Muslim Slaves and Freedmen in Medieval Portugal

The study of slavery in medieval Portugal has focused almost exclusively on the status and fate of the sub-Saharan Africans who started to arrive in the kingdom from 1441 onwards. The work of A. C. de C. M Saunders, A Social History of Black Slaves and Freedmen in Portugal 1441-1555 (Cambridge University Press, 1982) has been particularly important in this respect. In stark contrast to this, the fate of the substantial number of Muslim slaves who lived and worked in Portugal during the medieval period has to a large extent been overlooked. Using documentary evidence obtained from the national Portuguese archives, this article proposes to analyse in detail the origins of these slaves, their economic and social role and the laws that were promulgated to control them and their owners. The status of freedmen and manumission practices are also closely studied.