The Expulsion of Jews from Spain
. The year of 1492 is a year the congregation of Jewish people will always remember. This was the year that over 200,000 Jewish people were forced to leave the land of Spain because of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand ordering the removal in a somewhat peaceful manner, thanks to Father Tomas de Torquemada. Father Tomas de Torquemada stalled the time of the expulsion of Jews’ to March instead of January. Spain was under invasion by Muslims at the time and had just defeated the Muslims in Granada; thus being so, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella only wanted Spain to be among Christian citizens. Therefore, the expulsion of Jews’ quickly began in March 1492. The expulsion of the Jews’ was the pet project of the Spanish Inquisition. Jews’ were encouraged to convert to Christianity, flee the country of Spain, or be killed; at the time, the total Jewish count was estimated to be 200,000. Jewish people had to liquidate their homes and businesses at absurdly low prices. The majority of Jewish people fled to Portugal and Italy; but nonetheless, some escaped to North Africa or the area of the Ottoman Empire at the time. The new name of the Jews’ from Spain became known as Marrano’s and Sephardi’s. This horrific event set the rise of the Messianic Movement and the development of the Jewish communities in Europe and in the Ottoman Empire. The rise of the Messianic Movement is a very important chapter in Jewish history. The Messianic Movement started with Sabbetai Sevi the “Mystical Messiah” movement. He was an extremely talented individual that sang well and possessed personal charm. Nathan of Gaza is known to be the man who convinced Sabbetai Sevi that he was the true Messiah. Shortly, became very famous because of the words of Nathan of Gaza, which began in Egypt. The rising question in the 16th century was “How could such a person, neither hero nor scholar nor saint, suddenly gain world-wide acclaim and reverence as the Messiah”? The Messiah