Expulsion of the Jews From Spain,1492

From the 13th to the 16th centuries European countries expelled the Jews from their territory on at least 15 occasions. Before the Spanish expulsion, the Jews were expelled from England in 1290 and multiple times from France between 1182 and 1354. The French case is typical of most expulsions, because whether they were local or national, the Jews were usually invited back a few years later. The Jews were also expelled from some of the German states. The Spanish expulsion was succeeded by at least five more expulsions, from other European countries. However, the expulsion of the Jews from Spain was both the largest of its kind, and officially the longest in Western European history.

Over the four hundred year period the majority of these decrees were implemented, the meaning of the expulsions gradually changed. At first, the expulsions of the Jews, or lack thereof, were exercises of kingly prerogative. Jewish communities in Europe were often protected by and associated with European monarchs in the Middle Ages, because under the feudal system, the Jews were often the monarch's only reliable tax base. Furthermore, the Jews had the reputation of moneylenders because they were the only group allowed to loan money at a profit under the prevailing interpretation of the Vulgate (Latin; official for Catholics) Bible, which forbid Christians from collecting interest. Therefore, the Jews were the creditors of the merchants, the aristocrats, and even the monarchs. Most expulsions were centered on this issue: the monarch would tax the Jewish community heavily, forcing them to call in loans, and then expel them. At the time of expulsion, the monarch would seize their remaining valuable assets, including the debts owed by the aristocrats and the merchants. Therefore, expulsion of the Jews from Spain was unique not only in scale, but in its ideological motivations.

FERDINAND AND ISABELLA

Hostility towards the Jews in Spain was brought to a climax during the reign of the "Catholic Monarchs," Ferdinand and Isabella. Their marriage in 1469, which formed a personal union of the crowns of Aragon and Castile, with coordinated policies between their distinct kingdoms, eventually led to the final unification of Spain.

Although their initial policies towards the Jews were protective, Ferdinand and Isabella were disturbed by reports claiming that most Jewish converts to Christianity were insincere in their conversion.[3] As mentioned above, some claims that conversos continued to practice Judaism in secret (see Crypto-Judaism) were true, but the "Old" Christians exaggerated the scale of the phenomenon. It was also claimed that Jews were trying to draw conversos back into the Jewish fold. In 1478, Ferdinand and Isabella made a formal application to Rome to set up an Inquisition in Castile to investigate these and other suspicions. In 1487, King Ferdinand promoted the establishment of the Spanish Inquisition Tribunals in Castile.[3] In Aragon, it had been first instituted in 13th century to combat the Albigense heresy. However, the focus of this new Inquisition was to find and punish conversos who were practicing Judaism in secret.[15]

These issues came to a head during Ferdinand and Isabella's final conquest of Granada. The independent Islamic Emirate of Granada had been a tributary state to Castile since 1238. Jews and conversos played an important role during this campaign, because they had the ability to raise money and acquire weapons through their extensive trade networks.[3] This perceived increase in Jewish influence further infuriated the Old Christians and the hostile elements of the clergy.[3] Finally, in 1491 in preparation for an imminent transition to Castilian territory, the Treaty of Granada was signed by Emir Muhammad XII and the Queen of Castile, protecting the religious freedom of the Muslims there. By 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella had won the Battle of Granada and completed the Catholic Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula from Islamic forces. However, the Jewish population emerged from the campaign more hated by the populace and less useful to the monarchs.

DECREE OF EXPULSION

A signed copy of the Edict of Expulsion

(Click here for text)

The king and queen issued the Alhambra Decree less than three months after the surrender of Granada. Although Isabella was the force behind the decision, her husband Fernando did not oppose it, and both proved skillful at exploiting the hopes of the desperate Jewish population for monetary gain. That her confessor had just changed from the tolerant Hernando de Talavera to the very intolerant Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros suggests an increase in royal hostility towards the Jews. The most powerful proponent of the decision was Tomás de Torquemada, the priest in charge of the Spanish Inquisition. The text of the decree accused the Jews of trying "to subvert the holy Catholic faith" by attempting to "draw faithful Christians away from their beliefs." These measures were not new in Europe.

After the decree was passed, Spain's entire Jewish population was given only four months to either convert to Christianity or leave the country. The edict promised the Jews' royal "protection and security" for the effective three-month window before the deadline. They were permitted to take their belongings with them, excluding "gold or silver or minted money or other things prohibited by the laws of our kingdoms." In practice, however, the Jews had to sell anything they could not carry: their land, their houses, and their libraries, and converting their wealth to a more portable form proved difficult. The market in Spain was saturated with these goods, which meant the prices were artificially lowered for the months before the deadline. As a result, much of the wealth of the Jewish community remained in Spain. The punishment for any Jew who did not convert or leave by the deadline was summary execution.

HOW MANY JEWS WERE EXPELLED?

How many Jews were expelled is disputed. For example Martin Gilbert in ‘The Illustrated Atlas of Jewish Civilisation’ estimates that there were 230,000 in Spain. Of these 50,000 were baptised and remained, 20,000 died on their way to their future country and 160,000 settled elsewhwere. Max Dimont in ‘Jews, God and History p228’ estimates that 150,000 Jews were in Spain. Of these 50,000 were baptised and remained, 10,000 died en route so 90,000 emigrated. This saw the creation of a new diaspora (settlement) in Europe, Turkey, North Africa and (eventually) America. The Expulsion from Spain as seen by a Jew in Italy’ is quoted by Sharon Keller in ‘The Jews in Literature and Art’ pp106-9 (Kohrmann, 1992)’.

It is estimated that in 1500 the population of Spain was 5,000,000 (Spain's Demographic Evolution). So, according to Gilbert the Jews accounted for 4.6% of the Spanish population, 1% stayed and 3.6% left for other countries.

See ‘Jewish and Converso Population in Fifteenth Century Spain’ by Norman Roth (2002) for the problems involved in estimating the number of Jews.

THE EFFECT OF EXPULSION ON THE EXPELLED JEWS
More detail can be found in Diaspora and Unification of Spain and Portugal

Expulsion from Spain led to a major increase in the number of Jews in other countries. How they were received varied. In Portugal this resulted in the Portuguese Inquisition and the movement from Portugal to other countries such as South and then North America, Holland which had become Protestant and from there to England when they were allowed back in the 17th century.

Dimont (p228 in ‘Jews, God and History) say’s ‘throughout, North Africa, Egypt and the Ottoman Empire the Jews enjoyed almost complete religious and economic freedom for several centuries. Though the Turks were looked upon by the Christians as the scourge of Christendom, Turkish policy towards the Jews for many years approximated that of the former Islamic Empire.’

Following the Unification of Spain and Portugal in 1580 about twenty thousand Portuguese New Christians (‘converted’ Jews) left Portugal for Spain as the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions were separate and no extradition provision existed. They would have a 'clean record' and be in one of the largest economies in Europe which was beginning to realise the efect of the 1492 expulsion Even the Spanish Inquisition concentrated on earlier, 'veteran' conversos. This resulted in a ‘Spanish problem’

THE EFFECT OF EXPULSION ON SPAIN
(For more detail go to The Inquisition )

To gain high office in Spain before about 1650 (?) proof had to be given that your ancestors had been Christians for some generations. (The actual number varied over time and also depended on the office). This was based on the idea that practicing a religion in secret was almost impossible to keep up for more than 2-3 generations. (This foreshadowed the Nazi requirement for the 'Ariernachweis').

Every Christian over twelve (for girls) and fourteen (for boys) was fully accountable to the Inquisition. Heretics and Conversos were the primary targets, but anyone who spoke against the Inquisition fell under suspicion. To help guard against the spread of heresy, Torquemada promoted the burning of non-Catholic literature, especially Jewish Talmuds and Arabic books, after the capture of Granada. Torquemada travelled with 50 mounted guards and 250 armed men to impress and intimidate the population. He died in 1498

The guide for informers to help identify a secret Jew included a long list of habits or characteristics such as the following:

* Put before your neighbour morsels of food such as pork, rabbit and conger eels and if he refuses to eat, he is a Jew.

* Watch with great care everything your neighbour does on Friday. Does he put on fresh linen? Does he light candles at least an hour before honest men do? Does his wife clean the house that day? If you catch him doing those thing, you have a Jew.

As a result people often ate pork and went to church or the cathedral to prove their 'Christian credentials'.

James Michener in ‘The Source’ tells the story of the scholar Tomas de Salamanca. One day his nine year old son burst into the street shouting "my father whipped me. He fasts on Yom Kippur." After investigations lasting seven years sixty three of his close associates were burnt alive. Among them were seventeen nuns who said Jewish prayers in their convent, thirty monks, seven priests and two bishops.

The psychological climate caused by fear of being taken by the Inquisition explains why conversos led secret lives. This is vividly brought to life in books and films about this period. This secrecy still exists. In 2006 while in Belmonte we met someone who had just been made redundant as his employer discovered he was Jewish. He was now moving to Belmonte to be with other Jews. He, and others, said this was due to the growing influence of the Catholic Opus Dei movement in Portugal.

Auto de fe (or auto da fe, or auto da fé in Portuguese, was the medieval Spanish for "act of faith", a ritual of public penance or humiliation of condemned heretics and apostates that took place when the Spanish Inquisition had decided their punishment. Punishments for those convicted ranged from wearing a special identifying penitential tabard or "sanbenito", imprisonment, to being burnt.

It was the secular state that performed executions, usually for a repeated heresy Obdurate prisoners were burned alive, but if reconciled to the church only strangled at the stake before the faggots were lit.

THE

INCREDIBLE

STORY OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE

EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FROM SPAIN, 1492 – 1

European Context
to
Decree of Expulsion

Ferdinand
and
Isabella

Decree
of
Expulsion

How Many
Jews
Were Expelled?

The Effect
of Expulsion
on the
Expelled Jews

The Effect
of Expulsion
on Spain