Cervantes witnessed the glory and fall of the Habsburg Spain thatconstructed the Empire on which the sun never set. Cervantes himself did notlead an easy life and his misfortune had much to do with the Turks in theMediterranean background. He fought against the Ottoman navy in Lepanto andwas wounded and disabled for life. Returning to Spain, his ship was capturedby pirates and he was sold as a slave to the Turks in Algiers. It wasn't untilfive years later that Cervantes was released. Back in Spain, a disabled veteranwas not welcomed by society. We may be able to discern what kind of attitudesCervantes must have had on the Muslims from this series of adversities. Wecan say that the experience in the Muslim world led the Spanish writer to keepopenness to other cultures. But we must also take notice that Cervantes wasgreatly influenced earlier by humanism of Erasmus as well. The captive's tale in the first part of Don Quixote shows a happy conclusionwhen the Spanish captain and his Muslim lover get married with the blessingsof their companions. Cervantes might here indicate to us the harmony Spainhad previously enjoyed for over 800 years, during which period various cultures and religions coexisted with mutual recognition and respect. In the second partof Don Quixote, we can see the story of Ricote who was expelled from Spain. The scenes involving Ricote's family could be read as a satire on the Spanishexclusiveness. We can say that Cervantes' intention was to criticize the Spanishbiased nationalism. Taking a stand against the repression of the Moriscos,Cervantes made use of his masterpiece to open that exclusive nation. In the 16th century, the Mediterranean was divided into the Habsburgs andthe Ottoman Turks. Spain kept the Mediterranean spirit of harmony, despite theconstant quarrels with Muslim nations in holding the control of the sea. Butsince the late 16th century the two empires turned their concerns toward theAtlantic and Persia respectively. The old pluralistic Spain of the three religionswas replaced by a monolithic society. It was a turn from the Mediterranean tothe Atlantic, from plurality to uniformity and from openness to exclusiveness. In Don Quixote, Cervantes looks back to the harmonious past. That would beregarded as nostalgia for the lost Mediterranean spirit.