Páez named her loved ones and
neighbors. She admitted to having
practiced Islamic rites, accused her
neighbors of keeping the Ramadan
fast, and observing theguadoc(a fa-
cial ablution) “in observance of the
sect of Muhammad.” To save their
lives,community members followed
suit, incriminating others in turn.
Páez’s family suffered greatly as
a result. Her father was accused of
observing Muslim fasts and con-
ducting sacred ceremonies. A wit-
ness testified that he gathered with
other Moriscos to dine after fasting
during Ramadan. They said he had
paper with Arabic words written on
them in his house.He was sentenced
to confiscation of all of his proper-
ty. After refusing to confess, he was
burned at the stake. Páez’s uncle
suffered the same fate; her sister,14 years old, was forced to renounce
her faith, and her mother confessed
to practicing Islam but did escape
execution.Under Torture
The accounts of the interrogations
are not for the faint of heart: In one
case, a Morisca was tied to the rack,
and after“several turns of the rope,”
the excruciating pain made her
say what her inquisitors wanted to
hear: “That she had never believed
in God, nor in Our Lord... and that
how could God be three persons?”
Other confessions, extracted under
similar torture methods, revealed
to the scandalized inquisitors that
the accused regarded sacred objects,
such as statues of saints, as of no
more value than wooden sticks.
Not even the elderly were spared
from the Spanish Inquisition’s bru-
tality. Isabel de Cañete, 78 years old,
was accused of conducting various
Islamic ceremonies and divinations.
After being tortured, she was sen-
tenced to confiscation of her proper-
ty and imprisoned for life. Another
elderly woman was tortured on the
rack until she fainted. Nearly all the
accused had their property confis-
cated or faced heavy fines—a pro-
cess that must have considerably
added to the Holy Office’s coffers.After “several turns of the rope,” the excruciating
pain made her say what her inquisitors wanted to
hear: that she had never believed in God.
0RONOZ/ALBUMCOVER OFTHE 1612 PUBLICATIONJUSTA EXPULSIÓN DE
LOS MORISCOS DE ESPAÑA (THE JUST EXPULSION OF THE
MORISCOS FROM SPAIN)BY FRANCISCO DE CASTRO.
BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL, MADRIDCOVOVERERER OFO THE 1612 12 PUBPBLICL AT IAT ONNONJUSUSJUTATATAEXPEXPEXPULSULSULSCRITICAL MASS
A 16th-century painted wooden
altarpiece by Felipe Bigarny depicts the
mass baptism of Muslims in Granada,
following the Christian conquest of the
city in 1492. Granada Cathedral, Spain
PRISMA/ALBUMNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY 67