King Philip III signed the decree ordering the expulsion of the Moriscos, initiating a multi-year, kingdom-by-kingdom process of forced removals from the Spanish monarchy’s territories.
Mass removals started in Valencia, with Moriscos compelled to leave their homes on short notice and embark for North Africa under military supervision at Mediterranean ports.
The expulsion order was publicly proclaimed in the Kingdom of Valencia, the region with the largest Morisco concentration; implementation began there first, using guarded ports and organized embarkations.
In some Valencian districts, Moriscos resisted removal; armed standoffs and repression accompanied the first phase of expulsions, underscoring the coercive nature of the policy.
A decree extended the expulsion program to Andalusia, marking the widening of the policy from Valencia to other major regions of the Crown of Castile.
An ordinance dated mid-January explicitly included Hornachos (Extremadura)—a heavily Morisco town—signaling heightened attention to communities viewed as especially resistant to assimilation.
Local records report Hornachos Moriscos leaving on consecutive days, illustrating how expulsions could be implemented in tightly scheduled, supervised departures at the community level.
A decree set expulsions in motion across the Crown of Aragon’s territories; removals from Aragon, Catalonia, and Valencia formed a major share of the overall deportations.
A further decree covered Extremadura and the two Castiles, expanding expulsions across dispersed inland Morisco populations where enforcement proved more administratively complex.
A decree addressed Moriscos in the Kingdom of Murcia identified as of Granadan origin, showing how policy distinguished among Morisco subgroups and regional administrative categories.
The Castilian phase—covering widely dispersed Morisco communities—extended over multiple years, with more room for exceptions, delays, and partial noncompliance compared to coastal Valencia.
A court-sponsored thanksgiving procession in Madrid reflected official and popular framing of the expulsions as a religious-political triumph, even as removals continued elsewhere.
Later Murcia expulsions targeted the Ricote Valley and remaining “old” Moriscos, representing one of the last major organized pushes before official completion of the expulsion campaign.
By 1614, the Crown considered the expulsions largely complete; modern reference works commonly cite totals on the order of ~275,000 Moriscos forced to leave Spain, though exact numbers and effectiveness remain debated.
Expulsion of the Moriscos from Spain (1609–1614)
