2nd uprising in the Alpujarra (1568–1571)

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Centers of uprising

The second uprising in the Alpujarras ( 1568 - 1571 ) was a rebellion of the population of the Andalusian region of the Alpujarras against the Catholic rulers and resulted from the effects of the first uprising in the Alpujarras (1499-1501) ; the rebellious Moriscos were the descendants of the Muslim population that was forced to become Christian after the first rebellion .

The rebellion, which was directed against an edict issued by Philip II , called Pragmática de 1567 , began under the leadership of Morisco Aben Humeya in late 1568 and ended in early 1571; at this time the Moriscos were driven out of the kingdom of Granada and resettled in the remaining parts of the kingdom of Castile . The now many empty villages in the kingdom of Granada were repopulated by Catholic settlers from the north. Historian Henry Kamen described the episode as "the cruelest war in Europe in the sixteenth century". The Moriscos, who suffered from the Catholic atrocities, brutally massacred numerous clergy.

background

After the first uprising in the Alpujarras, the Treaty of Granada was revoked, which had guaranteed the local Muslims freedom of religion and certain rights; those who stayed on the Iberian Peninsula had to be baptized. Many of the converts, however, kept their customs and practiced Islam in secret. In 1526 Charles I of Spain issued an edict intended to prevent “heretical customs”, including the use of the Arabic language and traditional Moorish clothing. However, the Moriscos were able to delay the implementation of the edict by 40 years by paying a large sum of money. In 1567, King Philip II issued the Pragmática, which sought to abolish Moorish customs and the Arabic language through means of oppression. One of the leaders of the Moriscos, Francisco Núnez Muley, protested against this treatment: “Our situation is getting worse every day, we are treated badly in general (...) Why do people take the language they grew up with? In Egypt, Syria and Malta there are people like us who speak, speak and write Arabic and are also Christians like us. "

Uprising, 1568–1571

Election of Aben Humeya as King of the Moriscos, illustration from the novel Los Monfíes de las Alpujarras (1859) by Manuel Fernández y González.

After the publication of the Pragmática in 1567, a group of Moriscos decided to prepare for an uprising. Supplies were made and a leader was agreed. This, Hernando de Córdoba y Valór, a descendant of the caliphs of Cordoba, was appointed king in the village of Béznar at the end of 1568, and took the Moorish name Abén Humeya . Many Morisco villages in the Alpujarras immediately joined the insurgents. Humeya's grand vizier and right-hand man, Faray Aben Faray, was supposed to persuade the Moriscos of Granada to revolt, but had little success.

From January 1569, Catholic armed forces intervened; both sides committed atrocities and sold their prisoners as slaves. The Catholic armed forces consisted to a large extent of volunteers who wanted to enrich themselves by pillaging the Moriscos. The insurgents often whipped clergy to death and sold captured Christians to Africa in exchange for weapons. The Spanish side also sold imprisoned insurgents into slavery, which led to further outrage among the population of Moorish origin and to theological and legal discussions; after all, the Moriscos were baptized, and the rule was that Christians were not allowed to keep Christians as slaves. The provisions of the Pragmática also meant that the Moriscos would only become true Christians by observing Christian customs and removing traditional clothing; this was an important step in the homogenization of Christian Spain. The number of insurgents grew rapidly as a result; According to estimates, from 4,000 in 1569 to 25,000 in 1570, including many Berbers and Turks who took part in the acts of war coming from Africa.

The Catholic side also stepped up its efforts; due to difficulties in other parts of his empire - the Ottomans had conquered the Balearic Islands in 1558, revolts against the Spanish crown broke out in the Netherlands in 1568 - Philip II wanted to clarify the situation as quickly as possible; accordingly he declared in 1569 "una guerra a fuego ya sangre". The soldiers involved were allowed to take whatever they wanted - possessions, slaves and cattle.

Meanwhile Abén Humeya was murdered by Abén Aboo, who took his place as king of the insurgents. In 1571 the situation was desperate for the rebels; Aboo entered negotiations and was ready to lay down arms if the insurgents got away with their lives. The Catholic side was ready to agree; According to legend, however, the arrival of powerful reinforcements from Africa was reported to Aboo and he decided to keep fighting. The hoped-for reinforcement never came. The rebellion was finally put down in 1571; Aboo is said to have been stabbed by one of his own followers.

Aftermath

Expulsion of the Moriscos from Granada; Illustration from the novel Los monfíes de Las Alpujarras

After the end of the uprising, a large part of the Morisco population was expelled from the kingdom of Granada; it is estimated that they were 80,000 people or about half of the relevant population of Granada. The sharp decline in population made repopulation necessary; the process was long and costly. Many of the new settlers came from the rest of Andalusia, but also many from Galicia, Valencia and Murcia. This part of the story can often be seen in the family names in the Alpujarras.

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lea: The Moriscos of Spain: Their Conversion and Expulsion. P. 215.
  2. ^ H. Kamen, The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision, ISBN 0300180519
  3. ↑ Christiane Birr: Rebellious fathers, enslaved children: The uprising of the moriscos of Granada (1568-1570) in the legal-theological discussion of the school of Salamanca. In: Angela De Benedictis, Karl Härter (Ed.): Revolts and political crimes between the 12th and 19th centuries. Vittorio Klostermann, Frankfurt am Main 2013, ISBN 978-3-465-04198-6 , pp. 281-317 ( online ).
  4. ↑ Julio Caro Baroja: Los Moriscos de Reino de Granada. 5th edition. Ed. ISTMO, Madrid 2000, ISBN 84-7090-076-5 .
  5. ^ Henry Charles Lea : The Moriscos of Spain. 1901, new edition: Goodword Books, New Delhi 2001.
  6. ^ Henry Lapeyre (November 28, 2011): Geografía de la España morisca, Universitat de València. Page 14. ISBN 978-84-370-8413-8 .