Granada’s expulsion relocated its entire Muslim population regardless of loyal conduct

Evidence

It must be stressed that what was going on at this point was the total relocation of the entire Muslim population of the Kingdom of Granada. Exceptions were made only in the case of a very small privileged elite. (Alonso del Castillo, for example, a useful servant of the Crown, could stay behind.) To secure permission to stay and avoid confiscation of one’s property, it was not enough just to prove that one had not taken part in the fighting, still less that one had surrendered promptly when summoned to do so. Nevertheless, those charged with the expulsions clearly felt the need to justify to themselves what had been done. One tactic they adopted was to impugn the good faith of the “enemy.” All Moriscos, whatever their record, were by now perceived as a threat. — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 1097

Categorization

• XREF: The pattern of total relocation plus scapegoating justification mirrors genocidal rationalization structures documented in other forced-migration histories.