Christian Captives on the Shores of the Sea of Alboran (15th and 16th centuries)

Abstract

Until the end of the fifteenth century and the beginning of the sixteenth, along the two shores of the sea of Alboran, the enemies par excellence of the kingdom of Castile were the Muslims. They remained so, among other reasons, for their continued excursions along the coast seeking Christian captives.The loss of liberty assumed the breakdown of families and traditions along with deprivations and humiliations of all types, all of which find expression in different written testimonies. I will use two sources to recreate the daily life in captivity: the “Miracles of Guadalupe” (Los Milagros de Guadalupe) and the “Treatise on the Ransoming of Captives” (Tratado de la rendicion de cautivos) by Jerónimo Gracián de la Madre de Dios.