MORISCOES* 
Hahewill on Providence. —The lady and her companions, 
attended With mufifck and a morifco-dance of men. Blount's 
Anc.Ten. —A dancer of the morris or mooriffi dance.— 
Your wit Ikips a morifco. Marfion's What you will. 
I have feen him 
Caper upright like a wild morifco, 
Shaking the bloody darts, as he his bells. Sftahcjpeare. 
MORIS'CO, adj. See Moresco. 
MORIS'COES, an appellation given by the Spaniards 
to the Moors of Granada, in order to diftinguilh them 
from the Moors of Barbary. The expulfion of thefe 
people from Spain forms an important event not only in 
the hiftory of that country, but alfo in the hiftory of per- 
fecution; and we lhall therefore anticipate fome details 
which might feem to belongto the article Spain, for the 
purpofe of bringing the principal circumftances into one 
view. It is well known, that, when the city of Granada 
was taken by king Ferdinand of Arragon and queen Ifa- 
bella of Caftile, in 1492, the Moorilh government in Spain, 
which had lafted above feven hundred years, terminated ; 
and yet the Moors did not immediately leave the country. 
The body of the people, not only of the kingdom of 
Granada, but alfo of Valencia, though conquered by the 
Chriftians in 1236, and of Murcia, conquered by them in 
1165, belonged to that race; and, befides thefe, others 
were difperfed in great number over Caftile, Eftramadura, 
Arragon, Catalonia, &c. All thefe Moors maintained 
their feparation from the Spaniards, by an obftinate ad¬ 
herence, not only to the language, habit, and cuftoms, 
of their anceftors, but to their religion likewife, which 
was the Mahometan; few or none of them, in a long 
feries of years, having been converted to the Chriftian 
faith, by all the efforts of the Spanifh friars for this 
purpofe. The Spanifh princes, apprifed of the danger 
that might refult from the connexion that was likely to 
fubfift between the Moors of Barbary and thofe of their 
own country, fo nearly iituated with refpect to one ano¬ 
ther, made every attempt in their power to diflblve their 
natural attachment, cemented by fimilarity of religious 
profeffion ; and with this view they employed the eccle- 
fiallics for converting them to Chriftianity. The friars, 
failing in their endeavours, foon reprefented the Moors 
as an obftinate and hardened fet of people, not to be over¬ 
come by any methods unaccompanied with violence. Ac¬ 
cordingly thele mild minifters of the Gofpel advifed the 
princes either to banifh the Moors, or to make them all 
flaves, if they refufed to become Chriftians; or, at leaft, 
to take all their children from them, and baptize them, 
fo that the next generation might become Chriftians. 
The council of Toledo, however, exprefsly prohibited the 
compulfion of infidels to be baptized ; and Thomas Aqui- 
,nas, and raoft of their other divines, declared it to be 
unlawful to baptize the children of infidels without the 
confent of their parents; and, therefore, the methods 
propofed by the friars were not adopted: more efpecially 
as the Moors, when they polTefled the dominion of the 
country, had never forced any of their Chriftian fubjeffts 
to change their religion ; and king Ferdinand, upon the 
furrender of Granada, had engaged himfelf by oath, if 
the Morifcoes wifhed to remain in Spain, not to moleft 
them on account of their religion. The Jews, however, 
not having been protected by any fuch engagement, were 
ordered by a royal edidd, within three months after the 
capture of Granada, if they would not be baptized, to 
depart with their families in the courfe of four months, 
on pain of death; upon which many of them removed, 
and thofe who remained, after the expiration of the fti- 
pulated term, were ftripped by the king of all their pro¬ 
perty, and fold to his fubjefts for flaves. It is laid that 
above 800,000 men, women, and children, were driven 
out of Spain at this time. 
As to the Moors, it was found that, in the year 1499, 
few of thofe who inhabited Granada had been converted 
to Chriftianity; and the'refore Ximenes, archbilhop of 
VOi, XV. No. 1085. 
809 
Toledo, was charged to purfue fome courfe for convert¬ 
ing the Moors to the Chriftian faith. The archbilliop, 
determined to fucceed in every meafure which he under¬ 
took, began by mild treatment to engage in his intereft 
the chief men among the Moors, fome of whom became 
converts ; but others were found invincible by bribes and 
promifes. The prelate changed his plan, and had re- 
courfe to fevere methods of converfion, ordering the ir¬ 
reclaimable to be loaded with chains, thrown into dun¬ 
geons, and treated as the molt notorious malefadtors. Ir¬ 
ritated by this cruel treatment, the Moors took up arms ; 
but, their infurredtion being fupprefled, 50,000 of them, 
inhabitants of the city of Granada, purchafed their lives 
by confenting to be baptized; and the archbilhop fo far 
triumphed in his fuccels, as on his departure not to have 
left one propelled Mahometan in the city. The Moors of 
the country were alarmed, and fortified themfelves among 
the mountains, refolding to die Mahometans with their 
fwords in their hands, rather than fubmit to be baptized 
by compulfion, as their countrymen had been in the city; 
but, though many of them, with their women and chil¬ 
dren, were put to the fword, others collected together in 
a formidable body, which called forth the interpofition 
of the king in perfon, who, being joined by a powerful 
lioft, very rapidly reduced all the Moorilh towns that 
were in arms; obliging the inhabitants to purchafe 
their lives by confenting to be baptized. The Moors 
that were ftill in arms among the fortrefies of the moun¬ 
tains, petitioned the king to allow them to tranlport 
themfelves to Barbary, offering to pay ten dollars per 
head for every one that embarked. The king’s want of 
money permitted thofe who could pay their ranfom to 
depart; and thofe who were under a neceffity of remain¬ 
ing were forced to be baptized. In a few months, above 
200,000 men, women, and children, were thus brought 
by the king and the archbilhop of Toledo from the Ma¬ 
hometan to the Chriftian profeffion , though it is faid that 
fcarcely one in that large number was truly converted 
to the Chriftian faith. The inquifition, regarding thele 
forced baptilins as good and valid, exercifed its ufuai 
cruelties on thofe Moors who were convifted of having 
afterwards returned to Maliometanilm. Not fewer than 
100,000, living and dead, prefen t and abfent, had been 
condemned for apoftacy by the inquifition of Seville in 
the fpace of forty years; of which number 4000 were 
burned, and 30,000 were reconciled, the reft having made 
their efcape into Barbary. 
During the remaining part of the reign of Ferdinand 
and Ifabella, and the whole reign of Charles V. we hear 
little more of the Granada Morifcoes, than that they 
univerfally continued to be Mahometans, and manifefted 
an extraordinary averlion to Chriftianity, which averfion 
was increafed by the fiery zeal of the inquifition. Thus 
the friars went on preaching, and the inquilitors went 
on burning the Morifcoes, until the year 1568; when 
Philip II. by advice of his council and ecsfeliaftics, pub- 
lilhed certain laws, which were framed with a view of ex- 
tinguilhing in the Morifcoes the memory of their being 
defcended of the Moors; the remembrance of which was 
thought to contribute not a little to their obftinacy in. 
the religion of that nation. The rigorous execution of 
thefe law's induced the Morifcoes to leek relief from the 
grand figriior and the Moors in Barbary; who fent eight 
hundred Turks, with a great quantity of arms and am¬ 
munition, into the kingdom of Granada, who were joined 
by the Moors from all parts, taking up arms and re¬ 
nouncing the profeffion of the Chriftian religion. Againft, 
thefe the king ordered his troops to march ; and at length 
they were totally lubdued, and compelled to leave the 
kingdom of Granada. From this time they were dif- 
perled over the kingdom of Caftile, and fome other in¬ 
land provinces, in which they and their pofterity. con¬ 
tinued until the time of their general expulfion in the 
year 1610. 
Notwitbftafiding all the diligence and cruelties which 
9 U were 
