Phillip III of Spain expels Muslim converts to Christianity

Phillip III of Spain began the expulsion of the country’s “Morisco” (Muslims who converted to Christianity and their descendants) population on April 9, 1609, based on the Crown’s fears that the Morisco population retained Muslim beliefs. Hundreds of thousands of Moriscos would be expelled from the country from 1609-1614. The expulsions took place just over 100 years after Spain’s Jewish population was expelled in 1492.

Learn more about the expulsion of the Moriscos.