"segregation, coexistence, coexistence?
Ángel Sánchez Galán
University of Málaga
Expulsion Moors in Granada Failure experience in the Moorish Kingdom of Granada and armed confrontation, which, if not inevitable, it was perfectly logical in the circumstances of the moment, should make us look back to the past but not to this conflict if we understand that we live in all its dimensions.
Large Muslim neighborhoods of cities like Paris, London, Hamburg and Lyon, the fact that more than 300,000 Palestinians are full citizens of Israel regardless of the state of permanent war in which they live, or the complex situation in Chechnya, highlighting the conflict, however hard, does not prevent the mutual influences, does not prevent customs, ways of thinking, political, cultural and sports hobbies to pass from one society to another. Fortunately, human beings are more than members of a religion, nation or any other exclusionary identity.
"Can we deny that we have no water of baptism as they?; deny that subjects are not natural subjects of King Philip? Well, we can not deny that we have worked so Premat uproar was made but not successful, but we felt serious. Can not you see we are not good either Moors or Christians? For if this is so, certainly have offended with this rising to God first and then our king (...) which you call freedom This will be well exchanged for peace. "
is true that these are not your actual words, if ever uttered, but the version of an excellent Castilian chronicler, Luis del Marmol Carvajal. There was almost a century since the beginning of the conquest of the kingdom, and after almost three quarters of it from the time they were forced to convert to Christianity or leave Granada and, indeed, the Moors from the kingdom were neither fully nor completely Moors Christians, but the product of a mixed
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One or many Moorish communities?: The allocation of space and economic activities. | |
We have no space to explain the division of the kingdom among the old Christian population and the Moorish. However, it is impossible to understand the development of coexistence between the two groups without addressing some of its essential features. Cities generally remained in the hands of the old Christian population. But, especially in the east of the kingdom, there were neighborhoods Moors in the most important of them. Guadix, Baza and Almeria were several hundred Moorish neighbors at this time.
As the capital of the kingdom, the population was predominantly Muslim, at least in the first two decades, and then equilibrated in two almost equal halves until the expulsion of 1570. There were also many examples of towns with mixed populations as Casarabonela, in the province of Malaga and Velez Blanco Velez Rubio Almeria. An important part because of the Moorish population shared their space with the old Christian settlers, creating an environment more conducive to acculturation than those other places that were mostly Moors.
In fact, the opposite pattern is presented by communities of Muslim converts who do not have within it over the old Christian presence of the representatives of power. The clearest case is that of Thahash Alpujarras, where, and generally speaking, unless the priest, the landlord and some occasional representatives of justice, all people share the same identity. There is thus a Moorish uniform phenomenon, but many county and local situations, which make it easy to understand the fierce opposition of the Alpujarra to Christian power.
Any conflict between the economic activities of the two people is false. Old Christians and Moriscos shared the same farming, livestock and handicrafts. To clarify this statement we note that in general the Moors occupied a subordinate position in the economic fabric. It is quite common as tenants or seasonal work in the lands of the old Christian oligarchy. Whether the Bishop of Malaga, in the Guadix-Baza basin or in the Vega of Granada, this Moorish supplemented their income and smallholder, seized of the lands of the conquerors. It is also true that activities such as silk yarn relapsed almost exclusively in Moorish hands. However, compared to the old cliché, we can observe in the city of Granada Moorish artisans and old Christians shared the same activities in tasks such as leather craft or construction. If we were to express it in contemporary terms, we would say that the Moors were the exploited part of a colonial society, but the economic system was unique and not dual. Moriscos and Old Christians shared the same or similar concerns to prop up the production system of the Kingdom of Granada.
Adapt or perish: the government of the community and collaborating Moorish
Moorish communities enjoyed a long survival after the conquest. In each of the places the "
caddies, alfaquis, old and good omes
'of the texts that speak of the surrender, continued to maintain his power after conquering in regard to the government of internal affairs the Jewish communities. However, after conversion, this structure was formally forbidden: fuqaha, for example, had lost all its functions and its recognition as men of religion and assembly aljama had no recognized legal value. Formerly Moorish community councils become Christians with the same or similar official of the settlers. However, under this structure, important collective decisions were taken in the same way as before the conquest.
course, no process of this nature is completely innocent. A junior officer with basic tax collection, the sheriff, will become the new strongman of these communities to be designated provided by the Christian authorities. Sometimes the conquerors chose between the most powerful families, such as small For example, Don Hernando de Castilla, who was sheriff of Motril. Others, however, the designated new men who are well rewarded for their loyalty to the conquerors. In conclusion, the proximity to the Christian power was at times to consolidate the same Nasrid influential families and others to introduce foreign elements into the circle of the rulers of the old Muslim society.
Beyond these basic structures, the monarchy articulated a system of representation for all the Moorish community. It served to guarantee the payment of taxes, the main sign of differentiation between old and new Christians, and political subordination of a nation constantly suspected of heresy and alliance with the enemy of Christianity.
The main cities of the kingdom gathered to these traitors. They acted as representatives of the Moors and were rewarded for their services economic and political favors from the Crown. Exemptions from taxes, wages, sometimes land grants and often be rulers of the city are the most visible signs of this collaboration with the conquerors, and for three quarters of a century-long experience in the Moorish kingdom consolidated real dynasties local. The Belvis in Almeria, Benajoan in Guadix, Dordux (now called Malaga) in Malaga or Granada Venegas and Muley in Granada. His attitude however, nuanced. Some, like the Granada Venegas, identified both with the Christian cause that became noble and came to invent false origins to disguise its Muslim past. Others, accepting the inevitability of conquest and conversion, they strove to defend their fellow nation, as did the Muley Fez, one of whose members is the author of the famous memorial in defense of the Moors introduced before the rebellion. But there are far more frequent cases of those without sacrificing any of the benefits Castilian offered power sought to combine personal interest with some degree of protection of their coreligionists. An example would be the Fistelí Hernando de Morales, who was sheriff and governor of the minstrels and Zambrero in Granada and representative of the Moors from the Diocese of Manchester during the first two decades of the sixteenth century.
The identity of the Moors difficult
Paradoxical as it may seem, the only elements that define this nation, to use the expression of Francisco Núñez Muley, are the imposed on them by Christians. In Indeed, discriminatory taxation and political cohesion imposed by the conquerors are the only elements that are unchanged and acculturation throughout its history. Although most of the Moors were crypto-hearted, it is impossible they remained completely impervious to culture and ways of making the society of the conquerors. The most famous of the documents produced by the minority, which raised Memorial Francisco Núñez Muley to prevent the ultimate implementation of repressive measures agreed in 1566, reflects a strong sense of identity based on elements such as language, consciousness nation or dress.
As for the dress, it seems that the specific habit had taken refuge in minority women. Breeches Almalafas and appear well represented in the engravings of the period of expulsion, but as men, their dress does not differ much from that of the Old Christians. The Moors, as they had adopted dress codes that do not fulfill all the recommendations that the Church and the authorities have made since the beginning of Christianity, far from being fully berries.
Regarding the use of Arabic, says that he was one of the great hallmarks of the Moors from Granada. Unlike what happened in the rest of the Crown of Castile, Granada is not never lost its use, whether oral or written. Despite the subsequent bans Qur'anic written language, the Crown had to admit the obvious, and the books were bilingual tax collection during the whole stay of the Moors in the kingdom of Granada. But this brings us to bilingualism on the other side of the coin. If in the first generations after the conquest the number of Muslims conquered who knew the Castilian was scarce and usually limited to oral expression, the second half of the sixteenth century presents a different picture. At least in the cities as we can see for protocols attorney, there was a sufficient core bilingual Moors reinforced by the fact of granting large Christian notaries to Moors after conversion. In a society where the value of writing was immense to witness acts of daily life seem trivial to us today, clerks, interpreters and witnesses Moors, play a key role as a cultural bridge between the two communities.
Finally we examine the biggest sign of differentiation between one community and another: religion. Even assuming, as argued by the traditional historical view that the vast majority of the Moors were Muslims at heart, the panorama is very complex. Communal solidarity, deeply rooted in Islam, reappears in the form of parish organization in the city of Granada. Similarly, the Moors form guilds that maintain a high degree of cohesion in a Christian institution, especially the assumption by the Moors in the forms of Christian worship less annoying to Islam, like the Virgin Mary, show possible route toward syncretism in the second half of the sixteenth century, at least in the city of Granada. In 1577, a slave brought in a car Granada faith and in it, among other things, said that the Moors had stated that "Mary had given birth
Muhammad because he had first swallowed by the mouth and after that just given birth and the Moors were
grandchildren of Mary. " Grandchildren is less than children, but clearly imply affiliation strongly expressing the wishes of the citizens of Grenada to continue navigating between Christ and his mother a lot more welcoming, not by the Christians constantly demanded proof that they were good and Christians loyal subjects of his Catholic Majesty.
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The joint venture of the Moors: a provisional conclusion
Although the confrontation between the two communities is the dominant feature of relations between Old Christians and Moors, this did not prevent the existence numerous intermediate forms of coexistence, which were more abundant where
mixed communities existed between Old Christians and Moors. As we have seen, the Moors Castilian institutions adapted their forms of government and traditional solidarity. At the time, this forced integration came near to the world of Christian having to modify a substantial part of the operating procedures. The resulting company has elements of both cultures that allowed its operation for almost three quarters of a century.
forced Christianization did not forget Islam, but religious forms emerge somewhere between the two great religions, at least in urban areas more in touch with the winners. A good example are two well-known in Moorish literature: Miguel de Luna and Alonso del Castillo. Both were interpreters of the Inquisition and two men who are perfectly bilingual. The former wrote a history of Spain which tends to smooth harsher aspects of the confrontation between Muslims and Christians. The second, a famous physician who was also the first translator of the inscriptions of the Alhambra, left numerous written testimonies of his love for his people and his sincere Christianity. But what should not be forgotten is that both were probably the authors of counterfeit relics and texts of the Sacromonte. That is, both were the inventors of a tradition that the Arabs became the first Christians of Spain.
Source: http://identidadandaluza.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/% C2% BFsegregacion-coexistence, coexistence /
Well, after the introduction of the host illustrative and touching and vibrant Sebastián de la Obra, it was the turn the book's author. From less to more, as it should be began a brilliant exposition on the subject of his work. On a near-live is not free of Andalusian-salt samples, which exuded sincerity in abundance, with a verb spontaneous and rigorous, we ventured with expertise in the heart of the matter. 
In the sixteenth century no one chose to be Christian or Christian old new birth, all necessarily included in one category or another and society at the time did not allow one to forget it all his life. However, being a member of either community was not the same for everyone. Along with the fracture that involved the original religion, economic interests, personal relationships, political structure, the obligation to co-exist in short, made men and women of that time interpreted and adapted to their situation differently and, further, that the same people to change their position throughout his life. In the peak the conflict, in full rebellion of the Moorish Kingdom of Granada (1568-1570), Don Hernando the hall, the captain-general appointed by the king of the rebellious Moriscos, Aben Humeya (Hernando de Valor), on the evidence of the superiority Military powerful English monarchy, he went to his village to make a desperate appeal to restore peace in the following way: