In 1308 the Castilians took Gibraltar and laid siege to Algeciras; to induce them to raise the siege it was necessary to cede to them several cities. During the minority of Alfonso XI two of the infante or regents of Castile united their forces and made a hostile advance on Granada; but their ardour made them neglect all prudence and they were completely defeated on the spot that is called to this day the Sierra de los Infantes (1319). This victory encouraged the king of Granada, who immediately sent out expeditions to reconquer the places he had lost, even Gibraltar. The advantage might have been pushed still further had the Africans supported Muhammed V, but on the contrary they took from him Algeciras, Marbella, and Ronda. It was not until the accession of Yusuf II that a genuine alliance united all the Moslems under one banner. In concert with the Merinid prince, Abul-Hassan, Yusuf attacked Tarifa; but the allied forces met with severe defeat and Abul-Hassan, after surrendering all his possessions to Spain, went to hide his shame in Fez (1340). His fleet was shortly afterward destroyed by the European galleys which had united to assure the empire of the sea to the Christians.
[1432-1491 A.D.]
Henceforth the Arabs in Spain were thrown entirely on their own resources, and situated as they were at the extremity of the peninsula, they asked for nothing but to remain in complete obscurity. Not until 1432 was war again resumed; at that time Yusuf IV and Muhammed VII disputed for the crown, and one of the two competitors implored aid of the Castilians, who assisted him to victory. Now followed a series of isolated frontier-combats caused by incursions of Castilian nobles and Arab sheikhs into one another’s territory; but they brought about no general war, being, as it were, preliminary jousts that served to prepare the public spirit for the supreme struggle that was to come.
Granada was in no condition to resist the Castilians when Mulei Hassan ascended the throne in 1466. Despite his courage and patriotism, that new king was not received with favour by the people, who accused him of cruelty and arrogance and resented the power he had allowed a Christian slave-woman to gain over him; many even went so far as to assert that he would name the son of this slave his successor, to the exclusion of Abu Abdallah (Boabdil), the son of the sultana Zoraya. In Castile, on the contrary, the nobles had united to form a faction around the infanta Isabella, who was married to Ferdinand, king of Sicily, who was, moreover, the heir presumptive to the crown of Aragon. Disposing of the revenues of three kingdoms, the husband and wife were about to establish forever the unity and power of Spain by destroying the Arab domination in the peninsula. Mulei Hassan aroused their resentment by refusing to pay the tribute agreed to by his father; he even carried hostilities to the point of attacking Zahara, which he took in 1480. But the ruins of the conquered city were destined to fall upon the heads of the victors; their own Alhama, the main support of Granada, was taken by the Castilians, who shortly afterward advanced upon the capital.
Here all was trouble, the partisans of Abu Abdallah having just deposed Mulei Hassan, who abandoned by the most of his supporters was obliged to retire to the provinces. The Castilians carried on the war for a while longer, but without great energy; and when Abu Abdallah finally fell into their hands they immediately restored him to liberty, thinking that his culpable ambitions would serve them better than the most signal victory. Mulei Hassan recovered the throne for a short time, but was forced to abdicate in favour of his uncle, Az-Zagal. Abu Abdallah, who had incurred the contempt of his compatriots, sought aid of Ferdinand; and that king immediately invaded the kingdom of Granada, taking the cities of La Vega, after which Az-Zagal delivered over to him Granada (1486). Ferdinand had attained the object of his expedition; but instead of retiring he concluded a new compact with Abdallah, which authorised him to pursue Az-Zagal and take from him all the strongholds in which he might seek refuge. Armed with this pretext he besieged and captured Malaga, then directed his troops against Almeria, Baza, and Vera. Convinced that further struggle was useless, Az-Zagal proposed a general capitulation to Spain. Ferdinand accepted and displayed great generosity and moderation. In return for all the states he delivered over, the Moslem king was to receive full proprietary right over vast domains, and his subjects were to become subjects of Castile, retaining all their property and liberties on payment of a tribute.
[1491-1525 A.D.]
The greater number of the Arabs of Granada saw in this treaty the assurance of future peace, and were willing to submit to the Christian domination; but the orthodox Moslems flew to arms, and forcing Az-Zagal to take flight in Africa they fortified Granada and determined to successfully defend it or be buried under its ruins. The 9th of May, 1491, Ferdinand appeared before the walls of the city at the head of eighty thousand men. The ablest of the Arab generals had organised the defence; but despite that fact and the bravery with which all the inhabitants, men, women, and children, endured the hardships and horrors of a siege, Ferdinand and Isabella had superior might on their side, as well as indomitable perseverance, and were bound to succeed.
As a proof of her determination not to recede until her purpose had been accomplished, Isabella built a town about Granada, which exists to this day under the name of Santa Fé. Moats and entrenchments guarded the Spanish camp from surprises in any direction, and Ferdinand occupied himself in intercepting all communication from outside. The Moslems risked their last chance of safety in a general battle which resulted in victory for the Christians. Contrary to the advice of many sheikhs, who preferred death to surrender, Abu Abdallah entered into negotiations with Ferdinand. The treaty ran that Granada was to be given up at the end of two months, provided reinforcements did not arrive by sea or land within that time. The Arabs had made appeal to the sovereigns of Africa, and even to the sultan of Constantinople, but none would undertake the risk of such an enterprise, and Granada was forced to succumb.
Not wishing to remain in the country that had witnessed his ignominy and disgrace, Abu Abdallah went to Africa to finish his days in the silence of the deserts. The inhabitants of Granada withdrew to the inmost chambers of their dwellings, and let the Christians take possession of their city, which had the air of being completely deserted. The banner of Castile was flown from the summit of the Alhambra, and the great mosque was straightway decorated with the ornaments of the Catholic religion. There was not one among the vanquished who raised a protesting voice at anything that took place; they even seemed indifferent to the terms of surrender by which they retained their personal liberty, their property, their religion, their usages, and even their former legislative institutions. The fall of Granada seemed to be the sentence of death of the whole Arab race, as indeed it did mark the end of their domination in Spain, which had lasted 781 years (711-1492).
Ferdinand had no intention of faithfully carrying out the terms of the contract; he possessed Granada—that was the end and aim of his ambition. Accustomed as he was in politics to sacrificing everything to his own interests, he determined to force the Arabs gradually to abjure their religion and mode of life until they became merged into the rest of the population. He went prudently to work by charging his inquisitioners to convert the Moslems to Catholicism only by degrees. The Jews were first to be attacked, and forced by tortures and horrible executions to deny the faith of their fathers, that the Arabs might see what fate was in store for them should they refuse allegiance to Christianity. A little later all Moslem religious exercises were prohibited in public, and in 1499 Ferdinand boldly threw aside the mask, and pronounced sentence of expulsion against any Moslems who should refuse to be baptised. In vain were the cries of indignation that arose in the kingdom of Granada; the inhabitants of the cities went to church to worship the Christian God, and then in the privacy of their own homes asked pardon of the prophet for the sacrilege they had committed. The mountaineers of Alpujarras, the most energetic among the Moslem populations, openly refused to obey, and took up arms; but Ferdinand marched upon them with a superior force, and after having devastated their lands added confiscation to the sentence of exile pronounced against them.