In the context of Spainish history conversos and moriscos refer, respectively, to Jewish and Muslim converts to the Chriistian faith. These labels have their origin in the Spanish Catholic reconquest of the Muslim parts of the Iberian peninsular in the late 15th Cent, when the Jews and Muslims were offered either the choice of conversion or exile. While many of the Jews decided to leave (and thus creating the Shephardic commnuity—Sefarad being the Hebrew word for Spain), many more opted for conversion. Most Muslims left rather than convert (it was easier for them since North Africa, just a short boat ride across the Straits of Gibralta, was already an Islamic stronghold (from which, of course, the original conquest and Islamization of Spain came).
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