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Expulsion edicts justified punishing an entire community for alleged crimes of a few.

Properties2
tagsja-picks, factual_claims, singleton, xref, category/factual-claims
aliases@harvey_muslims_2005, loc. 1520, @harvey_muslims_2005, loc. 1516, @tilly_regimes_2006, loc. 441

4 min read

Expulsion edicts justified punishing an entire community for alleged crimes of a few.

Evidence

Once again, the idea of collective responsibility is brought forward. All the Moriscos must pay the penalty for what some are alleged to have done. … Curiously, the wording of the ban on the export of currency and valuables is repeated unchanged from the earlier edicts, but then the text closes, “But although it is forbidden to them by the laws of these realms, if any of them should wish to take out their property in money, silver and jewels they may do so, so long as they register it, and hand over half of it to my treasury [emphasis added] to the person appointed to receive such things, as the other Moriscos who left have done, but in this case they may not take goods with them.” This, then, allows those expelled to follow a similar procedure to that briefly in place on the Burgos-Canfranc route, although on less advantageous terms. The former Mudejars of Castile people who had never given any trouble to the Crown whatsoever, were given this reward: they only had half of their money confiscated, instead of all of it, and they lost all of their chattels! — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 1520 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

To justify its harsh provisions aimed at subjects who had not been guilty of rebellion, the preamble to this edict finds it desirable to blacken the reputation of these Moriscos; it was not just that they “were or preceded from those who concurred with the rising in the Kingdom of Granada” (and that was not true in all cases), they had, so it was alleged, subsequently had treasonable dealings with the Turks and with “other princes to whom they offered their persons and their possessions.” They had failed to reveal the plots that had been launched against Spain, “a clear sign they are all of the same opinion.” In order to silence those who might claim that individual guilt had not been demonstrated, the edict then adduces an argument based on group responsibility: “When some detestable crime is committed by members of some corporation or college, it is only right that the body should be dissolved, and that some should be punished for the offenses of others.” Thus, without exception, the Moriscos were all to be expelled (no exceptions being made for infants) and were obliged to leave within thirty days. — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 1516 (#expands, via linked claim)

But you can also send out your bailiffs, troops, or hit squads after someone has made claims in a way that meets your disfavor. (If you have limited means, furthermore, you can retaliate by means of exemplary punishment: ostentatiously hanging or torturing the few perpetrators on whom your agents can lay their hands.) … You may, for example, facilitate peaceful demonstrations, but set up serious penalties for any demonstrator who engages in a violent act. — Charles Tilly, Regimes and Repertoires, 441 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

  • XREF: connects to: Expulsion decrees punished all Moriscos collectively for alleged acts of a few. — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 1520; Mass expulsion edicts justified collective punishment through corporation-dissolution doctrine. — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 1516; Cooperation is enforced through community expulsion of those who deviate — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 1743 (+7 more)

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