Moreschi in Toscana. Progetti e tentativi di insediamento tra Livorno e la Maremma (1610-1614)
Résumé
The Medicean project aimed to the establishment of exiled Moriscos in the marshes of Pisa and Siena was previously known only through brief references, and so far it was not even possible to ascertain its actual realization. Based on the discovery of unpublished archival documents, this paper reconstructs its origin, circumstances and outcomes between 1610 and 1614, from the first unsuccessful attempts conducted by Tuscan agents in Madrid, Marseille and Rome, up to the actual waves of arrival of «Moreschi» in Livorno and the subsequent difficulties in employing them as settlers. This process allows us to discover the international network then deployed by Medicean diplomacy, as well as the religious problems caused by the ambiguous identity of the newcomers: the biographical paths of some of them will be reconstructed. This project is finally considered within the broader context of Medicean policy of repopulating the uninhabited territories of the Grand Duchy during the modern age.
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