La expulsión de los moriscos de Alcalá la Real (1611)

Abstract

The expulsion of the Moriscos was a process in which both the administrative resources of the monarchy and, especially, the staunch resistance of those affected (who tried to avoid it by all possible means) were put to the test. Those responsible for implementing the expulsion assumed that their task had been completely accomplished in 1611. This article describes the activity of the second lieutenant (alférez) Marcos Pérez Prado in Alcalá la Real during that year. Pérez Prado was the deputy officer of Francisco de Irrazábal y Andía, assigned to supervise the expulsion of Moriscos in the Kingdom of Granada. Pérez Prado's resolute actions and his zeal to fulfil his duties provoked clamorous protests among the inhabitants of Alcalá la Real. This article provides us with a detailed account of the event, of the social and ethnic permeability prevalent at the time and the not always unselfish tolerance of the people living in that particular spot of the province of Jaén.