Blood and Faith: The Purging of Muslim Spain by Matthew Carr

Blood and Faith: The Purging of Muslim Spain by Matthew Carr, 350 pages, Spanish History.
This was a very interesting book that would have been made a little more comprehensible with some maps, a timeline, and maybe a cast of characters. I know I was vaguely aware of the history of Spain in this period, from the reconquista, through the inquisition, and the expulsion of all Jews living in Spain. I don't recall knowing anything about the forced conversions of the Muslim population, the armed conflicts that resulted from this, and the later expulsion of all of the Moriscos, not only the remaining converted (often in name only) Muslims of Spain, but their devout Christian descendants as well. With an introductory chapter on the history of Islam in Iberia, the book then follows the story from the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic Monarchs, through their daughter, the mad queen Johanna, her son, the Emperor Charles V, his son and grandson Phillips I and II and finally the reign of Phillip III, who went through with the long debated policy of expulsion, and, the author feels, brought about Spain's long-term decline. A balanced and insightful account, which the epilogue and its reliance on the author's opinions concerning parallels to modern day events, undercuts.