Episode 202: Moorish Refugees in the Early Modern Mediterranean

In this podcast, Andrew Russo, Ph.D. candidate in History at the University of Rochester, discusses his current project on the Morisco community in early modern Morocco, Tunisia, and Sicily. Russo outlines current trends in the historiography of the Moriscos, including a focus on local sources and records that illuminate the broad range of identities arriving in North Africa. Presenting several of these sources, Russo compares Morisco communities arriving in Morocco and Tunisia as well as how interactions with local religious and political authorities affected their experiences. Russo describes how certain writers of the time shaped narratives of Morisco identity and concludes by highlighting sources in Tunisia, including many in Spanish.

Andrew Russo is a scholar of mobility, migration, and diaspora. He graduated from the State University of New York in Brockport with a MA degree in Global History, and now lives in Rabat, Morocco.

This interview was conducted by Luke Scalone, CEMAT Chargé de Programmes, and was recorded via on the 1st of November, 2023.

To see related slides, visit our website www.themaghribpodcast.com

We thank Mr. Souheib Zallazi, (student at CFT, Tunisia) and Mr. Malek Saadani (student at ULT, Tunisia), for their interpretation of el Ardh Ardhi of Sabri Mesbah, performed for the introduction and conclusion of this podcast. Souheib on melodica and Malek on guitar.

Production and editing: Lena Krause, AIMS Resident Fellow at the Centre d’Études Maghrébines à Tunis (CEMAT).