Henry IV’s assassination voided France’s refuge promise to Spain’s expelled Moriscos.

Evidence

That generous offer might have been seen by Philip III’s ministers as a potential threat. Spain’s enemies were being offered asylum in a place where they might sooner or later turn into a danger to their former homeland. The assassination of Henry IV on May 14 by Ravaillac immediately put in doubt whether the promise would be fulfilled. Some Moriscos did cross the land frontier taking advantage of Henry’s ordonnance, but when the proclamation was made on May 29, Henry was already dead. — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 1480

Categorization

• STORYSTEM: The refugees who crossed the border trusting a dead king’s promise — the support they were promised evaporating before it was even proclaimed — is a resonant, almost cinematic moment of displaced hope.
• SHARE: For someone interested in the knock-on effects of Henry IV’s assassination — the Morisco refuge clause dying with him is a footnote most assassination accounts skip.