THE ORIGINS OF PROTESTANTISM 



destroyed, the cultivation of sugar, rice, and 

 cotton came to an end, the wool-trade stopped, 

 and irrigation of the soil was discontinued. The 

 disturbance of industry and the consequent dis- 

 tress were so great and so far-reaching that by 

 the end of the seventeenth century the popu- 

 lation of Madrid had decreased by one half, and 

 that of Seville by three quarters ; whole villages 

 were deserted, large portions of the arable land 

 went out of cultivation, and brigandage gained 

 a foothold which it has ever since kept. In 

 short, the economic ruin of Spain may be said 

 to date from the expulsion of the Moriscoes : 

 after nearly three hundred years the country 

 has not yet recovered from the disastrous effects 

 of that unparalleled crime and blunder. 



Yet this atrocious deed was done with the 

 unanimous approval of the Spanish people. 

 Even the gentle-hearted and high-minded Cer- 

 vantes applauded it, while Davila characterized 

 it as the most glorious event in all Spanish his- 

 tory. Nay, even in recent times, the eminent 

 historian Lafuente, while recognizing the ter- 

 rible economic results of the measure, maintains 

 that it was nevertheless productive of immense 

 benefit by securing the " religious unity " of 

 the whole people. Here we have the true 

 Spanish idea or, to speak more accurately, the 

 true ecclesiastical idea, which, through an un- 

 fortunate combination of circumstances, has al- 

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