The Expulsion of Jews from Spain
Louisa Muniain
April 13, 2008
World Cultures CAS
Mr. Isaac
The Expulsion of Jews from Spain
The Jewish Expulsion put an end to one of the most notable and largest settlements in Europe. The main leader behind this dreadful era was Tomas de Torquemada. The King and Queen of Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella appointed Torquemada Inquisitor General in 1483. I believe that if Torquemada hadn’t become such good friends with the King and Queen and was not as influencing, as he became to be during the expulsion, then he would not have been appointed Inquisitor General and the Spanish Inquisition would not of happened. Before Torquemada came around, kings Fernando I, Fernando II, Alonso VII and Alonso VIII trusted and got along with the Jews. So much so that they gave the Jews all the same privileges as the Christians. At one point the Jews even had more privileges then the Christians did(, A History of the Jewish People). The turning point came when Ferdinand III and James I were in power. They began immediately to limit is the Jews privileges. They were forced to wear yellow badges on their clothing to keep them from interacting with the Christians. If they did not wear their yellow badge then they would be fined 10 maravedis (gold or silver coins). They were also not allowed to live under the same roof, eat or drink with them, or use the same bath. It also went as far as Christians were not allowed to drink wine that was made by a Jew and only use medical remedies made by a Christians. Jews were prohibited to appear in public on Good Friday. Although the Jews had limiting privileges they were the ones with the best jobs and most income. They did need the good jobs though, to pay the high taxes and to raise the compulsory loans issued by the king. The Jews had a lot of high status jobs. Some were even aids to the king. The Jewish community even had their own separate political body (Netanyahu, B. The Orgins of the Inquisitionv). Pedro I favored
April 13, 2008
World Cultures CAS
Mr. Isaac
The Expulsion of Jews from Spain
The Jewish Expulsion put an end to one of the most notable and largest settlements in Europe. The main leader behind this dreadful era was Tomas de Torquemada. The King and Queen of Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella appointed Torquemada Inquisitor General in 1483. I believe that if Torquemada hadn’t become such good friends with the King and Queen and was not as influencing, as he became to be during the expulsion, then he would not have been appointed Inquisitor General and the Spanish Inquisition would not of happened. Before Torquemada came around, kings Fernando I, Fernando II, Alonso VII and Alonso VIII trusted and got along with the Jews. So much so that they gave the Jews all the same privileges as the Christians. At one point the Jews even had more privileges then the Christians did(, A History of the Jewish People). The turning point came when Ferdinand III and James I were in power. They began immediately to limit is the Jews privileges. They were forced to wear yellow badges on their clothing to keep them from interacting with the Christians. If they did not wear their yellow badge then they would be fined 10 maravedis (gold or silver coins). They were also not allowed to live under the same roof, eat or drink with them, or use the same bath. It also went as far as Christians were not allowed to drink wine that was made by a Jew and only use medical remedies made by a Christians. Jews were prohibited to appear in public on Good Friday. Although the Jews had limiting privileges they were the ones with the best jobs and most income. They did need the good jobs though, to pay the high taxes and to raise the compulsory loans issued by the king. The Jews had a lot of high status jobs. Some were even aids to the king. The Jewish community even had their own separate political body (Netanyahu, B. The Orgins of the Inquisitionv). Pedro I favored
Cited: Wikipedia Foundation. 24 Feb. 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Spain. Jacob Marcus, The Jew in the Medieval World: A Sourcebook, 315-1791, (New York: JPS, 1938), 51-55 Militans, Ecclesia. The Inquisition. Dorset P, 1988. 8-264. Netanyahu, B. The Orgins of the Inquisition. New York: Random House, 1995 Plaidy, Jean. The Spanish Inquisition Its Rise, Growth, and End. New York, N.Y.: The Citadel P, 1967 The American-Israeli Enterprise. 24 Feb. 2008 http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/expulsion.html.