A History of the Inquisition of Spain; vol. 1Lea, Henry Charles
History
A History of the Inquisition of Spain; vol. 1
Lea, Henry Charles
Inquisition -- Spain
The enslaved Moor was his master's property, like his cattle, but
entitled to some safeguards of life and limb. Even baptism did not
manumit him unless the owner were a Moor or a Jew.[169] That he was
frequently a man of trained skill and education is seen in the provision
that, if his master confided to him a shop or a ship, the former was
bound to fulfill all contracts entered into by his slave.[170] Thus the
free Castilian, whose business was war, had his trade and commerce to a
considerable extent, as well as his agriculture, carried on by slaves,
and the rest was mostly in the hands of the Jews and the free Moors or
Mudéjares. Labor thus became the badge of races regarded as inferior; it
was beneath the dignity of the freeman, and when, as we shall see
hereafter, the industrious population was expelled by bigotry, the
prosperity of Spain collapsed.
[Sidenote: _THE MUDÉJARES_]
As for the Mudéjares, the practice of allowing them to remain in the
reconquered territories began early. Even in Galicia they were to be
found, and in Leon documents of the tenth century contain many Moorish
names among those who confirm or witness them.[171] The Fuero of Leon,
granted by Alfonso V in 1020, alludes to Moors holding slaves, and the
Berber population there is still represented by the Maragatos, to the
south-west of Astorga--a race perfectly distinct from the Spaniards,
retaining much of their African costume and speaking Castilian
imperfectly, although it is their only language.[172] Fernando I
(1033-65), who rendered the Kings of Toledo and Seville tributary, and
who was besieging Valencia when he died, alternated in his policy
towards the inhabitants of his extensive conquests. In the early part of
his reign he allowed them to remain; then he adopted depopulation, and
finally he returned to his earlier methods.[173] Alfonso VI followed the
more liberal system; when he occupied Toledo, in 1085, he granted a
capitulation to the inhabitants which secured to them their property and
religion, with self-government and the possession of their great
mosque.[174] When, during his absence, the Frenchman, Bernard Abbot of
Sahagun, newly elected to the archbishopric, in concert with his queen,
Constance of Burgundy, suddenly entered the mosque, consecrated it and
placed a bell on its highest minaret, Alfonso was greatly angered. He
hastened to Toledo, threatening to burn both the queen and the
archbishop, and only pardoned them at the intercession of the Moors, who
dreaded possible reprisals after his death. His policy, in fact, was to
render his rule more attractive to the Moslem population than that of
his tributaries, the petty _reyes de taifas_, who were obliged to
oppress their subjects in order to satisfy his exigencies. He even
styled himself _Emperador de los dos cultos_. His tolerant wisdom
justified itself, for, after the coming of the Almoravides, in spite of
the disastrous defeats of Zalaca and Uclés, he was able to hold his own
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