The Spanish Expulsion in 1492 - Research Paper Example

Thesis: 1492 is known to most as the year Christopher Columbus discovered America. It is also the year of the Treaty of Grenada which ended the 700 year Spanish 'Reconquista' of Grenada and the Edict of 1492 or the Alhambra Edict . King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella are the conquerors of the Moors, expellers of the Jews, founders of the Inquisition, and destroyers of the inquiring Spanish mind. The Jews had lived for centuries in Spain, adapted their own cultures and have customs which are used today. The Sephardics, those from Spain, were expelled from a country but not from a way of life. The Spanish Expulsion.   1492 is known to most as the year Christopher Columbus discovered America. It is also the year of Edict of 1492 which ended the 200 year Spanish 'Reconquista' of Grenada and the Edict of Expulsion . King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella were motivated both politically, and because of the church to unite the Kingdom under one religion. This paper will discuss the steps taken how the Spanish Kingdom became a Catholic State and how the Jews were formally eradicated from the territory. To conclude the report will show that knowledge is needed to integrate a country. By 1492, Spain was a catholic despot monarchy. Muslim control had been eradicated. Jews and Muslims were being more and more persecuted. Though Catholicism was the only religion, there was a sense of old school and new school or the newly converted Catholics. The "conversos" were no longer believed and put into the same category as the Jews. (The Inquisition) It was a political move on behalf of the Queen to eliminate the "conversos" rather than work to assimilate them as they represented a new wave of political and scientific thinking. (The Inquisition) In 1481, Queen Isabella had requested from the Roman Catholic Church, the authority to start a Spanish Inquisition where the monarchy would have total control over the Spanish Church. Other Inquisitions had been directly controlled by the Roman Church. Her motivation was both political, religious and power hungry. The Jews and those "Conversos" were influencing Catholics.(The Inquisition) It wouldn't be until 1483, when General Inquisitor Tomas de Torquemada was appointed. (Thomsett 149) There were still Muslim centres all over the Kingdom. When the Edict of Alhambra was read, the Muslims no longer had the same protection as they did under the Treaty of Grenada. Grenada was the last stronghold of Moorish control of the Iberian Peninsula. The Ottoman Empire had sent soldiers to fight but the Christian soldiers after 700 years of fighting won. At the end of 1491, a Treaty was drawn and Muslims and other refugees were taken to North Africa. The "Reconquista" was declared finished the 2nd of January 1492. (Thormett 127) The Treaty of 1492 was signed. The Muslims and the Jews had always lived in Spanish territory in relative harmony. The terms stated that Jews and Muslims would have certain protections. Spain had been known for centuries as a State country where religions could exist side by side. Map of the Iberian Peninsula, 1270–1492, showing the kingdoms of Portugal, Castile, Navarre, Granada, Aragon, and Majorca. March 31rst 1492 the Edict of Expulsion or the Edict of Alhambra was signed The six decrees can be resumed into the following (The Edict n.d.) i) to all Jews ii) to those Christians who practiced Judaism and went into Jewish ghettos in 1488; to those who have been drawn into Judaism or communicated with Jews as told by the people of the Inquisition; to those who have been circumcised and who have continued studying and praying…. iii) punishment is to forbid them to live within the kingdom iv) all Jews of all ages must leave the kingdom by the end of July 1492 under the penalty of death v) they must sell or get rid of all their worldly possessions under the protection of the government until the end of July.. They will not take any gold or silver or anything of value. vi) any Jew who disagrees will be brought before the courts. the edict will be in all public areas to be read and seen by all Isaac Abravanel presented himself in court as a representative of the Jewish population, knowing that there would be know no positive outcome. Jews have realized through centuries the importance of proper and accurate documentation. A resume of his commentary has been provided to show the extent and gravity of the greed of the obsessive power of the monarchy. There is no reasoning nor thought in the Monarchy's creation of the Edict. "A Jewish child can not be a threat to the Catholic faith; when he lives in a ghetto; when his parents are taxed heavily; when he goes to his own school….." (Abravanel) The Inquisition was rampant. Anyone who was not Catholic was tortured. Jews had no opportunity to mix. Mr Abravanel explains further that perhaps the essence is the desire to destroy more than just armies. Would it have been possible for the monarchy to understand that they were destroying "the inner state of mind"? In 1492 as this was incredibly sophisticated thinking. The King and Queen do not have the right to burn books of the "Arabic library of the Moorish palace and destroy its priceless manuscripts". (Abravanel) Power is knowledge and knowledge is power, the monarchy responds by suppressing all and expulsing a nation who lived over one thousand years within a nation. He continues saying that their country will only be interested in the riches of others which is seen in the next two centuries in Spanish acquisition of the colonies. "What was once a country of enlightenment will go into darkness of "illiterates". "You cannot persuade the uninformed." (Abravanel) In the beginning of August, Christopher Columbus had his three ships ready to leave for the New World. He had never been able to get financing before this date. (Karp)There has been much controversy as to the crew. In preparing this report, it is highly probable that he finally received his financing because the Spanish monarchy did not have to pay for his crew. This is an assumption of the author of this report. There has been multiple documentation showing that his crew books have Hebrew script. A second reason confirming this assumption was the small unknown harbor. Christopher Columbus could not leave from a larger harbor as there were too many Jews trying to leave from the larger harbors. He was forced to leave from an unknown harbor. This example of going with Christopher Columbus is one in many where Jews had to escape over night leaving everything behind. It has been documented between 200 000 and 800 000 had to leave. There is no clear documentation to the exact amount. It has not been documented as to how many survived. There were five poles of migration: North Africa, Turkey, Portugal, the High Seas and the Americas. The source of migration made its way to Portugal which served only as a safe haven until 1498, when the kings daughter married into the Spanish court. One of the contingencies was that the Jews be expulsed. Many Jews who were able to make it to North Africa were able to live in peace. To traverse the Mediterranean sea they were charged exorbitant prices, killed, robbed and dumped into the sea. As the relationship between the Moors and the Jews was always peaceful, they were able to settle in the Ottoman empire. In the 15th century this was Northern Africa and Turkey. Constantinople became a leading cultural, and learning center for Sephardic Jews. (Levy 40) Sephardic Jews had their customs, their ways of life and learning. The Ottoman empire set up schools and governments for each ethnic group. (Levy 43) Jews were allowed to govern their own people. They were able to study in higher education and become part of day to day life in the economic functioning of the empire. They became renowned doctors, economists, and scientists. (Levy 43) As they had existed with the Muslims in Spain, they existed side by side with the Muslims in Turkey. A leader who is afraid of internal knowledge loses his power and has to rely on brute force. (Avenal) Spain paid dearly for its mistakes of 1492. Works Cited Karp, Abraham J. "Columbus Sets Sail." Jewish Virtual Library - Homepage. From the Ends of the Earth: Judaic Treasures of the Library of Congress, 1991. Web. 03 June 2011. Levy, Avigdor. The Structure of the Jewish Community, The Jews of the Ottoman Empire, Princeton: Darwin Pres, 1994. pdf Margolis, Max, and Alexander Marx. "The Spanish Expulsion, 1492." Jewish Virtual Library - Homepage. A History of the Jewish People,. Web. 03 June 2011. "Sephardim." Jewish Virtual Library - Homepage. Congregation Shearith Israel. Web.03June2011 "The Alhambra Decree" Web. 03 June 2011 "The Edict of Expulsion of the Jews - 1492 Spain." Foundation for the Advancement of Sephardic Studies and Culture. Web. 03 June 2011. "The Inquisition."Jewish Virtual Library-Homepage. From Enlyclopedia Judaica Web. 04 June 2011. Thomsett, Michael C., The age of Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor, The Inquisition: A History, Jeffson: McFarland & Company Inc, Publishers, 2010 Web. 04 June 2011 http://www.scribd.com/doc/51067534/9/The-Age-of-Torquemada-the- Grand-Inquisitor Walbert, David. Spain and America: From Reconquest to Conquest, The search for the Lost Colony, pp93-95, USA: Learn INC, 2008. pdf Read More