Pedro de Valencia and the Catholic Apologists of the Expulsion of the Moriscos: Visions of Christianity and Kingship

The Spanish Moriscos, Muslims forcibly converted to Christianity, were expelled by Philip III between 1609 and 1614. Subsequently, writers known as Catholic Apologists wrote justifying the event. Pedro de Valencia, humanist, biblical scholar, jurist and royal Chronicler, condemned expulsion. Both Apologists and Pedro de Valencia made their case by invoking Divine Providence: the former contended that millenarian prophecies and apocalyptic visions were signs of divine warning beforehand and of approval afterwards; Valencia urged Philip III to act as a shepherd king, arguing that Divine Providence would punish monarchs who put political expediency before moral rectitude. Drawing on unpublished source material, the book juxtaposes the ideals of Valencia, a Christian humanist, with the bigotry, superstition and racism of the Apologists.






Author: Grace Magnier
Publication Year: 2010 
Pages:448 pp.
Imprint: BRILL


Table of contents
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
List of Illustrations
Introduction

Part One The Catholic Apologists
1. Spain's Perception of its Own Predominant Role in Christendom in the Early Seventeenth Century
2. Santiago and Spain's Perceived Pre-eminence among Christain Nations
3. The Catholic Apologists of the Expulsion of the Moriscos: Anti-Islamic Propaganda
4. Guilt by Association: Anti-Islamic Invective

Part Two
5. Pedro de Valencia: Biblical Scholar, Humanist and Social Critic
6. Pedro de Valencia, Royal Chronicler
7. Pedro de Valencia's Vision of a 'Caste-Free'Society
8. Pedro de Valencia's 'Tratado acerca de los moriscos'
9. 'El Tratado acerca de los moriscos' and Pedro de Valencia's Personal Plea to Philip III Seen within the Framework of Seventeenth-Century Theories of Kingship
10. Pedro de Valencia's Notion of Kingship: 'El Buen Pastor'

Conclusion
Illustrations Section
Bibliography
Index


Source: Brill