The Moriscos of Salé and the Hispanic Monarchy: Power Agents and Identities to the West of the Strait of Gibraltar, 1631–1632

This article examines the multiple frontiers between Maghrebi Islam and the southern European Catholic world by focusing on a very specific episode during the struggle for control of Rabat, capital of present-day Morocco. It addresses the problem of military and political control of the Strait of Gibraltar, which was closely linked to widespread corsair raids in the early seventeenth century. It also examines moriscos’ attempts to be allowed to return to Spain. The article points to the key importance of intermediaries and their linkages across borders at a time when both the Hispanic Monarchy and the Sa’adi kingdom were undergoing great difficulties. The strategic importance of the region transformed moments of crisis into opportunities, albeit failed ones, as intermediaries articulated their own interests with those of the king of Spain.