Rebellion of the Alpujarras (1568–1571)

After eight centuries of Reconquista period in the Iberian Peninsula, the last Islamic state in Andalusia was removed in 1492 when the city of Granada, the capital of the Emirate of Granada, was taken by King Fernando II of Aragon and Queen Isabel I of Castile, also known as the Catholic Monarchs. According to the terms agreed upon during the surrender of the city, Muslims were granted freedoms regarding their beliefs and culture, but within ten years after these promises were made, Muslims were faced with the choice of converting to Christianity or leaving the Iberian Peninsula. While some of the Muslims preferred to leave, the rest accepted Christianity due to the circumstances. While the Muslims, who started to be called Moriscos, lived under the strict Christianisation policy of the Spanish Monarchy throughout the 16th century, as the years progressed, the conditions continued to develop to the detriment of the Moriscos. Due to these conditions, the Moriscos revolted in Alpujarras, Granada in 1568, but after the unsuccessful revolt was suppressed, Felipe II ordered the Moriscos to scatter to different regions of Castile, and his successor Felipe III signed the decision to expel the Moriscos from the Iberian Peninsula for good. Thus, the Muslim presence in Iberia, which began in 711, came to an end in 1614.