Gerdien Evertse MA

PhD candidate

Area(s) of interest: Early Modern History, Migration History & Diaspora

Cohort/Start PhD: 2018-2019

Morisco Displacements

University of Amsterdam
Project: The Invention of the Refugee in Early Modern Europe
Promotor(es): Prof. dr. Geert Janssen
Aanstelling: vanaf februari 2019

Morisco Displacements focuses on ‘Moriscos’, the large expelled Muslim minority from the Iberian Peninsula. The majority of them ended up in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean, including Tunis and Istanbul. Of all diasporic groups, this one is arguably most understudied. But precisely because of the considerable size and distinct profile of this community, it is vital to integrate the Morisco experience into a wider European perspective on refugees. The project aims to explain the emergence of the Morisco as a social category in European society based on religious, political and legal models. Furthermore it will focuses on identifying the agency of the Moriscos in forging transnational solidarity networks. This will be achieved by studying two cities, Istanbul and Tunis, intensively during three different time periods (1570s, 1620s, and 1680s). This project is part of the VICI project The Invention of the Refugee in Early Modern Europe led by Prof. dr. Geert Janssen.