Frontier and repopulation: a critical crossroad after the War of the Alpujarras

Abstract

The unstable future opened up during the War of the Alpuj arras, in Granada, demanded urgent measures in order to reactivate economically the regions affected. The military issues received preferential attention, both for a complete pacification of the Kingdom and for securing the settlement of tenants. Furthermore, that preference was explained by another reason, namely for the aim of defending the towns of the interior and on the seashore against insurgent focuses or against incursions coming from the North of Africa. As from 1570 onwards, a series of improvements began to fix the defense structure of the Kingdom of Granada. Its basic economic support came from the tax system, introduced by the Catholic King and Queen, being their main contributors the moorish. Their deportation, however, would cause a reform of the mechanisms employed to collect taxes, given the fact of the fiscal exemptions granted to the new settlers of Granada.