Some persecuted Morisco communities were wealthy and confident enough to appeal their Inquisition fines

Evidence

The wealth of the Ar´evalo community is con- firmed by the scale of the fines set as a result of the above-mentioned Edict of Grace. We know these because those concerned actually appealed to the Inquisitor-General to be reassessed (and were!). That these people were prepared to stand up for themselves and defend themselves in this way itself conveys something of their self-confidence and ability to negotiate with officialdom. The highest assessment, for 1,684,438 maraved´ıs, payable by one Miguel Bori, was reduced to 600,000 (still, as Tapia calculates, the equivalent of the annual income of seventy manual laborers!); Miguel’s son Gabriel had his fine reduced from 112,500 to 93,750 maraved´ıs. — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 551

Categorization

• CANDY: A single man’s fine equaled the annual income of seventy laborers — a vivid, tweetable scale comparison.