Rebellion of the Alpujarras (1568–1571): Difference between revisions

*Mass deportation of most MuslimsMoriscos from Granada to Castile.

| combatant1 = {{flagcountryflagicon|Spain|1506}} [[Spanish Empire}}|Spain]]

| combatant2 = ''[[File:Royal Standard of Nasrid Dynasty Kingdom of Grenade.svg|20pxMorisco]] Muslims of Granada<br>s''With the support of:''rebels<br/>[[File:Flag of Ottoman Algiers.svg{{flag|20px]] [[Ottoman Algeria|Regency of Algiers]]}}<br/> Volunteers from the Kingdom of Fez

| commander1 = [[Philip II of {{flagicon|Spain|Philip1506}} II]]<br/>[[Don John of Austria]]<br/>{{flagicon|Spain|1506}} [[Iñigo López de Mendoza y Mendoza|Marquis of Mondéjar]]<br/>{{flagicon|Spain|1506}} [[Luis Fajardo, 2nd Marquis of los Vélez|Marquis of Los Vélez]]<br/>{{flagicon|Spain|1506}} [[Gonzalo II Fernández de Córdoba (1520–1578)|Duke of Sessa]]

| commander2 = [[AbénAben Humeya]]{{KIAAssassinated}}(1568-1569)<br/>[[Aben Aboo]]{{KIAAssassinated}}(1569-1571)<br/>[[File:Flag{{flagicon|Regency of Ottoman Algiers.svg|20px]]}} [[Uluç Ali PaşaOcchiali]]

| casualties1 = Unknown

The '''second rebellion of the Alpujarras''' ({{Lang-ar|ثورة البشرات الثانية}}; 1568–1571), sometimes called the '''War of the Alpujarras''' or the '''Morisco Revolt''', was the second such revolt against the [[Castilian Crown]] in the mountainous [[Alpujarras|Alpujarra]] region and on the Granada Altiplano region, northeast of the city of Granada. The rebels were ''[[MoriscosMorisco]]s'', the nominally Catholic descendants of the ''[[MudéjaresMudéjar]]es'' (Muslims under Castilian rule) following the first [[rebellion of the Alpujarras (1499–1501)]].

By 1250, the [[Reconquista|Reconquest]] of Spain by the Catholic powers had left only the [[Emirate of Granada]], in southern Spain.<ref>García de Cortázar, map p.259</ref> In 14911492, [[Granada]] city fell to the [[Catholic Monarchs]] —[[Isabella I of Castile]] and [[Ferdinand II of Aragon]]—and under the terms of capitulation the whole Muslim-majority region came under Christian rule.

The Muslim inhabitants of the city, however, soon revolted against Christian rule in 1499, followed by the mountain villages: this revolt was suppressed by 1501.<ref>García de Cortázar, map p.261</ref> The Muslims under Christian rule (until then known as Mudejares) were then obliged to convert to Christianity, becoming a nominally Catholic population known as "[[Moriscos]]".

Discontent among the new "Moriscos" led to a second rebellion, led by a Morisco known as [[Aben Humeya]], starting in December 1568 and lasting till March 1571. This violent conflict took place mainly in the mountainous Alpujarra region, on the southern slopes of the [[Sierra Nevada (Spain)|Sierra Nevada]] between Granada city and the Mediterranean coast, and is often known as the War of the Alpujarras.<ref>García de Cortázar, map p.291</ref><ref group="note">The plural "Alpujarras" is often used, because the area now lies in two Spanish provinces, Granada and Almeria, but there is probably an earlier origin. ''Alpujarra'' has multiple proposed Arabic etymologies, the most accepted being ''"Al-Bugsharra"'' (land of pastures). A pre-Celtic origin, ''Al'', meaning "a high mountain", as elsewhere in Europe, has also been proposed.</ref>

The archbishop of Granada, convinced that the Moriscos were maintaining their customs and traditions and would never become real Christians, called in 1565 a synod of the bishops of the kingdom of Granada.<ref>Caro Baroja pp.156-7</ref> It was agreed that the policy of persuasion should be replaced by one of repression, and that the measures of 1526 should now be applied. This meant prohibition of all the distinctive Morisco practices: language, clothing, public baths, religious ceremonies, etc. Moreover, in each place where the Moriscos lived at least a dozen "Old Christians" (i.e. not those who had been supposedly converted) should be installed; Morisco houses should be inspected on Fridays, Saturdays, and feast-days to ensure that they were not practicing Quranic rites; the heads of household should be closely watched to ensure that they were setting a good example; their sons should be taken to Old Castile at the cost of their parents, to be brought up learning Christian customs and forgetting those of their origins.<ref>DominguezDomínguez y& Vincent, p.32</ref>

The subsequent campaign was marked by excesses committed by the troops: this was not a disciplined army but consisted largely of untrained volunteers, who were not paid but counted on the loot they could gather.<ref>DominguezDomínguez & Vincent pp.36-40; Lea p.238</ref> The chronicler Pérez de Hita wrote that half of them were "the worst scoundrels in the world, motivated only by the desire to steal, sack and destroy the Morisco villages."<ref>quoted by Caro Baroja p.194</ref>

On 10 February, after a two-month siege, Don Juan conquered Galera and ordered its destruction; in March he took Serón; and at the end of April he headed for the Alpujarra, setting up his headquarters at Padules. There he was joined by a second army under the [[Gonzalo II Fernández de Córdoba (1520–1578)|Duke of Sessa]], which had left Granada in February and had crossed the Alpujarra from west to east. At the same time, a third army had come from Antequera to reach the sierra of Bentomiz, another focus of the rebellion, at the beginning of March.<ref>DominguezDomínguez & Vincent, pp. 36-37</ref>

When the rebellion began, the Kingdom of Granada counted barely 150,000 inhabitants, most of them Moriscos. The exact number who rebelled is unknown, but the ambassadors of France and of the Republic of Genoa at the Madrid court estimated that there were 4,000 rebels in January 1569 and 25,000 by the spring of 1570, of whom some 4,000 were Turks or Berbers from North Africa who had come to support the rebellion.<ref>DominguezDomínguez & Vincent, pp.39-40</ref>

On the other side, the royal army had at the beginning 2,000 foot-soldiers and 200 cavalry under the command of the Marqués de Mondéjar. The number increased substantially when Don John took charge: in the siege of Galera he had 12,000 men, while the Duke of Sessa at the same time commanded between 8,000 and 10,000 men.<ref>DominguezDomínguez & Vincent, pp.39-40</ref>

From its start in the Alpujarra, the rebellion spread to the plains and to other mountainous regions on the edges of the Kingdom. A particularly dramatic conflict took place on the ridge (''peñón'') above Frigiliana, in the Axarquia, where entire families of Moriscos from all around had gathered: the siege lasted from June 1569 till September, when Spanish reinforcements were brought in by sea.<ref>Tracy, p.43</ref> Moriscos living in the towns—including the capital, Almería, Málaga, Guadix, Baza, and Motril—and their surrounding areas did not take part in the uprising, although they sympathised with it.<ref>DominguezDomínguez & Vincent, pp.41-47</ref>

This distinct attitude of the towns can be explained by the presence of a greater number of "Old Christians" and better integration of the Moriscos in these communities. On the other hand, in the Alpujarra and other regions, where the rebellion caught on, there were villages where the only "Old Christian" was the parish priest.<ref>DominguezDomínguez & Vincent, pp.45-46</ref>

Between 1609 and 1614, the Spanish Crown undertook the [[expulsion of the Moriscos]] from all over Spain. About half of Granada's Moriscos remained in the region after the dispersal; only 20002,000 were expelled from the city of Granada, many remaining mixed with and protected by old Christians who were less hostile towards them than in other regions of Spain (notably in the Kingdom of Valencia).<ref>{{Harvp|Domínguez Ortiz|& Vincent|1993|, p=. 188}}</ref><ref>García de Cortázar, maps pp.324-325</ref>

* DOMINGUEZDOMÍNGUEZ ORTIZ, Antonio, and VINCENT, Bernard: ''Historia de los Moriscos; vida y tragedia de una minoría'' (1993). {{ISBN|84-206-2415-2}}.

[[Category:16th century1570s in Spain]]