    moriscos (, , ;  , ; meaning "moorish") were muslims who were forced to convert to christianity rather than be killed or expelled from spain and portugal in the early 1500s. over time, the term was used in a pejorative sense, applied to those nominal catholics who were suspected of secretly practicing islam. the moriscos were eventually expelled from spain between 1609 (valencia) and 1614 (castile). ==demographics==  estimates of morisco populations at the time of expulsion vary, many estimates being based on the number of recorded expulsion edicts (around 275,000). however, modern studies estimate around one million moriscos present in spain at the beginning of the 16th century.stallaert, c. 1998 of the granadan moriscos, 80,000 are estimated to have dispersed in andalusia and castile during the deportation from the kingdom granada carried out as a result of the war of the alpujarras.cultura Ãrabe, moriscos y cante flamenco (in spanish) moriscos were far from being a homogenous population and were largely subdivided in four distinct groups or ethnicities: ===kingdoms=== ====granada==== granada was the last islamic kingdom in the iberian peninsula, and, by the late 15th century, this region had the largest morisco population, and it formed the majority of the region's population. the least hispanized of all the groups, this community spoke fluent arabic, was well versed in islamic doctrine and - until moorish customs were prohibited by the catholic rulers following their conquest of granada in 1492 - it conserved the majority of cultural traits pertaining to islamic al andalus: dress, music, gastronomy, festivities etc. after their second revolt against catholic oppression, in 1568-71, the moriscos of granada were deported to the various regions of the kingdom of castile, extremadura and andalusia. ====valencia==== the second largest morisco population was to be found on the eastern kingdom of valencia, where moriscos accounted for about a third of the population. vassals of estate-owners who protected them due to the high tax revenue they provided, valencian moriscos were also a relatively distinct population. arabic was used commonly among them, although they were also fluent in the castilian and valencian languages. they were known for their practice of the islamic faith despite their nominal adherence to the catholic church. among other morisco communities, they were known for th
Converts_to_Christianity_from_Islam Moriscos