CONDUCT OF THE INQUISITORS TOWARDS THE MORESCOES.
The New Christians of Jewish origin flattered themselves, at the
commencement of the ministry of Don Alphonso Manrique, that they should
obtain the publication of the names and charges of the witnesses, as he
had supported their request in 1516: but the inquisitors persuaded him
that such a proceeding tended to the destruction of the holy office, and
the triumph of the enemies of the faith; and that the appearance of two
new sects of _Morescoes_ and _Lutherans_ rendered a great degree of
severity indispensable.
It has been already stated, that an order from Ferdinand and Isabella,
in 1502, had compelled all those Moors who refused to become Christians,
to quit Spain. Although this law was executed in Castile, it did not
affect the Moors of Aragon, as the King had yielded to the solicitations
of the nobles, who represented the immense injury which it would do
them, in destroying the population of their domains, where there were
scarcely any baptized inhabitants.
The two sovereigns renewed their promise in 1510, and Charles V. took an
oath to the same effect in the Cortes of Saragossa in 1519.
A civil war soon after broke out in Aragon, similar to one in Castile,
about the same time. The factious were almost all common people, who
hated the nobles: they endeavoured to injure them as much as possible;
and knowing that the Moors, who were their vassals, were obliged to
serve them in a more laborious manner, on account of the difference of
their religion, they baptized all the Moors who fell into their hands.
Above sixteen thousand thus received baptism; but as they were forced to
it, many afterwards returned to their former creed. The emperor
punished the chiefs of the insurrection, and many Moors, fearing the
same fate, quitted Spain, and retired to the kingdom of Algiers; so that
in 1523, more than five thousand houses were left without inhabitants.
Charles V., irritated at this conduct, persuaded himself that he ought
not to suffer any Moors to remain in his dominions, and demanded a
dispensation from his oath to the Cortes of Saragossa. The Pope at first
refused, on account of the scandal of such a proceeding; but the emperor
insisted, and it was granted in 1524: the Pope, however, engaged him, at
the same time, to charge the inquisitors to accelerate the conversion of
the Moors, by announcing, that if they did not become Christians within
a certain period, they would be obliged to quit Spain, on pain of being
reduced to slavery. Doubts were afterwards raised, of the validity of
the baptism administered to the Moors in Valencia by the rebels; but
Charles assembled a council, which, after many debates, decided, on the
23d of March, 1525, that it was valid, as the infidels had not offered
any resistance.
The greatest part of the Moorish people fled to the mountains and the
Sierra de Bernia, and resisted the arms of Charles, until the month of
August, when they surrendered, after obtaining an amnesty. The Moors of
Almonacid refused baptism, and took up arms; their town was taken, and
several put to death, and the rest became Christians.
In the borough of Correa, the Moors assassinated the lord of the
district, and seventeen Christians, who endeavoured to compel them to
embrace Christianity. At last the revolt became general throughout the
kingdom of Valencia, where they formed nearly twenty-six thousand
families; they fortified themselves in the town of the Sierra d'Espadan,
and a considerable period elapsed before they were reduced by the royal
army. They then implored the protection of Germaine de Foix, second wife
to Ferdinand V., and who was then married to Don Ferdinand of Aragon,
Duke of Calabria. This princess granted a passport to twelve of their
deputies, whom they sent to court to learn the real intentions of the
emperor. They demanded a delay of five years before they became
Christians, or left Spain by the port of Alicant. These demands being
refused, they offered to become Christians, on condition that the
inquisitors should not be permitted to prosecute them for the space of
forty years; this was also cruelly refused them.
They then applied to the inquisitor-general Manrique, who received them
graciously, and supposing that they would freely consent to receive
baptism, he offered to employ his influence with the emperor. On the
16th of January, 1526, they remitted a memorial to him, in which they
demanded, 1st, that during forty years they should not be liable to be
prosecuted by the holy office; 2ndly, that they might be allowed to
preserve their language, and their manner of clothing themselves; 3rdly,
that they might have a cemetery separate from that of the old
Christians; 4thly, that they might be able to marry their relations
during the space of forty years, and that the marriages already
contracted should not be interfered with; 5thly, that the ministers of
their religion should continue to receive the revenues of the mosques
converted into churches; 6thly, that they might be allowed the use of
arms like other Christians; 7thly, that the charges and rents which they
paid to their lords should not be more burdensome than those of other
Christians; 8thly, that they should not be obliged to pay the municipal
expenses of royal towns, unless they were allowed to hold offices, and
enjoy the honours depending on them.
These articles being submitted to the emperor, they were granted, with a
few restrictions, and the Moors were all baptized, with the exception of
some thousands who fled to the mountains, and resisted the royal force
during the year 1526. When they were reduced, they received baptism,
and the punishment of slavery which they had incurred was commuted for
a fine of twelve thousand ducats.
The Aragonese, fearing that the Moors dispersed among them would be
subjected to the same laws as those of Valencia, represented to the
emperor, through the medium of his relation the Count de Ribagorza, that
they had never caused any trouble either in politics or religion; that
they could not have any communication with Africa, on account of the
distance of the countries; and that many of them were excellent workmen
in the fabrication of arms, and, consequently, their banishment would
occasion great loss to the kingdom of Aragon. The representations of the
Aragonese were unavailing: the emperor commanded the inquisitors to
subject the Moors of Aragon to the same laws as those of Valencia, and
they were baptized without resistance in 1526.
In 1530 the Pope gave the inquisitor-general, the necessary power to
absolve all the Moors of Aragon as often as they should relapse into
heresy and repent, without inflicting any public penance or infamous
punishments. The motives expressed in the bull for this conduct were,
that they were much sooner converted by gentle means than severity. It
is natural to inquire why a different policy was adopted with respect to
the Jews; they were all rich merchants, while scarcely one in five
thousand was found among the Moors. Occupied in the cultivation of the
ground and the care of their flocks, they were always poor; sometimes
workmen of singular intelligence, talent, and address were found among
them.
The Morescoes of Grenada also occupied the attention of the emperor,
although the events which passed among them were of less importance.
When the emperor was at Grenada in 1526, a memorial from the Morescoes
was presented to him, by Don Ferdinand Benegas, Don Michael d'Aragon and
Diego Lopez Benaxara; they were all members of the municipality, and
illustrious nobles, as they were descended in the direct male line from
the Moorish kings of Grenada. They represented that the Moors suffered
much from the priests, judges, notaries, alguazils, and other Old
Christians. The emperor appeared touched by the recital, and
commissioned a bishop to go into the countries inhabited by the Moors
and examine into the state of religion. The bishop visited the kingdom
of Grenada, and found that the Moors had reason to complain; but he also
discovered that there were scarcely seven Catholics among all these
people; all the others had returned to Mahometanism, either because they
had not been properly instructed, or because they were permitted to
exercise their old religion in public.
The emperor convoked a council, which decreed that the inquisitorial
tribunal of Jaen should be transferred to Grenada. Several other
measures were adopted and approved by the emperor; the most important
was a promise of pardon to the Moors for all that had passed, and a
notice that they would be treated with the utmost severity, if they
again relapsed into heresy. The Morescoes submitted, and obtained for
eighty thousand ducats the privileges of wearing the costume of their
nation, and that the Inquisition should not be allowed to seize their
property if they relapsed.
The inquisitors of Grenada celebrated an _auto-da-fe_ in 1528 with the
greatest ceremony, in order to inspire the Moors with more respect and
fear. However no Moors were burnt, but only baptized Jews who had
returned to Judaism.
The Moors still continued to emigrate to Africa, although they were
treated with moderation. Philip II. obtained a brief from Paul IV., by
which the confessors were authorized to absolve the Moors secretly,
without imposing any penance or pecuniary penalty, on the condition that
they demanded absolution voluntarily. The system of indulgence which bad
been adopted did not prevent Louis Albosein from being condemned to the
flames. After emigrating to Africa, he returned to Valencia with several
other renegadoes, with the intention of exciting the Morescoes to a
revolt; the plot was discovered, the conspirators disarmed, and Louis
was burnt in 1562.
In 1567 the Pope expedited a brief in favour of the Morescoes of
Valencia, but those of Grenada revolted, and elected for their king Don
Ferdinand Valor, a descendant of their former sovereigns of the dynasty
of Abenhumeyas. This rebellion continued for some time; and Philip II.
endeavoured to quell it by issuing edicts of pardon even for those
crimes which came under the jurisdiction of the Inquisition. An amnesty
was granted to the Moors on condition that they came to solicit it, and
many took advantage of the permission. To prevent emigration, the king
remitted the penalty of confiscation, but the inquisitors, by means of
the impenetrable secrecy which they always preserved, rendered the
benevolent intentions of the sovereign of no avail. They did not publish
the briefs of indulgence granted by the Court of Rome, knowing that a
great number of the _relapsed_ would take advantage of them; these
people, not being aware of their privileges, were condemned and burnt.
These examples of cruelty increased the hatred of the Moors for this
sanguinary tribunal, and were the cause of many seditions, which, in
1609, led to the entire expulsion of the Moors, to the number of a
million souls; so that in the space of an hundred and thirty-nine years
the Inquisition deprived the kingdom of Spain of three millions of
inhabitants, Jews, Morescoes, and Moors.