Los adalides / The Leaders

Resumen

Este artículo trata sobre los adalides, es decir los guías moriscos de las cabalgadas que se hacían contra los aduares berberiscos. Eran imprescindibles ya que únicamente ellos conocían la localización de los pozos de agua donde se instalaban los aduares. Los adalides pertenecían a dos grupos: los moriscos que habían venido voluntariamente a Canarias, donde tras convertirse serían libres, y aquellos que tras vivir esclavizados en las islas lograban ahorrarse. En los primeros se confiaba más pues no solían huir en Berbería, cosa que sí hacían a veces los segundos.

This article is about the party Readers, that is, the Moorish guides who led the horse raids on the Berber hamlets or douars. These local guides were vital since only they knew where the wells were, around which the hamlets were set up. These ‘leaders’ or guides were of two types: the Moors who had come of their own accord to the Canary Islands where, once converted, they became free men, and those who after living for years as slaves on the islands, managed to save enough to free themselves. The former were held in higher esteem since they did not tend to run off to Africa (Barbary), something that was frequent among the latter.