In 1609, the entire Muslim population of Spain was given three days to leave Spanish territory or else be killed. In a brutal and traumatic exodus, entire families were forced to abandon the homes and villages where they had lived for generations. In just five years, Muslim Spain had effectively ceased to exist: an estimated 300,000 Muslims had been removed from Spanish territory making it what was then the largest act of ethnic cleansing in European history.Blood and Faith is a riveting chronicle of this virtually unknown episode, set against the vivid historical backdrop of Muslim Spain. It offers a remarkable window onto a little-known period in modern Europe-a rich and complex tale of competing faiths and beliefs, of cultural oppression and resistance against overwhelming odds.

"'Well-balanced and comprehensive … "Blood and Faith" is a splendid work of synthesis. … it is impossible to read this book without sensing its resonance in our own time.'" - The New York Times

"'Who remembers the last survivors of Muslim Spain, whom Spaniards contemptuously called Moriscos ("little Moors")? Impressive research on them has appeared in the last 30 years, yet until now, none of it has escaped beyond the walls of the academic ghetto. Matthew Carr's well-balanced and comprehensive book brings the story of their tragic fate to a wider public... Splendid.'" - New York Times Book Review

"'Eloquently written and carefully researched, "Blood and Faith" is an important new study that synthesises much important scholarship on the moriscos, until now inaccessible to an English readership, and makes us aware of historical precedents to current ideological and cultural conflicts.'" - European History Quarterly

"'Balanced and thoroughly researched history.'" - Literary Review

"'An estimated 350,000 Muslims were forced to abandon their homes; many died on the journey to the ships that would take them to North Africa, and many others were terrorized, raped, robbed and killed by forces that were supposed to protect them. Carr deftly narrates the complex events leading up to this little-known but horrific episode as a warning against religious intolerance and xenophobia.'" - Publishers Weekly