Granada

The kingdom of Granada was the last part of Muslim rule in Spain to fall under Christian control in 1492. Subsequent difficult coexistence between winners and losers was the cause of tensions which were never silenced, while the Arab aspect of the city gradually gave way to the symbols of Christian culture. The demolition of the main mosques in Granada, or their conversion into Christian churches, was the most visible symbol of this policy. After the second revolt of the Alpujarras, the large community of the Moriscos was dispersed throughout the Iberian Peninsula. The arrival of Christian “settlers” from other regions of Spain did not make up for the loss, especially in terms of economic activity and productivity. A series of natural disasters and epidemics contributed to continuously reduce the city’s population during the seventeenth century. Only in the eighteenth century would a period of economic revival and urban planning arrive.