FATE OF BOABDIL EL CHICO.
The Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada is finished;
but the reader may be desirous of knowing the subsequent
fortunes of some of the principal personages. The
unfortunate Boabdil retired to the valley of Purchena, where
a small but fertile territory had been allotted him, comprising
several towns, with all their rights and revenues.
Great estates had likewise been bestowed on his vizier Yusef
Aben Comixa and his valiant relation and friend Yusef Venegas,
both of whom resided near him. Were it in the heart
of man in the enjoyment of present competence to forget past
splendor, Boabdil might at length have been happy. Dwelling
in the bosom of a delightful valley, surrounded by obedient
vassals, devoted friends, and a loving family, he might
have looked back upon his past career as upon a troubled
and terrific dream, and might have thanked his stars that he
had at length awaked to sweet and tranquil security. But
the dethroned prince could never forget that he had once
been a monarch; and the remembrance of the regal splendors
of Granada, made all present comforts contemptible in his
eyes. No exertions were spared by Ferdinand and Isabella,
to induce him to embrace the Catholic religion; but he remained
true to the faith of his fathers, and it added not a
little to his humiliation, to live a vassal under christian
sovereigns.
It is probable that his residence in the kingdom was equally
irksome to the politic Ferdinand, who could not feel perfectly
secure in his newly conquered territories, while there was
one within their bounds who might revive pretensions to the
throne. A private bargain was therefore made, in the year
1496, between Ferdinand and Yusef Aben Comixa, in which
the latter, as vizier of Boabdil, undertook to dispose of his
master's scanty territory, for eighty thousand ducats of gold.
This, it is affirmed, was done without the consent or knowledge
of Boabdil; but the vizier probably thought he was
acting for the best.
The shrewd Ferdinand does not appear to have made any
question about the right of the vizier to make the sale, but
paid the money with secret exultation. Yusef Aben Comixa
loaded the treasure upon mules, and departed joyfully for
the Alpuxarras. He spread the money in triumph before
Boabdil: “Senior,” said he, “I have observed that as long
as you live here, you are exposed to constant peril. The
Moors are rash and irritable; they may make some sudden
insurrection, elevate your standard as a pretext, and thus
overwhelm you and your friends with utter ruin. I have
observed also that you pine away with grief, being continually
reminded in this country that you were once its sovereign,
but never more must hope to reign. I have put an end
to these evils. Your territory is sold—behold the price of it.
With this gold you may buy far greater possessions in Africa,
where you may live in honor and security.”
When Boabdil heard these words, he burst into a sudden
transport of rage, and, drawing his scimitar, would have sacrificed
the officious Yusef on the spot, had not the attendants
interfered, and hurried the vizier from his presence.
Boabdil was not of a vindictive spirit, and his anger soon
passed away. He saw that the evil was done, and he knew
the spirit of the politic Ferdinand too well to hope that he
would retract the bargain. Gathering together the money,
therefore, and all his jewels and precious effects, he departed
with his family and household for a port where a vessel had
been carefully provided by the Castilian king to transport
them to Africa.
A crowd of his former subjects witnessed his embarkation.
As the sails were unfurled and swelled to the breeze, and the
vessel parted from the land, the spectators would fain have
given him a parting cheering; but the humbled state of their
once proud sovereign forced itself upon their minds, and the
ominous surname of his youth rose involuntarily to their
tongues: “Farewell, Boabdil! Allah preserve thee,
El Zogoybi!”
burst spontaneously from their lips. The unlucky appellation
sank into the heart of the expatriated monarch, and
tears dimmed his eyes as the snowy summits of the mountains
of Granada gradually faded from his view.
He was received with welcome at the court of his relation,
Muley Ahmed, king of Fez, and resided for many years in
his territories. How he passed his life, whether repining or
resigned, history does not mention. The last we find recorded
of him is in the year 1536, thirty-four years after the surrender
of Granada, when he followed the king of Fez to the
field, to quell the rebellion of two brothers named Xerifes.
The armies came in sight of each other, on the banks of the
Guadiswed, at the ford of Bacuba. The river was deep, the
banks were high and broken; for three days the armies remained
firing at each other across the stream, neither venturing
to attempt the dangerous ford.
At length the king of Fez divided his army into three battalions;
the first led on by his son, and by Boabdil el Chico.
They boldly dashed across the ford, scrambled up the opposite
bank, and attempted to keep the enemy employed until the
other battalions should have time to cross. The rebel army,
however, attacked them with such fury, that the son of the
king of Fez and several of the bravest alcaydes were slain
upon the spot; multitudes were driven back into the river,
which was already crowded with passing troops. A dreadful
confusion took place; the horse trampled upon the foot;
the enemy pressed on them with fearful slaughter; those who
escaped the sword perished by the stream; the river was
choked by the dead bodies of men and horses, and by the
scattered baggage of the army. In this scene of horrible
carnage fell Boabdil, truly called El Zogoybi, or the un
lucky;—an instance, says the ancient chronicler, of the scornful
caprice of fortune, dying in defence of the kingdom of
another, after wanting spirit to die in defence of his own.”
[1]
Note.—A portrait of Boabdil el Chico is to be seen in the picture-gallery
of the Generalife. He is represented with a mild handsome face, a
fair complexion, and yellow hair. His dress is of yellow brocade, relieved
with black velvet, and he has a black velvet cap, surmounted with a crown.
In the armory of Madrid are two suits of armor, said to have belonged to
him. One is of solid steel, with very little ornament, the helmet closed.
From the proportions of these suits of armor, he must have been of full
stature and vigorous form.
