An irrigation dispute led a lord to arm Moriscos, triggering Inquisition arrests

Evidence

Juan Cosc´on, a Christian, belonged to a family prominent in the cause of the defense of Aragonese rights (the fueristas). As lord of the villages of Mozota and Mezalocha, he had become involved in a quarrel over an irrigation canal (acequia) and decided that he would have to issue arms to his workmen, among whom were a number of Moriscos. There was no actual bloodshed, but Cosc´on’s men did actually deploy bearing weapons, which was deemed to be an infraction of the edict of disarmament (the enforcement of which was the responsibility of the Saragossa Inquisition, which is how that body became involved). The Inquisition accordingly arrested certain Moriscos from Mezalocha, and arms were duly found in their possession. Cosc´on took the case to the procurators of the body that represented lords of estates with Morisco vassals, and the procurators took action by invoking a key ancient Aragonese legal procedure: manifestaci´on. — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 570

Categorization

• DEFINE: The passage introduces manifestación, an ancient Aragonese legal procedure protecting subjects against arbitrary arrest, which will presumably be explained in the continuation.