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Marranos were Spanish and Portuguese Jews living in the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...
who converted or were forced to convert to Christianity during the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, but continued to practice Judaism in secrecy. The term specifically refers to the charge of crypto-Judaism, whereas the term '' converso'' was used for the wider population of Jewish converts to
Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, whether or not they secretly still practised Jewish rites. Converts from either Judaism or Islam were referred to by the broader term of " New Christians." The term ''marrano'' came into later use in 1492 with the Castilian Alhambra Decree, which prohibited the practice of Judaism in Spain and required all remaining Jews to convert or leave, under the premise that, "If they are not good Christians, their descendants will be." By then, the vast majority of Jews in Spain had converted to Catholicism, perhaps under pressure from the Massacre of 1391, and ''conversos'' numbered hundreds of thousands. They were monitored by the Spanish Inquisition and subject to suspicions by Catholics of the secret practice of Judaism, also known as "Marranism." In modern use "marrano" may be considered offensive; and "crypto-Jew" is occasionally preferred in scholarly works.Karen Primack, "That Word 'Marrano. Chapter 8 (pp. 55-58) in Karen Primack (ed.) ''Jews in Places You Never Thought Of'', KTAV Publishing House, Inc. (1998),


Etymology

The origin of the term ''marrano'' as applied to crypto-Jews is debatable, since there are at least three possible etymologies for the word. One source of the term derives from an
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
word for "forbidden, illicit", ''
muḥarram Muḥarram ( ar, ٱلْمُحَرَّم) (fully known as Muharram ul Haram) is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is forbidden. It is held to be the second holiest month after ...
''. The Arabic word in this context means "swine" or "pork", and either expresses the same repulsion towards the converts that the converts previously had for these ritually unclean meat, or insinuate suspicion that the converts continued to be loyal to Judaism. However, as applied to crypto-Jews, the term marrano may also derive from the Spanish verb "marrar" (of Germanic rather than Arabic origin) meaning "to deviate" or "to err", in the sense that they deviated from their newly adopted faith by secretly continuing to practice Judaism. A third origin has been cited from
Galician-Portuguese Galician-Portuguese ( gl, galego-portugués or ', pt, galego-português or ), also known as Old Portuguese or as Medieval Galician when referring to the history of each modern language, was a West Iberian Romance language spoken in the Middle ...
, where ''marrar'' means "to force" and ''marrano'' means "forced one", indicating the compulsory nature of the religious conversions. José Meir Estrugo Hazán writes in his book ''Los Sefardíes'' that "marrano" is the term the Spanish Jews prefer.


Demographics

Under state pressure in the late 14th and early 15th century, over half of Jews in the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...
converted to Christianity, thus avoiding the Decree of Expulsion which affected Spain's remaining openly Jewish population in 1492. The numbers who converted and the effects of various migrations in and out of the area have been the subject of historical debate. A phylogeographic study in 2008 of 1,150 volunteer Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups appeared to support the idea that the number of conversions has been significantly underestimated, as 20% of the tested Iberian population had
haplogroups A haplotype is a group of alleles in an organism that are inherited together from a single parent, and a haplogroup (haploid from the el, ἁπλοῦς, ''haploûs'', "onefold, simple" and en, group) is a group of similar haplotypes that share ...
consistent with
Sephardi Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...
ancestry. This percentage was suggested as representing the proportion of Sephardi in the population at the time of mass conversions in the 14th and 15th centuries. However, the authors concede that other historical population movements from the Near East such as Syrians and Phoenicians may also account for these results..


Portugal

Some Portuguese ''conversos'' or ''cristãos-novos'' continued to practice as crypto-Jews. In the early 20th century, historian Samuel Schwartz wrote about crypto-Jewish communities discovered in northeastern Portugal (namely, Belmonte, Bragança, Miranda, and Chaves). He claimed that members had managed to survive more than four centuries without being fully assimilated into the Old Christian population. The last remaining crypto-Jewish community in Belmonte officially returned to Judaism in the 1970s and opened a synagogue in 1996. In 2003, the American Sephardi Federation founded the Belmonte Project to raise funds to acquire Judaic educational material and services for the Belmonte community, who then numbered 160–180. Two documentary films have been made in north-eastern Portugal where present-day descendants of marranos were interviewed about their lives. In 1974 for ''The Marranos of Portugal'', the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) sent reporter Ron Ben-Yishai to conduct interviews with families about their religious practice. After being asked to prove he knew Hebrew before they would talk, he found people still reluctant to speak openly. Nevertheless he did eventually gain a remarkable insight into their version of Jewish customs, prayers and songs. The film was commended at the 1976 Jerusalem Jewish Film and TV Festival. Another documentary, ''The Last Marranos'', was made by the New York Jewish Media Fund in 1997. After the expulsion of Jews and Muslims from Spain (1492) and the Forced Conversion by Portugal's King Manuel I in Portugal (1497), ''conversos'' continued to be suspect in socially strained times. In Lisbon in 1506, a months-long plague caused people to look for scapegoats. Some became suspicious that ''conversos'' might be practicing Judaism and therefore be at fault. On April 17, 1506, several ''conversos'' were discovered who had in their possession "some lambs and poultry prepared according to Jewish custom; also unleavened bread and bitter herbs according to the regulations for the
Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. ...
, which festival they celebrated far into the night." Officials seized several but released them after a few days. On the same day on which the ''conversos'' were freed, the Dominicans displayed a crucifix and a
reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including '' phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it is housed a ''fer ...
in glass from which a peculiar light issued in a side-chapel of their church, where several New Christians were present. A New Christian who tried to explain the miracle as due to natural causes was dragged from the church and killed by an infuriated woman. A Dominican roused the populace still more. Friar João Mocho and the
Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to s ...
ese friar Bernardo, crucifix in hand, were said to have gone through the streets of the city, crying "Heresy!" and calling upon the people to destroy the ''conversos''. Attracted by the outcry, sailors from
Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former Provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...
, Zeeland and others from ships in the port of Lisbon, joined the Dominicans and formed a mob with local men to pursue the ''conversos''. The mob dragged ''converso'' victims from their houses and killed some. Old Christians who were in any way associated with New Christians were also attacked. The mob attacked the
tax-farmer Farming or tax-farming is a technique of financial management in which the management of a variable revenue stream is assigned by legal contract to a third party and the holder of the revenue stream receives fixed periodic rents from the contract ...
João Rodrigo Mascarenhas, a New Christian; although a wealthy and distinguished man, his work also made him resented by many. They demolished his house. Within 48 hours, many "conversos" were killed; by the third day all who could leave escaped, often with the help of other Portuguese. The killing spree lasted from 19 to 21 April, in what came to be known as the Lisbon massacre. King Manuel severely punished those who took part in the killings. The ringleaders and the Dominicans who encouraged the riot were also executed. Local people convicted of murder or pillage suffered corporal punishment and their property was confiscated. The king granted religious freedom for 20 years to all ''conversos'' in an attempt at compensation. Lisbon lost ''
Foral 200px, Foral of Castro Verde - Portugal The word ''foral'' ({{IPA-pt, fuˈɾaɫ, eu, plural: ''forais'') is a noun derived from the Portuguese word ''foro'', ultimately from Latin ''forum'', equivalent to Spanish ''fuero'', Galician '' foro'', ...
'' (municipal) privileges. The foreigners who had taken part generally escaped punishment, leaving with their ships. New Christians were attacked in Gouveia, Alentejo, Olivença, Santarém, and other places. In the
Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
and the island of
Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...
, mobs massacred former Jews. Because of these excesses, the king began to believe that a Portuguese Inquisition might help control such outbreaks. The Portuguese ''conversos'' worked to forestall such actions, and spent immense sums to win over the ''
Curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...
'' and most influential cardinals. Spanish and Portuguese ''conversos'' made financial sacrifices. Alfonso Gutierrez, Garcia Alvarez "el Rico" (the rich), and the Zapatas, ''conversos'' from Toledo, offered 80,000 gold crowns to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, if he would mitigate the harshness of the Inquisition. The Mendes of Lisbon and
Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
also tried to help. None were successful in preventing the
Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...
Papal Bull Meditatio Cordis of July 16, 1547, Inquisition in Portugal. This Bull Meditatio Cordis still did not have the "Power of Confiscation". Portuguese Marranos continued, with many bribes of the Popes in Rome, and with prolonged negotiation against this "Power of Confiscation" succeeded to delay it 32 years, but finally conceded this "deadly weapon" in 1579. The Portuguese Inquisition now had been endowed, 101 years after the Spanish Inquisition of November 1, 1478, with the same extremities of rigor as the Spanish prototype. The suffered immensely both from mob violence and interrogation and testing by the Inquisition. Attacks and murders were recorded at Trancoso, Lamego, Miranda, Viseu, Guarda, and Braga. At Covilhã, there were rumors that the people planned to massacre all the New Christians on one day. In 1562, prelates petitioned the ''Cortes'' to require ''conversos'' to wear special badges, and to order Jewish descendants to live in
ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished ...
s (''judiarias'') in cities and villages as their ancestors had before the conversions. In 1641 João IV of Portugal ennobled the
Curiel family The Curiel family (Dutch: Curiël ''or'' also known as: da Costa) is a prominent Sephardi Jewish family. Until the late 18th century, the family held diplomatic positions for the Portuguese Crown in Hamburg and Amsterdam. History The family's ...
, a Marrano family who served as Agents to the Crown of Spain and Portugal. They held diplomatic positions across Europe until the late 18th century.


Spain

According to historian Cecil Roth, Spanish political intrigues had earlier promoted the anti-Jewish policies which culminated in 1391, when Regent Queen Leonora of Castile gave the Archdeacon of Écija, Ferrand Martinez, considerable power in her realm. Martinez gave speeches that led to violence against the Jews, and this influence culminated in the sack of the Jewish quarter of
Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Penins ...
on June 4, 1391. Throughout Spain during this year, the cities of Ecija,
Carmona Carmona may refer to: Places Angola * the former name of the town of Uíge Costa Rica * Carmona District, Nandayure, a district in Guanacaste Province India * Carmona, Goa, a village located in the Salcette district of South Goa, India ...
, Córdoba, Toledo,
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
and many others saw their Jewish quarters destroyed and inhabitants massacred. It is estimated that 200,000 Jews saved their lives by converting to Christianity in the wake of these persecutions. Other Jews left the country altogether and around 100,000 openly practicing Jews remained. In 1449, feelings rose against ''conversos'', breaking out in a riot at Toledo. Instigated by two canons, Juan Alfonso and Pedro Lopez Galvez, the mob plundered and burned the houses of Alonso Cota, a wealthy ''converso'' and tax-farmer. They also attacked the residences of wealthy New Christians in the quarter of la Magdelena. Under Juan de la Cibdad, the ''conversos'' opposed the mob, but were repulsed. They were executed with their leader. As a result, several prominent ''converso'' men were deposed from office, in obedience to a new statute. Nearly 20 years later in July 1467, another riot occurred where a mob attacked ''conversos'' in Toledo. The chief magistrate (''alcalde mayor'') of the city was Alvar Gomez de Cibdad Real, who had been private secretary to King
Henry IV of Castile Henry IV of Castile ( Castilian: ''Enrique IV''; 5 January 1425 – 11 December 1474), King of Castile and León, nicknamed the Impotent, was the last of the weak late-medieval kings of Castile and León. During Henry's reign, the nobles became ...
. He was a protector of the ''conversos.'' Together with prominent ''conversos'' Fernando and Alvaro de la Torre, Alvar wished to take revenge for an insult by the counts de Fuensalida, leaders of the Old Christians. His intention was to seize control of the city, but fierce conflict erupted. Opponents set fire to houses of New Christians near the cathedral. The conflagration spread so rapidly that 1,600 houses were consumed. Both Old Christians and ''conversos'' perished. The brothers De la Torre were captured and hanged. Tensions arose in Córdoba between Old Christians and ''conversos'', where they formed two hostile parties. On March 14, 1473, during a dedication procession, a girl accidentally threw dirty water from the window of the house of one of the wealthiest ''conversos'' (the customary way to dispose of it.) The water splashed on an image of the Virgin being carried in procession in honor of a new society (from which ''conversos'' had been excluded by Bishop D. Pedro.) A local blacksmith started arousing a rabble against the Jews, who he blamed for the insult, which immediately joined in a fierce shout for revenge. The mob went after ''conversos'', denouncing them as heretics, killing them, and burning their houses. To stop the excesses, the highly respected D. Alonso Fernandez de Aguilar, whose wife was a member of the ''converso'' family of Pacheco, together with his brother D.
Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba (1 September 1453 – 2 December 1515) was a Spanish general and statesman who led successful military campaigns during the Conquest of Granada and the Italian Wars. His military victories and widespread p ...
("El Gran Capitán"), and a troop of soldiers, hastened to protect the New Christians. D. Alonso called upon the mob to retire. Its leader insulted the count, who immediately felled him with his lance. Aroused, the people considered him a martyr. Incited by Alonso de Aguilar's enemy, they again attacked the ''conversos''. The rioting lasted three days. Those who escaped sought refuge in the castle, where their protectors also took shelter. The government decreed that Jews and ''conversos'' should remain in their neighborhood or leave the city. In 1473, attacks on ''conversos'' arose in numerous other cities:
Montoro Montoro is a city and municipality in the Córdoba Province of southern Spain, in the north-central part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. Overview It is located about east-northeast of the capital of the province, Córdoba. In 2008, t ...
,
Bujalance Bujalance is a town located in the heart of Andalucia, southern Spain, in the province of Córdoba. , it had 7910 inhabitants. Its name is derived from the Arabic term ''Burj al-Hansh''. Among its monuments and places of interest are the Mooris ...
, Adamuz, La Rambla,
Santaella Santaella is a village located in the province of Córdoba, Spain. According to the 2006 census (INE), the village has a population of 6,002 inhabitants. History The lands of Santaella have attracted men since its more remote times. Settlemen ...
, and elsewhere. Mobs attacked ''conversos'' in Andújar, Úbeda,
Baeza Baeza may refer to: * Baeza, Ecuador * Baeza, Spain ** University of Baeza ** Baeza Cathedral * '' Brusqeulia baeza'', a species of moth People * Baeza (rapper) (born 1993), American rapper, singer, actor, hip hop producer, and songwriter * Ac ...
, and Almodóvar del Campo also. In Valladolid, groups looted the belongings of the New Christians. At Segovia, there was a massacre (May 16, 1474). D. Juan Pacheco, a ''converso'', led the attacks. Without the intervention of the alcalde, Andres de Cabrera, all New Christians might have died. At
Carmona Carmona may refer to: Places Angola * the former name of the town of Uíge Costa Rica * Carmona District, Nandayure, a district in Guanacaste Province India * Carmona, Goa, a village located in the Salcette district of South Goa, India ...
, it was reported that not one ''converso'' was left alive.


Inquisition

Tens of thousands of Jews were baptised in the three months before the deadline for expulsion, some 40,000 if one accepts the totals given by Kamen: most of these undoubtedly to avoid expulsion, rather than as a sincere change of faith. These ''conversos'' were the principal concern of the Inquisition; being suspected of continuing to practice Judaism put them at risk of denunciation and trial. During 1492, about 12,000 ''conversos'' entered Navarre from Aragon's repression, where they were allowed to remain. Tudela in Navarre turned into a ''converso'' haven. The Tudelans had already proclaimed in 1486 that "''if any inquisitor enters their city, he will be thrown into the
Ebro , name_etymology = , image = Zaragoza shel.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza , map = SpainEbroBasin.png , map_size = , map_caption = The Ebro ...
river.''" Later the resistance to the inquisitors was so strong that its aldermen ordered commissioners and attorneys to ask the Catholic Monarchs to limit the power of the Inquisition in 1510. The most intense period of persecution of ''conversos'' lasted until 1530. From 1531 to 1560, however, the percentage of ''conversos'' among the Inquisition trials dropped to 3% of the total. There was a rebound of persecutions when a group of crypto-Jews was discovered in Quintanar de la Orden in 1588; and there was a rise in denunciations of ''conversos'' in the last decade of the sixteenth century. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, some ''conversos'' who had fled to Portugal began to return to Spain, fleeing the persecution of the Portuguese Inquisition, founded in 1536. This led to a rapid increase in the trials of crypto-Jews, among them a number of important financiers. In 1691, during a number of '' autos-da-fé'' in Majorca, 37 ''chuetas'', or ''conversos'' of Majorca, were burned. During the eighteenth century the number of ''conversos'' accused by the Inquisition decreased significantly. Manuel Santiago Vivar, tried in Córdoba in 1818, was the last person tried for being a crypto-Jew.


Converso-Jewish relations

The ''conversos'' of Seville and other cities of Castile, and especially of Aragon, bitterly opposed the Spanish Inquisition established in 1478. They rendered considerable service to the king, and held high legal, financial, and military positions. The government issued an edict directing traditional Jews to live within a ghetto and be separated from ''conversos''. Despite the law, however, the Jews remained in communication with their New Christian brethren. "They sought ways and means to win them from Catholicism and bring them back to Judaism. They instructed the Marranos in the tenets and ceremonies of the Jewish religion; held meetings in which they taught them what they must believe and observe according to the Mosaic law; and enabled them to circumcise themselves and their children. They furnished them with prayer-books; explained the fast-days; read with them the history of their people and their Law; announced to them the coming of the Passover; procured unleavened bread for them for that festival, as well as kosher meat throughout the year; encouraged them to live in conformity with the law of Moses, and persuaded them that there was no law and no truth except the Jewish religion." These were the charges brought by the government of
Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia fro ...
and
Isabella I of Castile Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as Queen consort of Aragon from 1479 until 1504 b ...
against the Jews. They constituted the grounds for their expulsion and banishment in 1492, so they could not subvert ''conversos''. Jews who did not want to leave Spain had to accept baptism as a sign of conversion. The historian Henry Kamen's ''Inquisition and Society in Spain in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries'' questions whether there were such strong links between ''conversos'' and Jewish communities. Whilst historians such as Yitzhak Baer state, "the conversos and Jews were one people",. Kamen claims, "Yet if the conversos were hated by the Christians, the Jews liked them no better." He documented that "Jews testified falsely against them
he conversos He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
when the Inquisition was finally founded." This issue is being debated by historians.


Conversos in Italy

Although the vast majority of Spain's 250,000 ''conversos'' had abandoned Judaism and been assimilated into Spain's dominant Catholic culture, many of those continuing to secretly practice their former religion felt threatened and persecuted by the Inquisition which continued to actively persecute heresy. Some of these chose to leave Spain, in bands or as individual refugees. Many migrated to Italy, attracted by the climate, which resembled that of the Iberian Peninsula, and by the kindred language. When they settled at
Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...
, Duke Ercole I d'Este granted them privileges. His son Alfonso confirmed the privileges to twenty-one Spanish ''conversos'': physicians, merchants, and others (ib. xv. 113 et seq.). A thoroughly researched history of these migrations is also contained in the book about one of their leaders Dona Gracia Nasi called, "The Woman Who Defied Kings", by the historian and journalist Andree Aelion Brooks. Spanish and Portuguese ''conversos'' also settled at
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...
and contributed to make Livorno a leading seaport. They received privileges at
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
, where they were protected from the persecutions of the Inquisition. In
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...
they materially advanced the interests of the city with their industry and commerce. At
Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...
, Pisa,
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...
and numerous other Italian cities, they freely exercised the Jewish religion again. They were soon so numerous that Fernando de Goes Loureiro, an abbot from
Oporto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...
, filled an entire book with the names of ''conversos'' who had drawn large sums from Portugal and had openly avowed Judaism in Italy. In
Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
, Duke Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy welcomed ''conversos'' from Coímbra and granted them commercial and industrial privileges, as well as the free exercise of their religion. Rome was full of ''conversos''. Pope Paul III received them at
Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...
for commercial reasons. He granted complete liberty "to all persons from Portugal and
Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...
, even if belonging to the class of New Christians." By 1553 three thousand Portuguese Jews and ''conversos'' were living at Ancona. Two years later,
Pope Paul IV Pope Paul IV, born Gian Pietro Carafa, C.R. ( la, Paulus IV; it, Paolo IV; 28 June 1476 – 18 August 1559) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 May 1555 to his death in August 1559. While serving as pap ...
issued orders to have all the ''conversos'' in Italy be thrown into the prisons of the Inquisition which he had instituted. Sixty of them, who acknowledged the Catholic faith as penitents, were transported to the island of
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
; twenty-four, who adhered to Judaism, were publicly burned (May 1556). Those who escaped the Inquisition were received at Pesaro by
Guidobaldo II della Rovere Guidobaldo II della Rovere (2 April 1514 – 28 September 1574) was an Italian condottiero, who succeeded his father Francesco Maria I della Rovere as Duke of Urbino from 1538 until his death in 1574. He was a member of the House of La Rove ...
, Duke of Urbino. Guidobaldo had hoped to have the Jews and ''conversos'' of Turkey select Pesaro as a commercial center; when that did not happen, he expelled the New Christians from Pesaro and other districts in 1558 (ib. xvi. 61 et seq.). Many ''conversos'' also went to
Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranea ...
, formerly a considerable
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...
n seaport on the
Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to th ...
. In May 1544, a ship landed there filled with Portuguese refugees.


Latin America

During the 16th and 17th centuries, some ''conversos'' migrated to the Americas, often the Castilian territories of the Vice-royalties of New Spain,
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
, and the Río de la Plata in Argentina. Legal emigration to the New World was strictly controlled and required proof of three generations of Christian ascendance. Nevertheless, many ''conversos'' managed to evade these restrictions and managed to obtain ''"encomiendas"'' papers of legal identity in the New World.


France

According to Isidore Loeb, in a special study of the subject in the '' Revue des Études Juives'' (xiv. 162–183), about 3,000 Jews came to Provence after the Alhambra Decree expelled Jews from Spain in 1492. From 1484, one town after another had called for expulsion, but the calls were rejected by Charles VIII. However, Louis XII, in one of his first acts as king in 1498, issued a general expulsion order of the Jews of Provence. Though not enforced at the time, the order was renewed in 1500 and again in 1501. On this occasion, it was definitively implemented. The Jews of Provence were given the option of conversion to Christianity and a number chose that option. However, after a short while – if only to compensate partially for the loss of revenues caused by the departure of the Jews – the king imposed a special tax, referred to as "the tax of the neophytes." These converts and their descendants soon became the objects of social discrimination and slanders.Jewish Virtual Library – Provence
/ref>


Estado da India (Portuguese India)

In the "Marrano Factory: The Portuguese Inquisition and Its New Christians 1536-1765", Professor Antonio Jose Saraiva of the University of Lisbon, writes "King Manuel theoretically abolished discrimination between Old and New Christians by the law of March 1, 1507 which permitted the departure of New Christians to any part of the Christian world, declaring that they “be considered, favored and treated like the Old Christians and not distinct and separated from them in any matter.” Nevertheless, in apparent contradiction to that law, in a letter dated Almeirim, February 18, 1519, King Manuel promoted legislation henceforth prohibiting the naming of New Christians to the position of judge, town councilor or municipal registrar in Goa, stipulating, however, that those already appointed were not to be dismissed. This shows that even during the first nine years of Portuguese rule, Goa had a considerable influx of recently baptized Spanish and Portuguese Jews." Some New Christians sought to re-join Jewish populations in India (particularly through the Jewish community in
Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of ...
), while others went on to be extremely influential in the spice trade, and the gems trade between Portugal, and India. This activity aroused the ire of the Catholic clergy. During this period, the first bishop of Goa, Gaspar Jorge de Leão Pereira wrote his anti-Semitic work "''contra os Judeos" (tracts against Jews)'', and called for the establishment of the Inquisition in Goa (which was established in 1560).


Migrations

There was no significant wave of emigration of from Spain, the majority of Sephardic communities, such as that of Salonika having been formed as a result of the Alhambra Decree in 1492.Henry Kamen: The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision. 1999 However, there was a steady trickle of crypto-Jewish marranos who wished to practice their faith freely to more liberal environments. One of their leaders who helped them get there was the Lisbon-born international banker,
Gracia Mendes Nasi Gracia Mendes Nasi (1510 – 1569), also known as Doña Gracia or ''La Señora'' (The Lady), was a Portuguese philanthropist and one of the wealthiest Jewish women of Renaissance Europe. She married Francisco Mendes/ Benveniste. She was the mate ...
. They also migrated to
Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
, where they were attracted by its flourishing cities, such as
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
and
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
. ''Conversos'' from Flanders, and others direct from the Iberian Peninsula, went under the guise of Catholics to
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...
and Altona about 1580, where they established a community and held commercial relations with their former homes. Some migrated as far as
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
.
Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian mona ...
invited some New Christian families to settle at Glückstadt about 1626, granting certain privileges to them and to ''conversos'' who came to Emden about 1649. The vast majority of Spain's ''conversos'', however, remained in Spain and Portugal and were suspected of "Marranism" by the Spanish Inquisition. Although the wealthier among them could easily bypass discriminatory '' Limpieza de sangre'' laws, they constituted a significant portion of the over three thousand people executed for heresy by the Spanish Inquisition. In his luminous book the "Marrano Factory: The Portuguese Inquisition and Its New Christians 1536-1765", Professor Antonio Jose Saraiv

of the University of Lisbon, writes that "After August 1531, when the establishment of the Inquisition in Portugal was in the offing and especially after June 14, 1532 when New Christian emigration from Portugal became a capital offense, anti-New Christian sentiment surged on all sides. The New Christians were panic-stricken and emigrants, legal or clandestine, headed for Flanders, Italy, the Ottoman Empire, the Portuguese possessions in India, North Africa. After the middle of the century, England, France, the Spanish Americas and Brazil were the favorite destinations, not necessarily in that order." The New Christians breathed more freely when Philip III of Spain came to the throne. By the law of April 4, 1601, he granted them the privilege of unrestricted sale of their real estate as well as free departure from the country for themselves, their families, and their property. Many, availing themselves of this permission, followed their coreligionists to North Africa and Turkey. After a few years, however, the privilege was revoked, and the Inquisition resumed its activity. Some migrated to London, whence their families spread to Brazil (where ''conversos'' had settled at an early date) and other colonies in the Americas. Migrations to
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
and Thessaloniki, where Jewish refugees had settled after the expulsion from Spain, as well as to
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
,
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...
,
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
,
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
,
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
, and Timișoara, continued into the middle of the 18th century.


Today

Late 20th century political and social changes in Spain caused reappraisal of Jewish and Muslim contributions to its culture. There has been much new scholarship on Sephardic Jews, Moors and the consequences of conversion and expulsion. In addition, there have been official governmental efforts to welcome tourists of both ancestries to Spain. Towns and regions have worked to preserve elements of Jewish and Moorish pasts. In Spanish Civil Code Art. 22.1 the government created concessions to nationals of several countries and
Sephardi Jews Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...
historically linked with Spain allowing them to seek citizenship after five years rather than the customary ten required for residence in Spain. Later it was dropped to two years. In November 2012, the residency requirement was eliminated completely. In October 2006, the Parliament of Andalusia asked the three parliamentary groups that form the majority to support an amendment that would similarly ease the way for nationals of
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 ...
descent to gain Spanish citizenship. The proposal was originally made by IULV-CA, the Andalusian branch of the United Left.''Propuesta de IU sobre derecho preferente de moriscos a la nacionalidad''
In 2004, Shlomo Moshe Amar traveled to Portugal to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the Lisbon Synagogue "Shaare Tikvah". During his stay, Shlomo Moshe Amar met descendants of Jewish families persecuted by the Inquisition who still practice Judaism at the house of rabbi Boaz Pash. This was an historical meeting that had not happened between a Chief Rabbi and Portuguese Bnei Anusim in centuries. Rabbi Shlomo Moshe Amar promised to create a committee to evaluate the Halachic situation of the community. The delay of the Chief Rabbi to create the committee and help the descendants of
Sephardi Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...
Jews in Portugal forced the creation of a second Jewish community in Lisbon, Comunidade Judaica Masorti Beit Israel, to ensure the recognition of the Bnei Anusim as Jews.


In literature

*
Richard Zimler Richard Zimler (born 1 January 1956 in Roslyn Heights, New York) is a best-selling author. His books, which have earned him a 1994 National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship in Fiction and the 1998 Herodotus Award, have been published in many cou ...
, '' The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon'', The Overlook Press, *
Richard Zimler Richard Zimler (born 1 January 1956 in Roslyn Heights, New York) is a best-selling author. His books, which have earned him a 1994 National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship in Fiction and the 1998 Herodotus Award, have been published in many cou ...
, ''Hunting Midnight'', Delacorte, *
Richard Zimler Richard Zimler (born 1 January 1956 in Roslyn Heights, New York) is a best-selling author. His books, which have earned him a 1994 National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship in Fiction and the 1998 Herodotus Award, have been published in many cou ...
, ''Guardian of the Dawn'', Constable & Robinson, *
Antonio Muñoz Molina Antonio Muñoz Molina (born 10 January 1956) is a Spanish writer and, since 8 June 1995, a full member of the Royal Spanish Academy. He received the 1991 Premio Planeta, the 2013 Jerusalem Prize, and the 2013 Prince of Asturias Award for liter ...
, ''Sepharad'', Harvest Books, *
David Liss David Liss (born March 16, 1966) is an American writer of novels, essays and short fiction; more recently working also in comic books. He was born in New Jersey and grew up in South Florida. Liss received his BA degree from Syracuse Universit ...
, ''The Coffee Trader'', Abacus,


See also

* Allahdad *
Chala The Chala or "Coast" is one of the eight natural regions in Peru. It is formed by all the western lands that arise from sea level up to the height of 500 meters. The coastal desert of Peru is largely devoid of vegetation but a unique fog and mist- ...
* Dönmeh *
History of the Jews in Belmonte The history of the Jewish Community in Belmonte, Portugal dates back to the 12th century and consists of Spanish and Portuguese Jews who kept their faith alive through the practice of Crypto-Judaism. The Sephardic tradition of Crypto-Judaism is u ...
*
Judaizer The Judaizers were a faction of the Jewish Christians, both of Jewish and non-Jewish origins, who regarded the Levitical laws of the Old Testament as still binding on all Christians. They tried to enforce Jewish circumcision upon the Gentile co ...
*
Kakure Kirishitan ''Kakure kirishitan'' () is a modern term for a member of the Catholic Church in Japan that went underground at the start of the Edo period in the early 17th century due to Christianity's repression by the Tokugawa shogunate. History Origin ...
—comparable group of Hidden Christians in
Edo Japan The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional ''daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characterize ...
*
Linobambaki The Linobambaki or Linovamvaki were a Crypto-Christian community in Cyprus, predominantly of Catholic and Greek-Orthodox descent who were persecuted for their religion during Ottoman rule. They assimilated into the Turkish Cypriot community duri ...
*
Luis de Carvajal y de la Cueva Luis de Carvajal (sometimes Luis de Carabajal y de la Cueva) ( – 13 February 1591) was governor of the Spanish province of Nuevo León in present-day Mexico, slave trader, and the first Spanish subject known to have entered Texas from Mexico ...
* Mental reservation *
Neofiti The neofiti ( en, Neophytes) were a group of Italian ''anusim'', also known as crypto-Jews, living in Southern Italy. History The ''neofiti'' were descendants of Jews who were forced to convert to Roman Catholicism in 1493. They continued to ...
* New Christian * Spanish and Portuguese Jews *
Vaez The Vaez family was a prominent Jewish family of Lisbon, whose foremost members, the four brothers Immanuel, Pedro, Ayres, and Salvador, resided in Portugal as Marranos during the sixteenth century. The family included several Jewish scholars an ...
* Xueta


References


Citations


General and cited references

* Damião de Góis (1567), in ''Chronica do Felicissimo Rey D. Emanuel da Gloriosa Memória'' * . * . * .


Further reading

* Cohen, Martin A. "Antonio Díaz De Cáceres: Marrano Adventurer in Colonial Mexico." ''American Jewish Historical Quarterly'', vol. 60, no. 2, 1970, pp. 169–184., . * Cohen, Martin A. "Toward a New Comprehension of the Marranos." In ''Hispania Judaica: Studies on the History, Language, and Literature of the Jews in the Hispanic World''. Vol. I: History, edited by Josep M. Solà-Solé, Samuel G. Armistead, and Joseph H. Silverman, 23–35. Barcelona: Puvil-Editor, 1980. * Escobar Quevedo, Ricardo. ''Inquisición y judaizantes en América española (siglos XVI-XVII)''. Bogota: Editorial Universidad de Rosario, 2008. * Netanyahu, Benzion. ''The Marranos of Spain: From the Late 14th to the Early 16th Century, According to Contemporary Hebrew Sources''
966 Year 966 ( CMLXVI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * 23 June - Byzantine-Arab War: A prisoner exchange occurs at the border betwee ...
3rd ed. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1999. * Poliakov, Leon. ''The History of Anti-Semitism, vol. 2: From Mohammed to the Marranos''. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003. * Révah, I.S. "Les marranes." ''Revue des études juives'' 118 (1959–60): 29–77. * Roth, Cecil. "The Religion of the Marranos," ''The Jewish Quarterly Review'' 22 (1931): 1–33. . * Rowland, Robert. "New Christian, Marrano, Jew." In ''The Jews and the Expansion of Europe to the West, 1450–1800'', edited by Paolo Bernardini and Norman Fiering, 125–148. New York: Berghahn Books, 2001. * Saraiva, António José. ''The Marrano Factory: The Portuguese Inquisition and Its New Christians, 1536–1765''
956 Year 956 ( CMLVI) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Summer – Emperor Constantine VII appoints Nikephoros Phokas to commander of th ...
trans. H.P. Salomon and I.S.D. Sassoon. Leiden: Brill, 2001. * Simms, Norman. ''Masks in the Mirror: Marranism in the Jewish Experience''. New York: Peter Lang, 2006. * Wachtel, Nathan. ''The Faith of Remembrance: Marrano Labyrinths'' 001 trans. Nikki Halpern. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013. * Yerushalmi, Yosef Hayim. ''From Spanish Court to Italian Ghetto. Isaac Cardoso: A Study in Seventeenth-Century Marranism and Jewish Apologetics''. New York: Columbia University Press, 1971. * Yovel, Yirmiyahu. ''The Other Within: The Marranos: Split Identity and Emerging Modernity''. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009. * Yovel, Yirmiyahu. ''Spinoza and Other Heretics, vol. 1: The Marrano of Reason''. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989.


External links


Corresponding article
in '' The Jewish Encyclopedia''. Further relevant material can be found in its article o
South and Central America

Dona Gracia Project



Resources > Medieval Jewish History > "Expulsion from Spain and The Anusim"
The Jewish History Resource Center, Dinur Center for Research in Jewish History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem * Kathleen Telch, "Belmonte Project"
Newsletter
Spring 2003, p. 9, American Sephardi Federation
Society For Crypto Judaic Studies

Michael Freund, "Miracle in Orlando", originally published in ''The Jerusalem Post''
, Jewish Society
Return to Sinai
in Half-Jewish.org, Website covering topics relevant to descendants of assimilation and intermarriage



by Miriam Shaviv, ''
The Forward ''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ...
''
Shavei Israel – a group that helps our lost brethren return

Alhambra Decree: 521 Years Later
a blog post on the Law Library of Congress's ''In Custodia Legis''
"Cristãos Novos e Cristãos Velhos em Portugal"
("New Christians and Old Christians in Portugal"), written by António Nunes Ribeiro Sanches, in 1748
A history of the Marranos
by Cecil Roth
Dramatic episodes of the Portuguese Inquisition, volume 1
by Antonio Baião
Dramatic episodes of the Portuguese Inquisition, volume 2
by Antonio Baião
Trial of Gabriel de Granada by the Inquisition in Mexico, 1642–1645
According to Cecil Roth, "it gives a remarkably graphic impression of a typical Inquisitional case" {{Authority control 14th century in Al-Andalus 15th century in Al-Andalus Converts to Christianity from Judaism Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism History of Judaism History of the conversos History of the Jews in South America Jewish Mexican history Jewish Spanish history Judaism in Spain Metaphors referring to pigs Passing (sociology) Puerto Rican Jews Spanish and Portuguese Jews Spanish Inquisition