Because of the disappearance of the Moriscos (who had to pay exorbitant taxes), government revenues took a sharp dive. Production in the silk industry (which depended on Morisco technicians) fell so heavily that in order to avoid a complete shutdown, the businessmen petitioned the king seeking permission to import silk from foreign countries ... Sugar and rice production fell in a significant manner... In short, a general recession set in all over Spain as the economic and commercial activities decelerated.

IN my last letter, published in the issue of 20th April 1999 . I wrote about my trip to Frigiliana in the south of Spain, the fall of Granada in 1492 (the last Muslim kingdom in Spain), the prohibition of Islam as a religion, the forcible conversion of the remaining Muslims into Catholicism (who were then identified as the Moriscos) and finally the massacre and expulsion of the Moriscos, (most of whom In public professed Christianity but in private, practised Islam) from the soil of Spain (1609-1611). The reader, 1 am sure, by now is asking three questions : What was the size of the displaced population ? Where were they deported to and what were the consequences, if any. of this massive expulsion on the Spanish economy?

No one knows exactly the total number of people killed and expelled in this period, but it is estimated that between 600,000 and 750,000 were displaced as a result of the Expulsion Orders of 1609 and 1611, which was approximately 10 per cent of the then estimated total population of Spain. As we shall see later because of the Recon-quista. there were few Moriscos in the northern provinces at that time. But there was a much heavier concentration (between 20 per cent and 30 per cent of total population) of Moriscos in the southern and eastern areas. It is interesting to note here that in that period Spain was already suffering from a shortage of population because of an epidemic plague. After the discovery of America by Columbus in 1492. the Spanish colonial expansion in south America, north America and the Pacific and continuous wars in Europe to safeguard its European empire (which consisted of most of modern Holland and Belgium, eastern part of France bordering Switzerland, northern Italy. Naples. Sicily. Sardinia and Malta) had engaged hundreds of thousands of Spaniards as soldiers, priests, administrators and explorers.

This had also contributed to the manpower shortage at home. Many historians are of the opinion that one of the principal reasons for the collapse of the Spanish North American empire which at one time included not only Mexico and Texas but also covered a vast swathe of territory consisting of California. New Mexico. Oregon etc. was the lack of enough Spanish settlers to withstand the relentless westward drive of Anglo settlers from the eastern and mid-west-

ern states of the USA. It is worth mentioning here that the Moriscos and Jews, who had lived in Spain for centuries and for all intents and purposes considered themselves as Spaniards, were prohibited by law to emigrate to Spanish overseas territories.

Before we answer the other two questions it would be useful to find out who these Moriscos (affected by the expulsion orders) were and what soil of social and economic background they came from. What were their occupations? What sort of lifestyle did they have? Were they rich and ostentatious or poor and frugal? Were they hardworking or lazy?

During the heyday of Muslim domination in Spain (the conquest started in 711). the new aristocracy, who usurped the land owned by the old Christian nobles, was composed of Spaniards of Arab and Berber descent. Many army commanders. statesmen, and top civil servants also came from this class. Therefore, the upper crust of the society was basically composed of the invaders and their descendants. The vast majority of the population was composed of the Muallads. the descendants of Christian serfs (bound to the soil without any rights to move freely), who because of their precarious economic and social conditions abandoned Christianity and became Muslims. The conversion gave them considerable advantages. They were no longer serfs but freedmen. It gave them opportunities for upward social mobility. They could pick and choose their trade, profession or occupation. Over the centuries there were of course, a lot of intermarriages between the new Muslims and successive waves of invaders from North Africa, particularly because these soldiers, warriors and adventurers very often came without their women-folk. There were also sizeable communities of Christians (the Mozarabs) and Jews who were allowed to practise their religions and work in their respective trades and professions.

The Christian nobles, after losing most of Spain to the Muslim invaders took refuge in

t he mountains of extreme north (Asturias) and started organising resistance (the Recon-quista) as early as the year 722 (the battle of Covadonga around which a lot of Christian myth has been created). As we have already seen the Reconquista was completed in 1492 with the conquest of Granada. As the Christian Reconquista progressed towards the south adding one kingdom after another to the Christian fold, most members of the upper crust of the Muslim society either got killed in battle or took refuge in other neighbouring kingdoms to fight another day or went back to North Africa. In order to maintain their power and position some converted to Christianity. The ordinary people (the Mudejars) had no option but to stay on. Although in the early centuries of the Reconquista. they did not suffer unusual persecution, because of economic and social pressures, many of them gradually abandoned Muslim habits, converted back to Christianity and were assimilated into the rest of the population.

The case of the Moriscos was unfortunately different. First of all. there was a gap of several centuries between these two events. Second, they were converted to Christianity by force and third, their ancestors had practised Islam, spoken Arabic for many more years and had completely identified themselves with the Hispano-Muslim culture. Fourth, in the ordinary Christian mind, a Morisco had irremediably become " the other" — an inferior being (because he had been defeated militarily), a subhuman .to be despised and if necessary, be destroyed without any compassion. There was no need for any compromise. But the truth was that " most of them were poor farmers, agricultural labourers or small tradesmen and hucksters". The powerful and the wealthy, already sensing what was coming, had sold all their belongings at bargain prices and migrated to other countries. Most of the historians. even those in favour of the expulsion agree that these Moriscos, although poor, led their lives according to a simple

but strict code of conduct. According to the German chronicler Munzer and the Jesuit scholar Pedro de Leon, they were hardworking, frugal and very knowledgeable about their trade or profession. A modern, historian Julio Caro .Baroja also wrote." they were excellent workers and very frugal in their lifestyle. All they waited was to be allowed to practise their religion .” In spite of the fact that many of them had been reduced to serfdom, they were hated by the poor Christian peasants and farmers, because they were preferred by the Christian landowners as workers. Historical documents and popular literature also give ample evidence of the fact that for economic reasons, the new Christian nobles often tried to protect the Moriscos from persecution by the king's officers and ecclesiastical authorities. But in those days of religious intolerance (Luckily the situation today is completely different. Besides actively participating in the war against Milosevic, Spain is now giving food, shelter and work to hundreds of Muslim refugees from Kosovo), bigotry (which finally prevailed). was more important than economic rationale. It boiled down to the sad fact that the Moriscos despite paying all sorts of special taxes to the king and the church, could not get protection from either the temporal or the spiritual power.

After the promulgation of the Royal Decrees of 1609 and 1611 expelling all the Moriscos from Spain, most of them were literally driven to southern Spanish ports and herded into boats leaving for North Africa, which was going through a turbulent period at that Lime. First, of course, all their belongings were confiscated to pay for the passage. Because of ethnic, cultural and religious affinities, many went to Morocco. Some of them, unwittingly got involved in the civil war between the two sons of king Ahmed IV. Many were surprised to find unfriendly reception from the Moroccans. While in Spain they were considered as Muslims, in Morocco, they were considered as Christians.

However, after these initial difficulties, thousands settled in Xauen. Fez. Sale etc. and eventually prospered in their respective trades.

Those who landed on the Algerian coast were not that lucky. Algeria, at that time nominally belonged to the Turkish empire, but in effect was under the control of the Janissary legions. Law and order situation was disastrous. The refugees suffered all sorts of humiliations, extortions and robberies from the local people. Many of them were murdered. Those who finally came to their help were the descendants of the Moriscos who left Spain in the first half of the sixteenth century and had settled in Algiers many years ago.

The most fortunate were those who went to Tunisia. The Turkish Governor Ulman drew up a comprehensive plan to settle them according to the trade or profession of the refugees. The craftsmen and small businessmen were given special subsidies to start their businesses at Ariana. Djedaida. Teburba. etc. The peasants and farmers were given cultivable land in the valleys. With the passage of time, this community made enormous contributions to the improvement of the local irrigation system, bringing it to the level of the system introduced by their forefathers in the Levante region of Spain many centuries ago. They (especially the Moriscos from Granada) also introduced their sophisticated techniques to all phases of silk industry. Although the ceramic industry was already well developed in Tunisia, the Moriscos injected fresh ideas and colours in it. The builders and the masons built mosques, houses, courtyards and gardens as though they were virtual replicas of what they had left behind in Spain. Many continued to speak Spanish for some time as a second language. I remember, many years ago. while travelling from Algiers to Tunis by train. I met a group of Tunisian young men (I was also young at that time) who admitted that they were descendants of those refugees. They also mentioned that they knew of families who still preserved the keys to their homes in Spain, which their ancestors were forced to abandon three centuries ago.

There were some who crossed the Franco-Spanish border and tried to settle in France, but they had to endure same sufferings. No one wanted them there. Many died of sickness and malnutrition. Those who survived were driven to Marseilles and forcibly put on board ships sailing towards Algiers. Actually most historical records agree'that of the thousands of refugees who tried to find shelter in France, very few were able to make it.

Those who went to Rome and Venice met with same fate, only difference being that they (or the survivors) finally ended up in Turkey, instead of Algiers. Actually, even today, in Istanbul there is a sizeable community of Spanish Muslims who claim their origin back to the Moriscos refugees. Some went to Cairo. Others were successful in going as far as Lebanon. Several thousand went to the Balearic islands in the Mediterranean and sought permission to settle there, but Madrid replied with implacable hatred. They were thrown out and eventually ended up in Muslim

countries on the other side of the Mediterranean.

Now what were the economic consequences Of such massive expulsions of a significant percentage of the active population (workers, farmers, peasants, craftsmen, traders etc.) on the economy of Spain? While assessing the overall consequences. one should also bear it in mind that after 1492 hundreds of thousands of Jews, who for centuries had lived in Spain and dedicated themselves to business, finance and government bureaucracy were also expelled. Needless lo say, opinions differ radically oil this issue. At the time of Philip Ilf, it was dangerous to express any opinion, which did not support the official view — i.e. it was a pious act dohe for national security and “the purity of blood". Economic consequences were irrelevant. As a result, economic data on this subject is not abundant. After the death of Philip III (in 1621), it was no longer a taboo to write on the subject. But a dispassionate and objective approach was still rare. Most of the theologians and writers, who supported the expulsion, minimised its impact on the economy. A few. who thought otherwise exaggerated the repercussions.

Since our objective is not to enter into unnecessary polemics over this discussion, let us merely state some facts and figures. First of all. no one knows the exact number of people who were killed and expelled as a result of these decrees. Depending on the concentration of the Moriscos and Mudejars in different areas, their percentage of the active population could vary between 10 per cent and 40 per cent (in Castile quite low while in Valencia and Granada very significant). All sorts of historical records testify to the fact that most of them were excellent workers. The vast majority of the Christian population wholeheartedly Supported the expulsion order. The only people who tried to protect them were some of the landowners because the expulsion affected them economically.

There was a significant fall in the volume of trade between Spain and its colonies in America. Internal trade and commerce were also affected adversely. Many villages became depopulated and some were completely abandoned. Much agricultural land fell into disuse. Because of these reasons and because of the disappearance of the Moriscos (who had to pay exorbitant taxes), government revenues took a sharp dive. Production in the silk industry (which depended on Morisco technicians) fell so heavily that in order to avoid a complete shutdown, the businessmen petitioned the king seeking permission to import silk from foreign countries. The Muslims had developed an elaborate system for the transportation of goods and merchandise on mule backs all 'over Spain. Since this was hard work (because of mountainous nature of the countryside), it was largely carried out by the Moriscos. The expulsion created serious disruption in the system. Sugar and rice production fell in a significant manner. Even the Church and the Courts of Inquisition became poorer because they thrived on fines and special taxes levied on the Moriscos. In short, a general recession set in all over Spain as the economic and commercial activities decelerated. What the Spanish historians used to describe as Spain's Golden Century also came to an end more or less at the same time. Now I wonder: Was it merely a coincidence or was there a relationship between these two happenings?