:''

Ricote Ricote is a Spanish municipality in the autonomous community of Murcia. It has a population of 1,509 (2004) and an area of 87.7 km2. Ricote had a community of Moriscos until their expulsion from Spain in 1609. Govert Westerveld Westerveld, ...

is also a village formerly inhabited by Moriscoes.'' ---- Ricote is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

who is referred to in

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...

' novel ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...

''. He was a wealthy (''

rico The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was en ...

'' meaning "rich" in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

)

Morisco Moriscos (, ; pt, mouriscos ; Spanish for "Moorish") were former Muslims and their descendants whom the Roman Catholic church and the Spanish Crown commanded to convert to Christianity or face compulsory exile after Spain outlawed the open p ...

shopkeeper A shopkeeper is a retail merchant or tradesman; one who owns or operates a small store or shop. Generally, shop employees are not shopkeepers, but are often incorrectly referred to as such. At larger companies, a shopkeeper is usually referred t ...

and old friend of

Sancho Panza Sancho Panza () is a fictional character in the novel ''Don Quixote'' written by Spanish author Don Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra in 1605. Sancho acts as squire to Don Quixote and provides comments throughout the novel, known as ''sanchismos'', ...

, who was banned from Spain in 1609 like all Moriscos. The expulsion of the Moriscos was a highly topical issue at the time when ''Don Quixote'' was written - occurring in between the publication of the first part (1605) and the second one (1615). In 2006 Govert Westerveld assertedWesterveld, Govert (2007). ''Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Ana Félix y el morisco Ricote del Valle de Ricote en "Don Quijote II" del año 1615''. (capítulos 54, 55, 63, 64 y 65). that the Morisco Ricote came from the

Valley, which hypothesis was confirmed by the expert of Moriscos, Prof.

Francisco Márquez Villanueva Francisco Márquez Villanueva (March 21, 1931 - June 15, 2013) was a literary critic and Arthur Kingsley Porter Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures Emeritus at Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League rese ...

Marquez Villanueva, Francisco (2010) ''Moros, moriscos y turcos en Cervantes. Ensayos críticos.'' . of the

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

When Sancho leaves Barataria, he meets Ricote,''Don Quixote de la Mancha'' - Part Two
Chapter LIV
/ref> returning in a group of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...

s. After meeting Sancho again, Ricote tells him that after the expulsion, he went north while his family went to

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

. Ricote and the pilgrims share food with Sancho, including "the black dainty called, they say,

caviar Caviar (also known as caviare; from fa, خاویار, khâvyâr, egg-bearing) is a food consisting of salt-cured roe of the family Acipenseridae. Caviar is considered a delicacy and is eaten as a garnish or a spread. Traditionally, the ter ...

". He tells him that he came back to recover some

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

which he had buried near his house. Ricote recognizes to be a bad Christian and then asks Sancho to help him carry the money away. But Sancho refuses as it would be a treason to his king. LaterChapter LXIII
/ref> Sancho and Don Quixote meet Ricote and his daughter Ana Félix in Barcelona. She is a fervent Christian and has been rescued from Berbery by a young noble neighbour from Sancho and Ricote's village. Her beauty and sincere faith convinces the authorities to arrange the re-admission of the Ricotes in Spain.

References and notes

Don Quixote characters Fictional Spanish people Islam in Spain Literary characters introduced in 1615 Fictional shopkeepers Male characters in literature Moriscos {{novel-char-stub

See also

References and notes