Moriscos had been less subject to prosecution…
1567 CE
Moriscos had been less subject to prosecution by the Inquisition until the reign of King Philip II in the Iberian Union.
By contrast, the 1492 Alhambra Treaty had forced Jewish people expelled unless becoming conversos, called Marranos, who are still more often prosecuted than Moriscos, some of whose number have risen to positions of wealth and prominence and wielded influence in society.
Moreover, Aragonese and Valencian nobles in particular are interested in keeping their Morisco vassals under personal control; they try to protect them from Inquisitorial prosecution by advocating patience and religious instruction.
Philip II changes tack: he decides to reintroduce old laws prohibiting their customs, religion and language, to goad the minority of Moriscos living in Granada into an open revolt that he can contain, rather than wait for them to side with a possible Ottoman invader in the near future.
He issues an edict in 1567 forbidding the Moriscos the use of their Muslim names, dresses, customs, and even of their Arabic language.
They are told that they will have to give up their children to be educated by Christian priests.