In Good Faith

This book is a study of the strategies of Arabic translators and administrative functions of Arabic translation as part of a suite of techniques for political rule and social discipline. Translation underpinned the elaboration of Spain's administrative empire from the expansionist policies of Ferdinand and Isabella (r. 1474-1504) through the end of the Habsburg era. Using state, local, and religious archives, this book presents individual actors who help adjust the analytical frame of translation history away from disembodied texts. By renewing focus on practices and networks, a social history of Arabic translation adds complexity to our understanding of religious minorities, international relations, and statecraft in early modern Spain--