Moriscos

Definition

Former Muslims who were coerced into, or converted of their own accord, to Christianity after Spain outlawed the practice of Islam in the sixteenth century.

Introduction

In the early sixteenth century, Moriscos were expelled from Spain and forbidden to cross the Atlantic and live in the “New World.” However, many of them made the transatlantic journey and lived, worked, and even thrived in the Americas. This is a brief overview of their origins, history, and narrative of life in Latin America and the Caribbean.

From Spain

There were an estimated 250,000 to 1 million Moriscos in Spain in the early sixteenth century, the vast majority from the Granada region. They maintained many of the Andalusian cultural elements of their life – including food, festivals, and dress – despite official state repression. They also resisted their forced conversion and many practiced their faith clandestinely. What is now known as “the Oran fatwa” pronounced that pretending to be Christian in...