Muslim renegade women conversion and agency in the early modern Mediterranean

During the early modern era, the island of Milos was an important crossroads for travellers, merchants and corsairs. In 1637, the galleasses of the Venetian fleet docked in the port, and took on four passengers, a widow and her three daughters. The eldest daughter was married to the kadi, the island's most important Ottoman official. Dissatisified with her marriage, and fearful of being compelled to move to her husband's next posting, she and the other women fled to the Venetian stronghold of Corfu. There they all converted to Christianity, and married or entered monasteries. In traversing the frontier between Venice and the Ottoman Empire, and between Christianity and Islam, these women were able to resolve complex personal issues, and therefore exert a degree of agency, which would not have been possible without crossing political and religious boundaries.