Moriscos evaded census registration by hiding, fleeing, and passing

Evidence

We are dealing with a religious group, most of which was at the beginning of our period driven into clandestinity and which had many reasons for avoiding the prying attentions of authority; a group of which many members sought at various periods to slip away illegally abroad and some to “pass” and merge into the majority. These were people who avoided registration. Nevertheless, it is necessary to form some estimate of the proportion of the total population with whom we are concerned, even if we preserve a good measure of skepticism about the reliability of any results. — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 84

Categorization

• XREF: Mirrors the documented pattern of Jews and conversos evading Inquisition-era registration, and of persecuted minorities generally understating their numbers to authorities.