Una sociedad cautiva. El impacto sociopolítico del cautiverio en la frontera entre el reino de Granada y el Magreb a principios del siglo XVI

Abstract

Drawing on different primary sources this article analyses the impact of captivity on the configuration of the frontier society between the south-eastern region of the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghreb at the beginning of the sixteenth century. More specifically, it shows how a wide array of actors (from the crown to humble citizens, from military authorities to members of minorities, etcetera) made use of this phenomenon as a means to negotiate their power position in the social fabric of this Mediterranean frontier. In this manner, captivity appears as a key factor in the internal configuration of this society, rather than as a mere expression of the clash of civilizations that use to characterise the Mediterranean world of the Early Modern period.