The Plea to the King and the Survive of the Grenadan Morisco Elites after 1570: the Case of Doña Brianda de Venegas

Abstract

Between 1573 and 1591 the Cámara de Castilla received several petitions from dª. brianda de Venegas, member of one of the morisco aristocratic families of Granada. She pleaded for reco- vering her seized goods and asked permission for returning to Granada, calling for her innoncence and of her deceased husband, Rodrigo de Mendoza Abenchapela, in the past morisco rebellion of 1568. Her strategies and the proceedings of the Cámara and the Court with her, define an interesting example of the negociations held between the morisco elites and the Monarchy for finding a new balance in the social and political situation that these elites found after the war; at the same time these negociations show us how other rich moriscos decided to apply other strategies to reconstruct their prominent position within the morisco community after 1570.