New Article: ‘Powerful Moriscos’ in Tunisia during the Seventeenth Century

 

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Chachia, Houssem Eddine. "Chapter 6 ‘Powerful Moriscos’ in Tunisia during the Seventeenth Century". In The Morisco Diaspora and the Morisco Networks across the Mediterranean, (Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2024) doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004730885_007 Abstract: The presence of Moriscos in Tunisia has been well studied, especially when compared with diasporas in other regions and countries. Between 1917 and 2017, 200 studies appeared in different fields and languages.1 However, despite this abundant bibliography, there are many gaps in the history of the Moriscos in Tunisia, due to the lack of documents and sources. A limited number of documents from the seventeenth century can be found in the Tunisian National Archive. Very few records exist from the beginning of that century, the period of the arrival of the Moriscos in the country. Even though documentation from the eighteenth century is more available, it is still minimal. Moreover, local sources about the Morisco presence are usually too abbreviated when some specific aspects of it are discussed. Although the lack of local "raw materials" is less than ideal, European sources and archives offer information/background/context for the topic of this paper. I will be focusing on the roles of those that I call "the powerful Moriscos," meaning the leaders of the Morisco community in Tunisia, especially the Ašrāf, the Sufis, and the wealthy. I will explore how this lobby of "powerful Moriscos" worked through their networks with local Ottoman authorities inside and with other communities outside Tunisia. An analysis of these Morisco individuals reveals the roles played by this group in the settlement of Moriscos in Tunisia shortly after 1609, and how they protected the wealth and privileges of their community during the seventeenth century. The Morisco leaders negotiated directly with the local Tunisian authority, or indirectly through Constantinople (with the Ottomans), regarding the reception of the exiles or refugees and Morisco settlement in Tunisia.