days lived in this town.
21:45THE MORISCAN FAMILY
22:01Immersing oneself in the daily life of a Moriscan family
22:04is the best way to get to know
22:06a set of traditions and customs
22:08that are both particular and interesting.
22:15The Moriscan cuisine responded to the guidelines
22:17of a Mediterranean diet
22:19devoid of pork and wine meat.
22:22Vegetables, vegetables, oil, dried fruits,
22:26and many spices that we have lost today.
22:31The detractors of the Moriscans
22:33considered it terrible for health.
22:36Even the religious Jerónimo Aznar Gardona
22:39came to affirm that they ate vile things
22:42in addition to the abundance of a great variety
22:44of fruits, vegetables, and seeds
22:46in the Moriscan diet.
22:49Gardona himself adds that they drank the air,
22:52that is, they did not drink wine.
22:58The use of oil was widespread in the Moriscan cuisine.
23:02One of the typical trades was the buñoleo.
23:13The conservation and confectionery of fruits
23:16was also something common.
23:20The use of the lands of Secano
23:22promoted the cultivation of almonds
23:24and their transformation into sweets
23:26such as matapanes or turrones.
23:34The talks or games of chess
23:36filled many of the Moriscan families
23:39for many hours.
23:45The woman kept the traditions of the home.
23:48The kitchen, the fabrics, the songs of the zambras,
23:51the hairstyles, the ornaments with henna,
23:54the songs that commemorated traditions.
23:57For about 100 years,
23:59these customs were persecuted
24:01and some were violently eradicated
24:03by being erroneously assaulted.
24:05Henna is a clear example.
24:07It was one of the most repressed traditions.
24:10These ornaments, with which the Moriscan women
24:13decorated their skin,
24:15were understood as marks of the evil.
24:18Those who ventured to cover their hands or face
24:21with these drawings
24:23could incur serious penalties
24:25and be executed.
24:29The tradition of henna
24:32The prohibitions related to clothing
24:34affected more the Moriscan women
24:36than the men.
24:38The women's clothing
24:40identified with religion
24:42and were persecuted.
24:44The men's clothing
24:46was barely different
24:48from that used by the Christians.
24:50Shortly before the expulsion,
24:52only some elements remained,
24:54such as the large hats,
24:56the hats of the women,
24:58or the veils used to protect themselves
25:00from the sun in the field.
25:02The Moriscans, who maintained
25:04the Muslim religion,
25:06found in their homes
25:08the perfect enclave to practice it.
25:10There they felt protected and hidden.
25:12The Christian authorities
25:14did not take long to react.
25:16In Granada, for example,
25:18they were forced to keep
25:20the doors open on Fridays.
25:22In Santiago, for example,
25:24they were forced to keep
25:26the doors open on Sundays.
25:28The prohibition of devotional acts
25:30in Spain was very varied
25:32and affected those
25:34who were considered
25:36pillars of Islam,
25:38such as prayer
25:40and the fast of Ramadan.
25:42And although the Muslims
25:44did it in a private,
25:46intimate way,
25:48at home,
25:50the truth is that
25:52they were always harassed
25:54and felt
25:56a lot of pressure
25:58from the environment
26:00that led them to do
26:02very simplified acts.
26:04Even in the month of Ramadan,
26:06they did not have
26:08all the components
26:10that a normal Ramadan fast
26:12could have in any
26:14part of the Islamic world.
26:16Many times they were lies.
26:18In other cases,
26:20inaccuracies.
26:22Also rumors and gossips.
26:24And on most occasions,
26:26an absolute inability
26:28to understand
26:30some customs
26:32and a different way of life.
26:34Did the Moriscos
26:36falsify currency?
26:38Did they hide it in hidden places?
26:40Were their customs
26:42hygienic and healthy?
26:44Did they possess weapons?
26:46Were they traitors
26:48and murderers by nature?
26:50Were they libidinous
26:52and incestuous?
26:54There are many topics
26:56and archetypes that circulated
26:58and still circulate today
27:00around the Moriscos.
27:02The identity of the Moriscos
27:04is a very complex identity.
27:06Of course,
27:08the idea that there are
27:10three levels
27:12in the Moriscos' identity
27:14would be the first level,
27:16which would be the most private level.
27:18The level of the ceremonies,
27:20of the prayers
27:22that the Moriscos perform in private.
27:24The second level would be
27:26that of the customs,
27:28of the folkloric projection
27:30of their identity.
27:32And then there would be a third level,
27:34which is that of the political ideology
27:36manifested through declarations
27:38that are somewhat altisonante,
27:40as some of them do.
27:44In these three levels,
27:46the authorities found
27:48in the Moriscan community
27:50an effective excuse and an excellent justification
27:52for all the problems of the kingdom.
27:54Thus,
27:56thanks to the capricious propaganda
27:58promoted from the power,
28:00the causes of the evident economic,
28:02social and military crisis
28:04were displaced to other communities.
28:06Someone had to pay
28:08for the growing Spanish defeats.
28:10The Moriscos were
28:12the main target of these attacks.
28:14On many occasions,
28:16for many reasons,
28:18mostly false.
28:22The fear of a Moriscan uprising
28:24was constant.
28:26That is why the disarmaments were also
28:28especially throughout the 16th century.
28:30Thus,
28:32they were defenseless
28:34and exposed to any attack.
28:36The frustrated attempt of subjugation
28:38in the Valencian mountains of Alaguar
28:40and the Muela de Cortes
28:42was a clear example of this.
28:44Faced with the powerful infantry
28:46of the Spanish army,
28:48the Moriscos defended themselves
28:50with stones, sticks and mill wheels.
29:00The Moriscos were also labeled
29:02to be prolific like rats
29:04and greedy like rabbits.
29:06There was the idea
29:08that they had more children than Christians.
29:10This belief
29:12led directly to two terrifying conclusions.
29:14They would end up filling Spain
29:16and they would be the majority population.
29:20Although,
29:22the opposite was happening.
29:28In addition,
29:30they were joined by the idea
29:32that they had no clergy,
29:34did not go to war
29:36and did not emigrate to the Indies.
29:46The prophecies and tales
29:48that wished for a better future
29:50were present in the Moriscan literature.
29:52The non-Islamic magical beliefs
29:54were mixed with the memories
29:56of their religion.
29:58This caused great and terrible confusions.
30:00The accusations of witchcraft,
30:02especially towards the Moriscan women,
30:04were constant
30:06and generated a great fear
30:08among the rest of the population.
30:14Some songs of the time
30:16show it like this
30:18with lyrics that have come to the present.
30:20Que no venga la mora,
30:22la mora de dientes verdes,
30:24Que no venga la mora,
30:26ni te despierte.
30:30The Moriscans
30:32were also accused of being dirty,
30:34but not according to the current
30:36idea of hygiene.
30:38They were accused of being dirty
30:40of heart by the evil,
30:42or of being dirty of origin by racism.
30:44The truth is that they washed
30:46much more than the Christian conquerors.
30:48Even one of the first measures
30:50of the authorities was to close
30:52the Moriscan baths,
30:54some mysterious places
30:56and own of conspirators.
30:58Por mucho que se laven,
31:00seguirán estando sucios,
31:02exclamaba el religioso Jerónimo
31:04Aznar Cardona.
31:12They are known as
31:14Plumbo Books.
31:16They appeared buried
31:18in the Granadino Sacrament.
31:20They were falsifications,
31:22specifically some excellent
31:24and detailed falsifications
31:26with great care and great skill.
31:28Their authors were Moriscan intellectuals.
31:30They mixed the Arab religion
31:32and the Christian one.
31:34They intended to modify history.
31:36Their goal was, of course,
31:38to facilitate the understanding
31:40of Moriscan traditions
31:42by the Christian authorities.
31:44The Plumbo Books
31:46were a falsification
31:48made by the Moriscans
31:50between 1595 and 1599,
31:52which consisted of a kind
31:54of New Revealed Gospel
31:56in which the Christian truths
31:58of the past were added
32:00a series of principles
32:02of the Muslim religion
32:04with the aim of creating
32:06a kind of syncretism
32:08of religions
32:10that justified the presence
32:12of the Moriscans and,
32:14in some way, avoided their possible
32:16expulsion, which at that time
32:18was being prepared.
32:20The authors of the Plumbo Books
32:22did not achieve their goal.
32:24However, the Plumbo Books
32:26are a clear example of the ability
32:28and skill of the Moriscan community.
32:32The cultural legacy of the Moriscans
32:34was broad and varied.
32:36Its imprint is present in areas
32:38as varied as medicine,
32:40architecture or literature.
32:44Along with a hidden medicine,
32:46a popular medicine was still practiced
32:48based on herbs and compounds.
32:50In many cases,
32:52this wisdom passed from
32:54generation to generation,
32:56from mothers to daughters.
32:58The women were the ones
33:00who practiced it,
33:02and this privilege was worth
33:04a severe punishment.
33:06Many were accused of witchcraft.
33:10The Mudejar forms were still
33:12present in the Moriscan architecture.
33:14Castles, palaces and churches
33:16from all over the territory of Aragon,
33:18the Kingdom of Murcia and Granada
33:20were built by the Moriscan hands.
33:22Their works are basically
33:24made of brick, adobe,
33:26wooden handicrafts
33:28and plaster decorations.
33:30And it was also these materials
33:32that were predominant
33:34in the construction of their houses
33:36with few windows.
33:42The typical Moriscan house
33:44was a house of extreme simplicity.
33:46The main room
33:48was the kitchen
33:50where one could even sleep.
33:58This style of building,
34:00both in its conception
34:02and in its appearance,
34:04can still be perceived
34:06in many towns in Spain.
34:08The imprint of the Moriscan style
34:10remains latent in its neighborhoods,
34:12streets and houses.
34:16The school and the madrasas
34:18disappeared along with
34:20the intellectual elites
34:22who had emigrated.
34:24The bathrooms,
34:26authentic symbols
34:28of the Moriscan community,
34:30were closed or abandoned.
34:32The libraries had been destroyed
34:34during the conquest
34:36and the books burned.
34:38The use of Arabic was prohibited.
34:40However, the Moriscans
34:42were able to develop
34:44a key literature
34:46called Aljamiada.
34:48It retained the Arabic characters,
34:50but the words
34:52and their meanings were Castilian.
34:54It was, therefore,
34:56a text in romance
34:58written in Arabic characters.
35:00They were religious, literary,
35:02poetic, medical
35:04or biographical texts.
35:06The Aljamiada literature
35:08is the literature
35:10that the Moriscans
35:12have been using since the 15th century.
35:14They have been using it
35:16since the 15th to the 16th century.
35:18It is fundamental
35:20because it is written in Castilian
35:22but with Arabic characters.
35:24In this literature,
35:26the Moriscans
35:28collect their cultural and religious heritage
35:30by translating
35:32various works
35:34of Muslim literature,
35:36from the Koran
35:38to the Hadiths
35:40and other religious texts.
35:42In this sense,
35:44the effort of translation
35:46and adaptation
35:48to Spanish realities
35:50is quite original.
35:54It was a source
35:56of the Moriscan legacy
35:58that is still being unveiled today.
36:00It was a resistance literature
36:02that used the Arabic signs
36:04as a sign of identity.
36:06It was the last attempt,
36:08by a cultural elite,
36:10to survive.
36:12This language,
36:14Castilian,
36:16written with Arabic characters,
36:18was used
36:20by the last Muslims
36:22of Spain
36:24to produce
36:26in clandestinity
36:28liturgical texts,
36:32religious texts,
36:34didactic texts,
36:36tending to
36:38reinforce
36:40the Muslim faith
36:42and the
36:44community cohesion
36:46among the members
36:48of the Aljamiya.
36:50The Aljamiya, therefore,
36:52is this Arabicized
36:54Spanish, this Semitized Spanish,
36:56whose founder
36:58was
37:00Isa ibn Jabr,
37:02in Spanish,
37:04In many cases,
37:06religious literature
37:08derived from prophecies
37:10and superstitions.
37:12The one of the Uncovered,
37:14the Mahdi,
37:16or the Knight of the White Horse
37:18was one of the best known.
37:20A fictional character
37:22that should lead the Moriscans
37:24to a better future,
37:26to the splendor of the past.
37:28And a night of crescent quarter,
37:30the ray of the moon
37:32will transform
37:34into a white horse,
37:36to which a warrior
37:38called Al-Fatimi will ride,
37:40with a large emerald-colored tunic,
37:42for which he will be called
37:44the Green Knight.
37:46And this Green Knight,
37:48with his horse Al-Boraike,
37:50will lead the battle,
37:52killing all the enemies
37:54and restoring
37:56the worship of Allah.
38:03But,
38:05why were the Moriscans
38:07expelled?
38:09What would have happened
38:11if the expulsion had not occurred?
38:13Could it have been avoided?
38:15It is very complicated,
38:17almost impossible,
38:19to point out a single cause
38:21to explain the expulsion
38:23of the Moriscans.
38:25Only the official justification
38:27of the Christian authorities,
38:30the impossibility of assimilating
38:32the Moriscan community.
38:44However,
38:46from the beginning of the conquest,
38:48many Muslims became Christians.
38:50From the reconquest,
38:52we know that, in some way,
38:54the conversion was a bit,
38:56in quotation marks,
38:59and then, of course,
39:01the majority opted to stay
39:03in their land,
39:05in their family,
39:07in their life.
39:09And, logically,
39:11they converted.
39:13In the early days,
39:15the conversion was more
39:17of a word than in reality.
39:19It was a bit like pretending,
39:21but little by little
39:23they became authentic Christians.
39:25But this conversion
39:28was not enough.
39:30In 1609,
39:32King Philip III
39:34ordered the expulsion
39:36of the Moriscans from their kingdoms.
39:38It was intended to eradicate
39:40any remaining Muslim
39:42from the entire territory
39:44of the Iberian Peninsula.
39:46In some cases, however,
39:48it was necessary to carry out
39:50up to three attempts
39:52to expel the Moriscans
39:54from the same place.
39:57Villa Rubia de los Ojos
39:59is a very interesting case
40:01because it is a small town
40:03in the field of Calatrava,
40:05in La Mancha,
40:07and it turns out that
40:09half of the population
40:11were Moriscans,
40:13very well assimilated.
40:15It seems that there were
40:17no local conflicts,
40:19nothing out of the ordinary
40:21in any town, let's say,
40:23in La Mancha.
40:25The expulsions
40:27were very surprising
40:29because they thought
40:31they would be exempt
40:33for being so well assimilated.
40:35They thought they were
40:37Catholic Christians
40:39and the expulsion
40:41was like a bomb.
40:43They were expelled
40:45to France for the first time
40:47after a month or six weeks
40:49and they all returned to the town
40:51and returned to their homes,
40:53walking from France,
40:55which is not a small thing.
40:57The second expulsion
40:59took place a few months later,
41:01in 1612,
41:03and this time they tried
41:05to expel them to Africa
41:07thinking that from Africa
41:09it would be more complicated
41:11and still they managed to return.
41:13And the third expulsion
41:15was carried out by
41:17Count de Salazar himself,
41:19in charge of the expulsions
41:21and he trusted his subordinates
41:23and decided to go to La Mancha
41:25to expel all possible Moorish people
41:27and with the same poor result.
41:29And a few years later,
41:31demographically,
41:33economically,
41:35it is clear that most,
41:37if not all,
41:39Moorish people are back
41:41in the town.
41:43Of course, a good part of them
41:45were not expelled
41:47because they did not expel
41:49the impoverished or the young
41:51married to old Christians,
41:53etc.
41:55That is, there were quite a few,
41:57I think, I calculate half,
41:59and that acts as,
42:01let's say, a support,
42:03a magnet for others to come.
42:11Many Moorish people
42:13of Villarubias de los Ojos
42:15never left.
42:17They returned shortly after.
42:19Their assimilation with the rest
42:21of the villagers was total.
42:23The Christian population appreciated them
42:25and their help to make fun
42:27of the royal decree was decisive.
42:29However, this is just
42:31an exceptional case.
42:39From the beginning,
42:41there were fierce supporters
42:43of the expulsion.
42:45There was no way
42:47to assimilate the Moorish community.
42:49According to them,
42:51the only solution was the expulsion,
42:53and they needed only
42:55a good excuse,
42:57a favorable scenario.
42:59Somehow, and unfortunately,
43:01they found several excuses
43:03and several favorable scenarios
43:05to their intentions.
43:09The truce with the rebellious
43:11Dutch Protestants facilitated
43:13the expulsion.
43:15The obsession of the Hidalgos
43:17for the so-called purity of blood,
43:19the inferiority complex
43:21in front of a Europe
43:23that saw in Spain a country of Moors and Jews,
43:25the eagerness of a monarch
43:27in search of recognition.
43:29The economic crisis of the moment
43:31generated a favorable climate for the expulsion.
43:33Let's not forget that even
43:35the Moorish themselves were accused
43:37of provoking such a recession.
43:39The fear of a hypothetical
43:41and at the same time impossible
43:43Moorish armed uprising.
43:45The link of the Moorish
43:47with the Ottoman Empire,
43:49the greatest enemy of the Hispanic monarchy.
43:51These, along with many other motivations,
43:53contributed to generating
43:55this anti-Moorish situation.
43:59And in April 1609,
44:01the decision was made.
44:11Men and women with their children
44:13must leave the monarchy.
44:15They must leave the monarchy
44:17and by extension
44:19the whole kingdom.
44:21That in a maximum period of 10 days
44:23they go to embark
44:25where the commissioner will order them.
44:27And the one who does not comply
44:29will be sentenced to life,
44:31which will be executed irremissibly.
44:35The expulsion of the Moorish was decreed,
44:37although not without fear.
44:39The authorities feared
44:41a violent reaction of the Moorish community
44:43that triggered an uprising
44:45in different parts of the peninsula.
44:55The government of the monarchy
44:57was really afraid that the Moorish
44:59were going to rise
45:01taking advantage of the expulsion
45:03that had been decreed by Philip III.
45:05To do this,
45:07he mobilized a large number of galleons
45:09and brought troops from Italy
45:11to prevent this possible uprising.
45:15However, surprisingly,
45:17the Moorish embarked in order
45:19without offering resistance.
45:21And it was even thought
45:23that it had been
45:25an unnecessary mobilization.
45:27However,
45:29at the end of October,
45:31a month after the beginning
45:33of this expulsion,
45:35the Moorish of two important areas
45:37of the Kingdom of Valencia,
45:39one inside the current province of Valencia,
45:41around the Valle d'Allora
45:43and the Navarrese Canal,
45:45and others in the valleys
45:47close to the coast of Denia and Javia,
45:49surrendered.
45:51Then the government
45:53had to consider
45:55the solution to this problem.
45:57The Alfaquíes had encouraged them
45:59with prophecies
46:01that they hoped to succeed in their struggle.
46:03Thus, the surrendered
46:05intended to resist until spring,
46:07waiting for a more general surrendering
46:09or even for the king to grant
46:11his permanence in Spain.
46:13The outcome was very different.
46:15Basically armed
46:17with waves, stones or mill wheels
46:19crossed with sticks,
46:21they ended up surrendering
46:23to the forces of the army of the Crown.
46:25From there,
46:27they were led to the coast
46:29for their landing.
46:31They hurried their last days
46:33in the peninsular territory.
46:35They could do nothing.
46:37Their expulsion was imminent.
46:39300,000 Moriscos abandoned
46:41the peninsula in 1609.
46:43Others had already done it before.
46:45We will never know
46:47what would have happened
46:49if the expulsion had not occurred.
46:51The expulsion of the Moriscos of Spain
46:53was, in my opinion,
46:55an insensate measure
46:57by a king
46:59who himself was a consenter.
47:01The expulsion of the Moriscos
47:03was a terrible drama
47:05that could perfectly have been avoided.
47:07If it happened,
47:09it was because Felipe III
47:11had a huge desire for prominence,
47:13for prestige,
47:15and the Moriscos stopped
47:17in vain conspiracies
47:19that would not go anywhere.
47:21The expulsion, in a few words,
47:23is a human tragedy
47:25and, at the same time,
47:27an economic loss,
47:29a population hemorrhage
47:31for Spain
47:33in the 17th century.
47:37The reason for the state
47:39is imposed on the reason for the drought.
47:41The expulsion of the Moriscos
47:43from the history of the Mediterranean
47:45confrontation means
47:47that from the Iberian Peninsula
47:49the Spanish world
47:51moved to the other side of the Mediterranean
47:53and, to a great extent,
47:55the Mediterranean is again
47:57a sea dominated
47:59by the Spanish influences
48:01as a consequence of the Moriscos
48:03settling throughout all of it.
48:09The Iberian Peninsula
48:11lost a cultural and human wealth
48:13that received the north of Africa.
48:15There, the neighborhoods,
48:17the music, the craft,
48:19the stories, the legends
48:21still remind us today
48:23that the Moriscan community is still alive.
48:33About 80,000 Moriscans
48:35arrived at the Tuner Regency.
48:37After several catastrophic
48:39landings on the beaches of Oran,
48:41where the Moriscan community
48:43was assaulted by nomadic tribes,
48:45the Ottoman power organized
48:47the reception of the newcomers.
48:49New neighborhoods were created
48:51and entire towns to welcome them.
48:53The arrival of the Moriscans
48:55was undoubtedly synonymous
48:57with prosperity, development and wealth.
48:59With their help,
49:01the industry, agriculture
49:03and craftsmanship of the area
49:05were intended to be improved.
49:07They achieved it.
49:09At the time of the arrival of the Spaniards,
49:11a very kind,
49:13very generous,
49:15very tolerant king
49:17lived in Tunisia.
49:19All the minorities lived there.
49:21There were Jews, Christians
49:23and also Muslims.
49:25The king welcomed them
49:27and was happy
49:29because that minority
49:31that arrived was wealthy
49:33and of good quality.
49:35Tunisia was a primary country
49:37that came out of a war,
49:39from epidemics,
49:41with a small population
49:43and those people, for him,
49:45were able to change
49:47the daily life of Tunisia
49:49in every sense.
49:51The trade, the markets,
49:53new markets were created for them.
49:55The very wealthy elite
49:57stayed in the capital
49:59and some stayed with him
50:01in the palace, working with him.
50:03The others were spread out,
50:05farmers, merchants,
50:07they went a little
50:09to the north and south.
50:11The great wealth
50:13and flourishing
50:15that the arrival of the Moriscos
50:17generated in the northern territories
50:19is somewhat evident.
50:21Today, the questioner is another.
50:23The unknown is more evident.
50:25The answer is more difficult.
50:27The question is simpler.
50:29How could it have been
50:31that space of coexistence
50:33in a Spain that could be
50:35and was not?
50:41THE SPANISH EMPIRE
50:53This intransigent measure
50:55of the expulsion of the Moriscos
50:57would have to be joined
50:59with many others that ended
51:01the magnificent Spanish golden century.
51:03A long decline began.
51:05The empire did not sink
51:07only militarily
51:09committed to winning impossible wars.
51:11It also sank
51:13for that very reason
51:15against any new or innovative idea.
51:17Spain was not defeated,
51:19but it defeated itself,
51:21repressing
51:23and expelling
51:25the best of its people.
51:27On the coasts,
51:29boats pick up those who are going to be expelled.
51:31Strangely,
51:33the beaches are full of people
51:35as if it were a party.
51:37Some are taken in arms to the boats.
51:39Some scream with joy
51:41to go to the promised land,
51:43thus abandoning a country
51:45that pursues and condemns them.
51:47Others cry what they leave behind.
52:07THE SPANISH EMPIRE