Clandestine Baptism and Crypto-Christianity in the Ottoman Archipelago during the Seventeenth Century

Abstract

Abstract: This article deals with crypto-Christianity in Ottoman lands, particularly in the Archipelago during the seventeenth century. The main goal is to explain why converts to Islam and their offspring would risk themselves to keep their former habits. This paper also intends to discuss the relevance of religious secrecy at that time and place, which will be analysed from an institutional, communitarian and familiar point of view. As a novelty, the topic of crypto-Christianity has been studied through several inquisitorial trials, coming mainly from the Maltese Inquisition. These sources contain rich, first-hand testimonies that allow to approach this phenomenon from an anthropological perspective. Such a methodology helps to achieve a closer and more human picture of those officially Islamic families who decided to observe the Christian faith discretely.