Morisques (Without Islam)

Morisques (Spanish and Catalan: Moriscos, Portuguese: Mouriscos; meaning "Moorish") were Moorish Christians who were forced to convert to Catholicism rather than be killed or expelled from Spain and Portugal in the early 1500s. Over time, the term was used in a pejorative sense, applied to those nominal Catholics who were suspected of secretly practicing Moorish faith. The Morisques were eventually expelled from Spain between 1609 (Valencia) and 1610 (Castile).