The Expulsion of the Moriscos

Southern parts of Spain were inhabited mostly by Moriscos - Muslims who had converted to Catholicism under the threat of expulsion by Ferdinand and Isabella following the Reconquista. Many, however, continued secretly to practice Islam, and at times provided the Ottoman Turks with information facilitating Turkish raids on the Spanish coast. Persecuted by the Spanish Inquisition and subjected to restrictive legislation, the Moriscos rose in a bloody rebellion (1568-71), which Philip II put down with the help of Don John of Austria. The Moriscos prospered in spite of persecutions and furthered Spanish agriculture, trade, and industries. However, in 1609 Philip III, influenced by the Duke of Lerma, decreed their expulsion for both religious and political reasons, and the Moriscos to leave the Kingdom, only allowing them to keep what they could carry. Everything else was confiscated. The expulsions came to hurt the Spanish economy for generations.