The expulsion of the Spanish Moriscos from Andalusia and its limits. The case of Seville (1610-1613)

As soon as the Moriscos were expelled from Valencia at the end of 1609, Don Juan de Mendoza, marquis of San Germán, started the expulsion of the descendants of Moors from Andalusia, Murcia and Hornachos (Badajoz). In fact, on 17 January 1610, the edict of expulsion was published in Seville. However, in spite of the intransigence showed when these edicts were applied, the exile process was far from being carried out successfully. This was due to constant changes but also to the fact that it took time to the Royal Council to solve out the doubts about the interpretation of royal edicts. Subsequent edicts, in order to complete this operation, through a second and then a third expulsion, demostrated the rushed nature of the first operation and revealed that the Moriscos could rely on a great number of complicities when they decided to stay. Apenas terminada la expulsión de los moriscos valencianos a finales de 1609, el marqués de San Germán, don Juan de Mendoza, emprendía el desplazamiento de los cristianos nuevos de Andalucía, Murcia y villa de Hornachos, publicándose el 17 de enero de 1610 el bando de expulsión en Sevilla. A pesar de la intransigencia manifestada a la hora de aplicarse los bandos, el destierro distó mucho de realizarse de forma eficaz, debido, en particular, a las innovaciones constantemente aportadas y al tiempo que tardó el Consejo Real en resolver las dudas que surgían a la hora de interpretar los edictos reales. Las órdenes posteriores de completar y acabar dicha operación, a través de las segunda y tercera expulsión, daban cuenta del carácter apresurado del primer operativo y revelaban las numerosas complicidades de la que habían podido valerse los moriscos a la hora de quedarse.