The Religious Orders and the Expulsion of the Moriscos: Doctrinal Controversies and Hispano-Papal Relations

Abstract

Debate among historians has mainly focused on defining the decisive role played by the Duke of Lerma, the relationship between the Inquisition, the monarchy and the Spanish episcopacy (with particular reference to the key figure of Juan de Ribera), the stance of the Holy See and the issue of whether political arguments prevailed over religious ones. This chapter firstly deals with the significance which the ecclesiastics' first-hand knowledge of the Moriscos' observance of Christian practices may have had in determining their varying, sometimes divergent positions towards the Expulsion. It then deals with the influence of the religious orders on the complex system of checks and balances operating at Philip III's court and on the leanings of the government under Lerma's ministership. Relations with Rome in this context are an important subject, albeit under-analysed in recent political studies of the so-called Pax Hispanica . Keywords: Christian practices; Duke of Lerma; ecclesiastics' first-hand knowledge; monarchy; Moriscos' observance; Pax Hispanica ; Philip III's court; religious orders; Spanish episcopacy