HOW KING FERDINAND PREPARED TO CARRY THE WAR INTO A DIFFERENT PART OF
THE TERRITORIES OF THE MOORS.
The western part of the kingdom of Granada had now been conquered by
the Christian arms. The seaport of Malaga was captured; the fierce and
warlike inhabitants of Serrania de Ronda and the other mountain-holds
of the frontier were all disarmed and reduced to peaceful and laborious
vassalage; their haughty fortresses, which had so long overawed the
valleys of Andalusia, now displayed the standard of Castile and Aragon;
the watch-towers which crowned every height, whence the infidels had
kept a vulture eye over the Christian territories, were now either
dismantled or garrisoned with Catholic troops. “What signalized and
sanctified this great triumph,” adds the worthy Fray Antonio Agapida,
“were the emblems of ecclesiastical domination which everywhere
appeared. In every direction rose stately convents and monasteries,
those fortresses of the faith garrisoned by its spiritual soldiery of
monks and friars. The sacred melody of Christian bells was again heard
among the mountains, calling to early matins or sounding the Angelus at
the solemn hour of evening.” *
* The worthy curate of Los Palacios intimates in his chronicle that
this melody, so grateful to the ears of pious Christians, was a source
of perpetual torment to the ears of infidels.
While this part of the kingdom was thus reduced by the Christian sword,
the central part, round the city of Granada, forming the heart of the
Moorish territory, was held in vassalage of the Castilian monarch by
Boabdil, surnamed El Chico. That unfortunate prince lost no occasion
to propitiate the conquerors of his country by acts of homage and by
professions that must have been foreign to his heart. No sooner had
he heard of the capture of Malaga than he sent congratulations to
the Catholic sovereigns, accompanied with presents of horses richly
caparisoned for the king, and precious cloth of gold and Oriental
perfumes for the queen. His congratulations and his presents were
received with the utmost graciousness, and the short-sighted prince,
lulled by the temporary and politic forbearance of Ferdinand, flattered
himself that he was securing the lasting friendship of that monarch.
The policy of Boabdil had its transient and superficial advantages. The
portion of Moorish territory under his immediate sway had a respite from
the calamities of war, the husbandmen cultivated their luxuriant fields
in security, and the Vega of Granada once more blossomed like the rose.
The merchants again carried on a gainful traffic: the gates of the city
were thronged with beasts of burden, bringing the rich products of every
clime. Yet, while the people of Granada rejoiced in their teeming fields
and crowded marts, they secretly despised the policy which had procured
them these advantages, and held Boabdil for little better than an
apostate and an unbeliever. Muley Abdallah el Zagal was now the hope of
the unconquered part of the kingdom, and every Moor whose spirit was not
quite subdued with his fortunes lauded the valor of the old monarch and
his fidelity to the faith, and wished success to his standard.
El Zagal, though he no longer sat enthroned in the Alhambra, yet reigned
over more considerable domains than his nephew. His territories
extended from the frontier of Jaen along the borders of Murcia to
the Mediterranean, and reached into the centre of the kingdom. On the
northeast he held the cities of Baza and Guadix, situated in the midst
of fertile regions. He had the important seaport of Almeria also, which
at one time rivalled Granada itself in wealth and population. Besides
these, his territories included a great part of the Alpuxarras
mountains, which extend across the kingdom and shoot out branches toward
the sea-coast. This mountainous region was a stronghold of wealth and
power. Its stern and rocky heights, rising to the clouds, seemed to set
invasion at defiance, yet within their rugged embraces were sheltered
delightful valleys of the happiest temperature and richest fertility.
The cool springs and limpid rills which gushed out in all parts of the
mountains, and the abundant streams which for a great part of the year
were supplied by the Sierra Nevada, spread a perpetual verdure over the
skirts and slopes of the hills, and, collecting in silver rivers in the
valleys, wound along among plantations of mulberry trees and groves
of oranges and citrons, of almonds, figs, and pomegranates. Here was
produced the finest silk of Spain, which gave employment to thousands
of manufacturers. The sunburnt sides of the hills also were covered with
vineyards; the abundant herbage of the mountain-ravines and the rich
pasturage of the valleys fed vast flocks and herds; and even the arid
and rocky bosoms of the heights teemed with wealth from the mines
of various metals with which they were impregnated. In a word, the
Alpuxarras mountains had ever been the great source of revenue to the
monarchs of Granada. Their inhabitants also were hardy and warlike,
and a sudden summons from the Moorish king could at any time call forth
fifty thousand fighting-men from their rocky fastnesses.
Such was the rich but rugged fragment of an empire which remained under
the sway of the old warrior-monarch El Zagal. The mountain-barriers by
which it was locked up had protected it from most of the ravages of the
present war. El Zagal prepared himself by strengthening every fortress
to battle fiercely for its maintenance.
The Catholic sovereigns saw that fresh troubles and toils awaited
them. The war had to be carried into a new quarter, demanding immense
expenditure, and new ways and means must be devised to replenish their
exhausted coffers. “As this was a holy war, however,” says Fray Antonio
Agapida, “and peculiarly redounded to the prosperity of the Church, the
clergy were full of zeal, and contributed vast sums of money and large
bodies of troops. A pious fund was also produced from the first fruits
of that glorious institution, the Inquisition.”
It so happened that about this time there were many families of wealth
and dignity in the kingdoms of Aragon and Valencia and the principality
of Catalonia whose forefathers had been Jews, but had been converted to
Christianity. Notwithstanding the outward piety of these families, it
was surmised, and soon came to be strongly suspected, that many of then
had a secret hankering after Judaism, and it was even whispered that
some of them practised Jewish rites in private.
The Catholic monarch (continues Agapida) had a righteous abhorrence
of all kinds of heresy and a fervent zeal for the faith; he
ordered, therefore, a strict investigation of the conduct of these
pseudo-Christians. Inquisitors were sent into the provinces for the
purpose, who proceeded with their accustomed zeal. The consequence was,
that many families were convicted of apostasy from the Christian faith
and of the private practice of Judaism. Some, who had grace and policy
sufficient to reform in time, were again received into the Christian
fold after being severely mulcted and condemned to heavy penance; others
were burnt at “auto de fes” for the edification of the public, and their
property was confiscated for the good of the state.
As these Hebrews were of great wealth and had an hereditary passion for
jewelry, there was found abundant store in their possession of gold
and silver, of rings and necklaces, and strings of pearl and coral,
and precious stones--treasures easy of transportation and wonderfully
adapted for the emergencies of war. “In this way,” concludes the
pious Agapida, “these backsliders, by the all-seeing contrivances of
Providence, were made to serve the righteous cause which they had so
treacherously deserted; and their apostate wealth was sanctified by
being devoted to the service of Heaven and the Crown in this holy
crusade against the infidels.”
It must be added, however, that these pious financial expedients
received some check from the interference of Queen Isabella. Her
penetrating eyes discovered that many enormities had been committed
under color of religious zeal, and many innocent persons accused
by false witnesses of apostasy, either through malice or a hope of
obtaining their wealth: she caused strict investigation, therefore, into
the proceedings which had been held, many of which were reversed, and
suborners punished in proportion to their guilt.*
* Pulgar, part 3, c. 100.