Translations during the Spanish Golden Age

At the same time, the interest for ancient Arabic scientific and medical writings was still very prominent, in spite of the fact that a large part of the Muslim community who had refused to convert to Christianity, had been expelled from Spain along with similarly unconverted Jews during the year of 1492.

The legacy from the prestigious Toledo School of Translators, established during the 12th and 13th centuries, had diminished considerably after the expulsion of the Moors and Jews from Spain in 1492, but in many of the old Arab quarters of Spanish cities the tradition of translation from Arabic to Latin or Spanish continued, although frequently in disguise to avoid the suspicions of the Inquisition.

Their religious books also had to be kept hidden, and for many years they would use Aljamiado manuscripts, which used the Arabic alphabet for transcribing Romance languages such as Mozarabic, Spanish or Ladino.

"[1]Nonetheless the successive Catholic monarchs were very keen on education, and created many universities and study centers, where translations took place.

In the New World, translations were made specially of those books deemed appropriate for the propagation of the Christian Doctrine in far away lands, predominantly in America and Asia.