EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FROM SPAIN.
Friendship of Marranos and Jews--Torquemada demands of
the Rabbis of Toledo the Denunciation of Marranos--Judah
Ibn-Verga--Jewish Courtiers under Ferdinand and Isabella
--Isaac Abrabanel: his History and Writings--The Jews of
Portugal under Alfonso V--The Ibn-Yachya Brothers--Abrabanel's
Flight from Portugal to Spain--The Jews of Granada: Isaac
Hamon--Edict of Banishment promulgated by Ferdinand and
Isabella--Its Consequences--Departure from Spain--Number of
the Exiles--Decline in the Prosperity of Spain after the
Banishment of the Jews--Transformation of Synagogues and
Schools into Churches and Monasteries--The Inquisition and the
Marranos--Deza, the Successor of Torquemada.
1483-1492 C.E.
The monster of the Inquisition, having poured out its wrath on the
new-Christians, now stretched its arms over the Jews, and delivered
them to a miserable fate. The connection between the Jews and the
Marranos was too close for the former not to be made to participate in
the misfortunes of the latter. They were in intimate relations with
each other, were bound to each other by close, brotherly ties. The
Jews experienced heartfelt pity for their unfortunate brethren, so
unwillingly wearing the mask of Christianity, and strove to keep them
in touch with the Jewish community. They instructed Christian-born
Marranos in the rites of Judaism, held secret meetings with them
for prayer, furnished them with religious books and writings, kept
them informed of the occurrence of fasts and festivals, supplied
them at Easter with unleavened bread, and throughout the year with
meat prepared according to their own ritual, and circumcised their
new-born sons. In Seville, in fact in the whole of Andalusia, there
were countless new-Christians, baptized at the time of the furious
attack upon the Jews by Ferdinand Martinez, and later during the
persecution of 1391, so that it offered a good field for the activity
of Jews who were endeavoring to bring back turncoat brethren into
the ranks of Judaism. One of the most active in this work was Judah
Ibn-Verga, of Seville, Kabbalist and astronomer, who was held in high
estimation by the governor of Andalusia. The king and queen intended
to call the Inquisition into existence here, and the first step was
to separate the Jews from Christians, especially new-Christians, and
to destroy every connecting link between them. The cortes of Toledo
insisted on the enforcement of the stringent regulations--hitherto
so frequently evaded--for special Jewish (and Moorish) quarters, but
the strictly executed law of separation, made to take effect all over
the kingdom, could not sever the loving relations existing between
Jews and Marranos. In spite of all, the closest intercommunion was
maintained, only more secretly, more circumspectly. The greater the
danger of discovery, the the greater the charm of meeting, despite the
Argus eyes of priestly spies and their myrmidons, for mutual solace and
encouragement. These meetings of the Jews and Moors, from the secrecy
with which they were conducted, and the danger attending them, wore a
romantic aspect. A loving bond of union was thus created, which grew
closer and stronger for every effort to loosen it.
The fiendish Torquemada strove by every possible means to destroy these
ties. As soon as he had become grand inquisitor, he issued a command
that Marranos should present themselves for confession, ordered the
rabbis of Toledo to be convened, and exacted from them an oath that
they would inform against new-Christians who observed Jewish rites
and ceremonies, and would excommunicate Jews who refused to become
witnesses against their own people. They were threatened with heavy
punishment if they refused to take this oath (1485). What a tragical
struggle for the rabbis of Toledo! They themselves were to lend a hand
to wrench their faithful brethren from Judaism, and deliver them over
to Christianity, or, rather, to the stake! Surely, they could not be
brought to this, and preferred to suffer punishment! Judah Ibn-Verga,
ordered by the inquisitors to deliver over pseudo-Christians who
secretly clung to Judaism, chose to leave his native Seville, and
fled to Lisbon, where he eventually died a martyr's death. Since the
inquisitors could not attain their ends through Jews, who, despite all
measures, continued their secret intercourse with new-Christians, they
urged the king and queen to issue a mandate for the partial expulsion
of the Jews from Andalusia, especially from Seville.
The Castilian and Aragonese Jews might have known, from these sad
events, that their sojourn could not be of long duration; but they
loved Spain too dearly to part from her except under compulsion.
Besides, the king and queen often protected them from unfair treatment.
When they removed to special Jewish quarters, Ferdinand and Isabella
were at great pains to shield them from annoyance and chicanery.
Moreover, under the rule of these Catholic sovereigns there were Jewish
tithe and tax collectors, and, finally, the Jews relied upon the fact
that they were indispensable to the Christians. The sick preferred
to seek advice with Jewish physicians, the lower classes consulted
Jews on legal questions, and even asked them to read the letters or
documents which they received from the clergy. In addition to all this,
it happened that, at the time when Torquemada was casting his snares
over the Moors and Jews, the celebrated Abrabanel received an important
post at the court of Castile, and enjoyed unlimited confidence. Under
his protection the Spanish Jews hoped to be able to defy the fury of
the venomous Dominicans. Abrabanel's favored position at court, the
geniality of his character, his affection for the Hebrew race, his love
of learning, and his tried wisdom, brought back the time of Samuel
Nagrela, and lulled the Jews with false hopes.
Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel (born in Lisbon 1437, died in Venice
1509) worthily closes the list of Jewish statesmen in Spain who,
beginning with Chasdaï Ibn-Shaprut, used their names and positions
to protect the interests of their race. In his noble-mindedness, his
contemporaries saw proofs of Abrabanel's descent from the royal house
of David, a distinction on which the Abrabanels prided themselves,
and which was generally conceded to them. His grandfather, Samuel
Abrabanel, who, during the persecution of 1391, but probably only for
a short time, lived as a Christian, was a large-hearted, generous man,
who supported Jewish learning and its votaries. His father, Judah,
treasurer to a Portuguese prince, was wealthy and benevolent. Isaac
Abrabanel was precocious, of clear understanding, but sober-minded,
without imagination and without depth. The realities of life, present
conditions and events, he grasped with unerring tact; but what was
distant, less obvious to ordinary perceptions, lay veiled in a mist
which he was unable to penetrate or dispel. The origin of Judaism, its
splendid antiquity, and its conception of God, were favorite themes
with Abrabanel from his youth upward, and when still quite a young man
he published a treatise setting forth the providence of God and its
special relation to Israel. Philosophical conceptions were, however,
acquired, not innate with him; he had no ability to solve metaphysical
questions. On the other hand, he was a solid man of business, who
thoroughly understood finance and affairs of state. The reigning king
of Portugal, Don Alfonso V, an intelligent, genial, amiable ruler,
was able to appreciate Abrabanel's talents; he summoned him to his
court, confided to him the conduct of his financial affairs, and
consulted him on all important state questions. His noble disposition,
his sincerely devout spirit, his modesty, far removed from arrogance,
and his unselfish prudence, secured for him at court, and far outside
its circle, the esteem and affection of Christian grandees. Abrabanel
stood in friendly intimacy with the powerful, but mild and beneficent
Duke Ferdinand of Braganza, lord of fifty towns, boroughs, castles, and
fortresses, and able to bring 10,000 foot-soldiers and 3,000 cavalry
into the field, as also with his brothers, the Marquis of Montemar,
Constable of Portugal, and the Count of Faro, who lived together in
fraternal affection. With the learned John Sezira, who was held in high
consideration at court, and was a warm patron of the Jews, he enjoyed
close friendship. Abrabanel thus describes his happy life at the court
of King Alfonso:
"Tranquilly I lived in my inherited house in fair Lisbon. God
had given me blessings, riches and honor. I had built myself
stately buildings and chambers. My house was the meeting-place
of the learned and the wise. I was a favorite in the palace of
Alfonso, a mighty and upright king, under whom the Jews enjoyed
freedom and prosperity. I was close to him, was his support,
and while he lived I frequented his palace."
Alfonso's reign was the end of the golden time for the Jews of the
Pyrenean Peninsula. Although in his time the Portuguese code of laws
(Ordenaçoens de Alfonso V), containing Byzantine elements and canonical
restrictions for the Jews, was completed, it must be remembered that,
on the one hand, the king, who was a minor, had had no share in framing
them, and, on the other, the hateful laws were not carried out. In his
time the Jews in Portugal bore no badge, but rode on richly caparisoned
horses and mules, wore the costume of the country, long coats, fine
hoods and silken vests, and carried gilded swords, so that they could
not be distinguished from Christians. The greater number of the
tax-farmers (Rendeiros) in Portugal were Jews. Princes of the church
even appointed Jewish receivers of church taxes, at which the cortes
of Lisbon raised complaint. The independence of the Jewish population
under the chief rabbi and the seven provincial rabbis was protected in
Alfonso's reign, and included in the code. This code conceded to Jews
the right to print their public documents in Hebrew, instead of in
Portuguese as hitherto commanded.
Abrabanel was not the only Jewish favorite at Alfonso's court. Two
brothers Ibn-Yachya Negro also frequented the court of Lisbon. They
were sons of a certain Don David, who had recommended them not
to invest their rich inheritance in real estate, for he saw that
banishment was in store for the Portuguese Jews.
As long as Isaac Abrabanel enjoyed the king's favor, he was as a
"shield and a wall for his race, and delivered the sufferers from
their oppressors, healed differences, and kept fierce lions at bay,"
as described by his poetical son, Judah Leon. He who had a warm heart
for all afflicted, and was father to the orphan and consoler to the
sorrowing, felt yet deeper compassion for the unfortunate of his own
people. When Alfonso conquered the port of Arzilla, in Africa, the
victors brought with them, among many thousand captive Moors, 250
Jews, who were sold as slaves throughout the kingdom. That Jews and
Jewesses should be doomed to the miseries of slavery was unendurable to
Abrabanel's heart. At his summons a committee of twelve representatives
of the Lisbon community was formed, and collected funds; then, with
a colleague, he traveled over the whole country and redeemed the
Jewish slaves, often at a high price. The ransomed Jews and Jewesses,
adults and children, were clothed, lodged, and maintained until they
had learned the language of the country, and were able to support
themselves.
When King Alfonso sent an embassy to Pope Sixtus IV to congratulate
him upon his accession to the throne, and to send him tidings of his
victory over the Moors in Africa, Doctor John Sezira was one of the
ambassadors. One in heart and soul with Abrabanel, and friendly to
the Jews, he promised to speak to the pope in their favor and behalf.
Abrabanel begged his Italian friend, Yechiel of Pisa, to receive John
Sezira with a friendly welcome, to place himself entirely at his
disposal, and convey to him, and to the chief ambassador, Lopes de
Almeida, how gratified the Italian Jews were to hear of King Alfonso's
favor to the Jews in his country, so that the king and his courtiers
might feel flattered. Thus Abrabanel did everything in his power for
the good of his brethren in faith and race.
In the midst of prosperity, enjoyed with his gracious and cultured wife
and three fine sons, Judah Leon, Isaac and Samuel, he was disturbed by
the turn of affairs in Portugal. His patron, Alfonso V, died, and was
succeeded by Don João II (1481-1495), a man in every way unlike his
father--stronger of will, less kindly, and full of dissimulation. He
had been crowned in his father's lifetime, and was not rejoiced when
Alfonso, believed to be dead, suddenly re-appeared in Portugal. João
II followed the tactics of his unscrupulous contemporary, Louis XI of
France, in the endeavor to rid himself of the Portuguese grandees in
order to create an absolute monarchy. His first victim was to be Duke
Ferdinand of Braganza, of royal blood, almost as powerful and as highly
considered as himself, and better beloved. Don João II was anxious to
clear from his path this duke and his brothers, against whom he had a
personal grudge. While flattering the Duke of Braganza, he had a letter
set up against him, accusing him of a secret, traitorous understanding
with the Spanish sovereigns, the truth of which has not to this day
been satisfactorily ascertained. He arrested him with a Judas kiss,
caused him to be tried as a traitor to his country, sent him to the
block, and took possession of his estates and wealth (June, 1483). His
brothers were forced to fly to avoid a like fate. Inasmuch as Isaac
Abrabanel had lived in friendly relations with the Duke of Braganza and
his brothers, King João chose to suspect him of having been implicated
in the recent conspiracies. Enemies of the Jewish statesman did their
best to strengthen these suspicions. The king sent a command for him
to appear before him. Not suspecting any evil, Abrabanel was about to
obey, when an unknown friend appeared, told him his life was in danger,
and counseled him to hasty flight. Warned by the fate of the Duke of
Braganza, Abrabanel followed the advice, and fled to Spain. The king
sent mounted soldiery after him, but they could not overtake him, and
he reached the Spanish border in safety. In a humble but manly letter
he declared his innocence of the crime, and also the innocence of the
Duke of Braganza. The suspicious tyrant gave no credence to the letter
of defense, but caused Abrabanel's property to be confiscated, as also
that of his son, Judah Leon, who was already following the profession
of a physician. His wife and children, however, he permitted to remove
to Castile.
In the city of Toledo, where he found refuge, Isaac Abrabanel was
honorably received by the Jews, especially by the cultured. A circle
of learned men and disciples gathered round the famous, innocently
persecuted Jewish statesman. With the rabbi, Isaac Aboab, and with the
chief tithe-collector, Abraham Senior, he formed a close friendship.
The latter, it seems, at once took him into partnership in the
collection of taxes. Abrabanel's conscience pricked him for having
neglected the study of the Law in following state affairs and mammon,
and he attributed his misfortunes to the just punishment of heaven. He
at once began to write, at the earnest entreaty of his new friends, an
exposition of the books of the earlier prophets, hitherto, on account
of their apparent simplicity, neglected by commentators. As he had
given thought to them before, he soon completed the work. Certainly, no
one was better qualified than Abrabanel to expound historical biblical
literature. In addition to knowledge of languages, he had experience of
the world, and the insight into political problems and complications
necessary for unraveling the Israelitish records.
He had the advantage over other expositors in using the Christian
exegetical writings of Jerome, Nicholas de Lyra, and the baptized
Paul of Burgos, and taking from them what was most valuable.
Abrabanel, therefore, in these commentaries, shed light upon many
obscure passages. They are conceived in a scholarly style, arranged
systematically, and before each book appear a comprehensible preface
and a table of contents, an arrangement copied from Christian
commentators, and adroitly turned to account by him. Had Abrabanel
not been so diffuse in style, and not had the habit of introducing
each Scriptural chapter with superfluous questions, his dissertations
would have been, or, at all events, would have deserved to be, more
popular. Nor should he have gone beyond his province into philosophical
inquiry. Abrabanel accepted the orthodox point of view of Nachmani
and Chasdaï, merely supplementing them with commonplaces of his own.
He was not tolerant enough to listen to a liberal view of Judaism and
its doctrines, and accused the works of Albalag and Narboni of heresy,
classing these inquirers with the unprincipled apostate, Abner-Alfonso,
of Valladolid. He was no better pleased with Levi ben Gerson, because
he had resorted to philosophical interpretations in many cases, and did
not accept miracles unconditionally. Like the strictly orthodox Jews of
his day, such as Joseph Jaabez, he was persuaded that the humiliations
and persecutions suffered by the Jews of Spain were due to their
heresy. Yet, did German Jews, wholly untouched by heretical philosophy,
suffer less than their brethren in Spain? Only a brief time was granted
to Abrabanel to pursue his favorite study; the author was once more
compelled to become a statesman. When about to delineate Judæan and
Israelite monarchs, he was summoned to the court of Ferdinand and
Isabella to be intrusted with the care of their finances. The revenues
seem to have prospered under his management, and during his eight years
of office (March, 1484-March, 1492) nothing went wrong with them. He
was very useful to the royal pair by reason of his wisdom and prudent
counsel. Abrabanel himself relates that he grew rich in the king's
service, and bought himself land and estates, and that from the court
and the highest grandees he received great consideration and honor.
He must have been indispensable, seeing that the Catholic sovereigns,
under the very eyes of the malignant Torquemada, and in spite of
canonical decrees and all the resolutions repeatedly laid down by the
cortes forbidding Jews to hold office in the government, were compelled
to intrust this Jewish minister of finance with the mainspring of
political life! How many services Abrabanel did for his own people
during his time of office, grateful memory could not preserve by reason
of the storm of misfortunes which broke upon the Jews later; but in
Castile, as he had been in Portugal, he was as a wall of protection
to them. Lying and fearful accusations from their bitter foes, the
Dominicans, were not wanting. At one time it was said that the Jews
had shown disrespect to some cross; at another, that in the town of
La Guardia they had stolen and crucified a Christian child. From this
tissue of lies, Torquemada fabricated a case against the Jews, and
condemned the supposed criminals to the stake. In Valencia they were
declared to have made a similar attempt, but to have been interrupted
in the deed (1488-1490). That the Castilian Jews did not suffer
extinction for the succor they afforded the unfortunate Marranos, was
certainly owing to Abrabanel.
Meantime began the war with Granada, so disastrous for the Moors and
Jews, which lasted with intervals for ten years (1481-1491). To this
the Jews had to contribute. A heavy impost was laid upon the community
(Alfarda--Strangers' Tax), on which the royal treasurer, Villaris,
insisted with the utmost strictness. The Jews were, so to say, made
to bring the fagots to their own funeral pyre, and the people, adding
insult to injury, mocked them. In the province of Granada, which by
pride had brought about its own fall, there were many Jews, their
numbers having been increased by the Marranos who had fled thither to
avoid death at the stake. Their position was not enviable, for Spanish
hatred of Jews was strongly implanted there; but their creed was not
attacked, and their lives were not in constant peril. Isaac Hamon was
physician in ordinary to one of the last kings of Granada, and enjoyed
high favor at court. One day a quarrel arose in the streets of Granada,
and the bystanders implored the disputants to leave off in the name of
their prophet, but in vain. But when they were bidden to give over in
the name of the royal physician, they yielded. This occurrence, which
testified that Isaac Hamon was held in more respect by the populace
than the prophet Mahomet, roused certain bigoted Mahometans to fall
upon the Jews of Granada and butcher them. Only those escaped who found
refuge in the royal castle. The Jewish physicians of Granada came to
the resolution henceforth not to clothe themselves in silken garments,
nor ride on horseback, in order to avoid exciting the envy of the
Mahometans.
After long and bloody strife the beautiful city of Granada fell
into the hands of the proud Spaniards. Frivolous Muley Abu-Abdallah
(Boabdil), the last king, signed a secret treaty with Ferdinand and
Isabella (25th November, 1491) to give up the town and its territory by
a certain time. The conditions, seeing that independence was lost, were
tolerably favorable. The Moors were to keep their religious freedom,
their civil laws, their right to leave the country, and above all their
manners and customs, and were only required to pay the taxes which
hitherto they had paid the Moorish king. The renegades--that is to
say, Christians who had adopted Islam, or, more properly speaking,
the Moorish pseudo-Christians--who had fled from the Inquisition
to Granada, and returned to Islam, were to remain unmolested. The
Inquisition was not to claim jurisdiction over them. The Jews of
the capital of Granada, of the Albaicin quarter, the suburbs and
the Alpujarras, were included in the provisions of the treaty. They
were to enjoy the same indulgences and the same rights, except that
relapsed Marranos were to leave the city, only the first month after
its surrender being the term allowed for emigration; those who stayed
longer were to be handed over to the Inquisition. One noteworthy
point, stipulated by the last Moorish king of Granada, was that no
Jew should be set over the vanquished Moors as officer of justice,
tax-gatherer, or commissioner. On January 2d, 1492, Ferdinand and
Isabella, with their court, amid ringing of bells, and great pomp and
circumstance, made their entry into Granada. The Mahometan kingdom of
the Peninsula had vanished like a dream in an Arabian Nights' legend.
The last prince, Muley Abu-Abdallah, cast one long sad farewell look,
"with a last sigh," over the glory forever lost, and retired to the
lands assigned to him in the Alpujarras, but, unable to overcome his
dejection, he turned his steps towards Africa. After nearly eight
hundred years the whole Pyrenean Peninsula again became Christian, as
it had been in the time of the Visigoths. But heaven could not rejoice
over this conquest, which delivered fresh human sacrifices to the lords
of hell. The Jews were the first to experience the tragical effect of
this conquest of Granada.
The war against the Mahometans of Granada, originally undertaken
to punish attempts at encroachment and breach of faith, assumed
the character of a crusade against unbelief, of a holy war for the
exaltation of the cross and the spread of the Christian faith. Not only
the bigoted queen and the unctuous king, but also many Spaniards were
dragged by this conquest into raging fanaticism. Are the unbelieving
Mahometans to be vanquished, and the still more unbelieving Jews to
go free in the land? This question was too pertinent not to meet
with an answer unfavorable to the Jews. The insistence of Torquemada
and friends of his own way of thinking, that the Jews, who had long
been a thorn in their flesh, should be expelled, at first met with
indifference, soon began to receive more attention from the victors.
Then came the consideration that owing to increased opulence,
consequent on the booty acquired from the wealthy towns of conquered
Granada, the Jews were no longer indispensable. Before the banner of
the cross waved over Granada, Ferdinand and Isabella had contemplated
the expulsion of the Jews. With this end in view, they had sent an
embassy to Pope Innocent VII, stating that they were willing to banish
the Jews from the country, if he, Christ's representative, the avenger
of his death, set them the example; but even this abandoned pope, who
had seven illegitimate sons and as many daughters, and who, soon after
his accession to the papal chair, had broken a solemn oath, was opposed
to the expulsion of the Jews. Meshullam, of Rome, having heard of the
pope's refusal, with great joy announced to the Italian and Neapolitan
communities that Innocent would not consent to the expulsion. The
Spanish sovereigns decided on the banishment of the Jews without the
pope's consent.
From the enchanted palace of the Alhambra there was suddenly issued by
the "Catholic Sovereigns" a proclamation that, within four months, the
Spanish Jews were to leave every portion of Castile, Aragon, Sicily and
Sardinia under pain of death (March 31, 1492). They were at liberty
to take their goods and chattels with them, but neither gold, silver,
money, nor forbidden articles of export--only such things as it was
permitted to export. This heartless cruelty Ferdinand and Isabella
sought to vindicate before their own subjects and before foreign
countries. The proclamation did not accuse the Jews of extravagant
usury, of unduly enriching themselves, of sucking the marrow from the
bones of the people, of insulting the host, or of crucifying Christian
children--not one syllable was said of these things. But it set forth
that the falling away of the new-Christians into "Jewish unbelief" was
caused by their intercourse with Jews. The proclamation continued that
long since it would have been proper to banish the Jews on account
of their wily ways; but at first the sovereigns had tried clemency
and mild means, banishing only the Jews of Andalusia, and punishing
only the most guilty, in the hope that these steps would suffice. As,
however, these had not prevented the Jews from continuing to pervert
the new-Christians from the Catholic faith, nothing remained but for
their majesties to exile those who had lured back to heresy the people
who had indeed fallen away, but had repented and returned to holy
Mother Church. Therefore had their majesties, in council with the
princes of the church, grandees, and learned men, resolved to banish
the Jews from their kingdom. No Christian, on pain of confiscation of
his possessions, should, after the expiration of a certain term, give
succor or shelter to Jews. The edict of Ferdinand and Isabella is good
testimony for the Jews of Spain in those days, since no accusations
could be brought against them but that they had remained faithful to
their religion, and had sought to maintain their Marrano brethren in
it. A legend relates that their majesties were embittered against the
Jews, because the Infante had found the picture of a crucified Holy
Child in an orange which a Jewish courtier had given him.
The long-dreaded blow had fallen. The Spanish Jews were to leave the
country, round which the fibers of their hearts had grown, where lay
the graves of their forefathers of at least fifteen hundred years,
and towards whose greatness, wealth, and culture they had so largely
contributed. The blow fell upon them like a thunderbolt. Abrabanel
thought that he might be able to avert it by his influence. He
presented himself before the king and queen, and offered enormous
sums in the name of the Jews if the edict were removed. His Christian
friends, eminent grandees, supported his efforts. Ferdinand, who took
more interest in enriching his coffers than in the Catholic faith, was
inclined to yield. Then the fanatical grand inquisitor, Torquemada,
lifted up his voice. It is related that he took upon himself to rush
into the presence of the king and queen, carrying the crucifix aloft,
and uttering these winged words: "Judas Iscariot sold Christ for thirty
pieces of silver; your highnesses are about to sell Him for 300,000
ducats. Here He is, take Him, and sell Him!" Then he left the hall.
These words, or the influence of other ecclesiastics, had a strong
effect upon Isabella. She resolved to abide by the edict, and, of
bolder spirit than the king, contrived to keep alive his enmity against
the Jews. Juan de Lucena, a member of the royal council of Aragon, as
well as minister, was equally active in maintaining the edict. At the
end of April heralds and trumpeters went through the whole country,
proclaiming that the Jews were permitted to remain only till the end
of July to set their affairs in order; whoever of them was found after
that time on Spanish ground would suffer death.
Great as was the consternation of the Spanish Jews at having to tear
themselves from the beloved land of their birth and the ashes of their
forefathers, and go forth to an uncertain future in strange lands,
among people whose speech they did not understand, who, perhaps, might
be more unfriendly towards them than the Spanish Christians, they
had to bestir themselves and make preparation for their exodus. At
every step they realized that a yet more cruel fate awaited them. Had
they been able, like the English Jews at the end of the thirteenth
century, and the French a century later, to take their riches with
them, they might have been able to provide some sort of miserable
existence for themselves; but the Jewish capitalists were not permitted
to take their money with them, they were compelled to accept bills
of exchange for it. But Spain, on account of its dominant knightly
and ecclesiastical element, had no places of exchange like those in
Italy, where commercial notes were of value. Business on a large scale
was in the hands, for the most part, of Jews and new-Christians, and
the latter, from fear, had to keep away from their brethren in race.
The Jews who owned land were forced to part with it at absurd prices,
because no buyers applied, and they were obliged to beg the Christians
for even the meanest thing in exchange. A contemporary, Andreas
Bernaldez, pastor of Los Palacios, relates that the most magnificent
houses and the most beautiful estates of the Jews were sold for a
trifle. A house was bartered for an ass, and a vineyard for a piece
of cloth or linen. Thus the riches of the Spanish Jews melted away,
and could not help them in their day of need. In Aragon, Catalonia
and Valencia, it was even worse with them. Torquemada, who on this
occasion exceeded his former inhumanity, forbade the Christians to have
any intercourse with them. In these provinces Ferdinand sequestrated
their possessions, so that not only their debts, but also the claims
which monasteries pretended to have upon them were paid. This fiendish
plan he devised for the benefit of the church. The Jews would thereby
be driven to despair, and turn to the cross for succor. Torquemada,
therefore, imposed on the Dominicans the task of preaching Christianity
everywhere, and of calling upon the Jews to receive baptism, and thus
remain in the land. On the other side, the rabbis bade the people
remain steadfast, accept their trials as tests of their firmness, and
trust in God, who had been with them in so many days of trouble. The
fiery eloquence of the rabbis was not necessary. Each one encouraged
his neighbor to remain true and steadfast to the Jewish faith. "Let
us be strong," so they said to each other, "for our religion, and
for the Law of our fathers before our enemies and blasphemers. If
they will let us live, we shall live; if they kill us, then shall we
die. We will not desecrate the covenant of our God; our heart shall
not fail us. We will go forth in the name of the Lord." If they had
submitted to baptism, would they not have fallen into the power of the
blood-stained Inquisition? The cross had lost its power of attraction
even for lukewarm Jews, since they had seen upon what trivial pretexts
members of their race were delivered over to the stake. One year before
the proclamation of banishment was made, thirty-two new-Christians in
Seville were bound living to the stake, sixteen were burned in effigy,
and 625 sentenced to do penance. The Jews, moreover, were not ignorant
of the false and deceitful ways in which Torquemada entrapped his
victims. Many pseudo-Christians had fled from Seville, Cordova and
Jaen, to Granada, where they had returned to the Jewish faith. After
the conquest of the town, Torquemada proclaimed that if they came back
to Mother Church, "whose arms are always open to embrace those who
return to her with repentance and contrition," they would be treated
with mildness, and in private, without onlookers, would receive
absolution. A few allowed themselves to be charmed by this sweet voice,
betook themselves to Toledo, and were pardoned--to a death of fire.
Thus it came about that, in spite of the preaching of the Dominicans,
and notwithstanding their indescribably terrible position, few Jews
passed over to Christianity in the year of the expulsion from Spain.
Among persons of note, only the rich tax-collector and chief rabbi,
Abraham Senior, his son, and his son-in-law, Meïr, a rabbi, went over,
with the two sons of the latter. It is said that they received baptism
in desperation, because the queen, who did not want to lose her clever
minister of finance, threatened heavier persecution of the departing
Jews, if these did not submit. Great was the rejoicing at court over
the baptism of Senior and his family. Their majesties themselves and
the cardinal stood as sponsors. The newly-baptized all took the family
name of Coronel, and their descendants filled some of the highest
offices in the state.
Their common misfortune and suffering developed among the Spanish Jews
in those last days before their exile deep brotherly affection and
exalted sentiments, which, could they have lasted, would surely have
borne good fruit. The rich, although their wealth had dwindled, divided
it fraternally with the poor, allowing them to want for nothing, so
that they should not fall into the hands of the church, and also paid
the charges of their exodus. The aged rabbi, Isaac Aboab, the friend
of Abrabanel, went with thirty Jews of rank to Portugal, to negotiate
with King João II, for the settlement of the Jews in that country, or
for their safe passage through it. They succeeded in making tolerably
favorable conditions. The pain of leaving their passionately loved
country could not be overcome. The nearer the day of departure came,
the more were the hearts of the unhappy people wrung. The graves of
their forefathers were dearer to them than all besides, and from these
they found parting hardest. The Jews of the town of Vitoria gave to
the community the Jewish cemetery and its appertaining grounds in
perpetuity, on condition that it should never be encroached upon, nor
planted over, and a deed to this effect was drawn up. The Jews of
Segovia assembled three days before their exodus around the graves of
their forefathers, mingling their tears with the dust, and melting the
hearts of the Catholics with their grief. They tore up many of the
tombstones to bear them away as memorial relics, or gave them to the
Moors.
At last the day arrived on which the Spanish Jews had to take staff in
hand. They had been accorded two days respite, that is, were allowed
two days later than July 31st for setting forth. This date fell
exactly upon the anniversary of the ninth of Ab, which was fraught
with memories of the splendor of the old days, and had so often found
the children of Israel wrapped in grief and misery. About 300,000 left
the land which they so deeply loved, but which now became a hateful
memory to them. They wandered partly northwards, to the neighboring
kingdom of Navarre, partly southwards, with the idea of settling in
Africa, Italy or Turkey. The majority, however, made for Portugal.
In order to stifle sad thoughts and avoid the melancholy impression
which might have moved some to waver and embrace the cross in order
to remain in the land, some rabbis caused pipers and drummers to
go before, making lively music, so that for a while the wanderers
should forget their gnawing grief. Spain lost in them the twentieth
part of her most industrious, painstaking, intelligent inhabitants,
its middle class, which created trade, and maintained it in brisk
circulation, like the blood of a living organism. For there were
among the Spanish Jews not merely capitalists, merchants, farmers,
physicians and men of learning, but also artisans, armor and metal
workers of all kinds, at all events no idlers who slept away their
time. With the discovery of America, the Jews might have lifted Spain
to the rank of the wealthiest, the most prosperous and enduring of
states, which by reason of its unity of government might certainly
have competed with Italy. But Torquemada would not have it so; he
preferred to train Spaniards for a blood-stained idolatry, under which,
in the sunlight of the Lutheran Reformation, pious men were condemned
to chains, dungeons, or the galleys, if they dared read the Bible.
The departure of the Jews from Spain soon made itself felt in a very
marked manner by the Christians. Talent, activity, and prosperous
civilization passed with them from the country. The smaller towns,
which had derived some vitality from the presence of the Jews, were
quickly depopulated, sank into insignificance, lost their spirit of
freedom and independence, and became tools for the increasing despotism
of the Spanish kings and the imbecile superstition of the priests. The
Spanish nobility soon complained that their towns and villages had
fallen into insignificance, had become deserted, and they declared
that, could they have foreseen the consequences, they would have
opposed the royal commands. Dearth of physicians was sternly felt,
too. The town of Vitoria and its neighborhood was compelled, through
the withdrawal of the Jews, to secure a physician from a distance,
and give him a high salary. In many places the people fell victims
to quacks, boastful bunglers, or to the superstition of deceiving
or self-deceived dealers in magic. In one word, Spain fell into a
condition of barbarism through the banishment of the Jews, and all the
wealth which the settlement of American colonies brought to the mother
country only helped to render its inhabitants more idle, stupid, and
servile. The name of the Jews died out of the country in which they had
played so important a part, and the literature of which was so filled
with Jewish elements that men of intelligence were constantly reminded
of them. Schools, hospitals, and everything which the Jews could not
or dared not take away with them, the king confiscated. He changed
synagogues into churches, monasteries or schools, where the people
were systematically kept ignorant, and trained for meanest servility.
The beautiful synagogue of Toledo, which Don Pedro's Jewish statesman,
Samuel Abulafia, had erected about a century and a half before, was
transformed into a church (de neustra Señora de San Benito), and,
with its Moorish architecture, its exquisite columns, and splendid
proportions, is to this day a magnificent ornament to the city. In the
other cities and towns of Spain, which live in the chronicles of Jewish
history, in Seville, Granada, Cordova, in densely-populated Lucena,
Saragossa and Barcelona, every trace was lost of the sons of Jacob, or
of the Jewish nobility, as the proud Jews of Spain styled themselves.
Jews, it is true, remained behind, Jews under the mask of Christianity,
Jewish Christians, or new-Christians, who had afforded their departing
brethren active help. Many of them had taken charge of their gold and
silver, and kept it till they were able to send it on by the hands of
trusted persons, or had given them bills of exchange on foreign places.
These negotiations were often of no avail, for when the fanatical king
and queen heard of them, they sent for the treasure left behind, or
sought to prevent the payment of the checks.
Great as were the obstacles, the Marranos did not cool in their zeal
for their exiled brethren. They pursued those guilty of inhuman
brutality to the wanderers with bitter hatred, and delivered them
over to the Inquisition--turning the tool against its makers. At
the instigation of the Marranos, the brother of Don Juan de Lucena,
the powerful minister of Ferdinand, was thrown into the prison of the
Inquisition, kept there under a strong guard, and none of his relatives
allowed to see him, the minister, whose position exempted him from the
power of the Inquisition, having counseled the banishment of the Jews,
and practically assisted in it, and his brother having relentlessly
confiscated the property they had left behind. Torquemada complained
that Don Juan was persecuted by the new-Christians on account of his
faith. The Marranos, now more than ever on their guard, lest they give
the slightest offense, had to cross themselves assiduously, count their
beads, and mumble paternosters, while inwardly they were attached more
than ever to Judaism. Frequently their feelings outran their will,
they broke the bonds of silence, and this was productive of heavy
consequences. Thus a Marrano in Seville, on seeing an effigy of Christ
set up in church for adoration, cried out, "Woe to him who sees, and
must believe such a thing!" Such expressions in unguarded moments
naturally afforded the best opportunity for inquiry, imprisonment,
the rack and autos-da-fé, not merely for the individual caught in the
act, but for his relatives, friends, and everybody connected with him
who had any property. It had, moreover, grown to be a necessity to
the people, hardened by the frequent sight of the death agonies of
sacrificial victims, to witness a solemn tragedy of human sacrifice now
and again. It is, therefore, not astonishing, that under the first
inquisitor-general, Thomas de Torquemada, in the course of fourteen
years (1485-1498) at least two thousand Jews were burned as impenitent
sinners. He was so hated that he lived in constant fear of death. Upon
his table he kept the horn of a unicorn, to which the superstition of
the time ascribed the power of nullifying the effect of poison. When
Torquemada went out, he was attended by a body-guard (Familares) of
fifty, and two hundred foot-soldiers, to protect him from assault. His
successor, the second inquisitor-general, Deza, erected still more
scaffolds; but it soon came to pass that the men of blood butchered
each other. Deza before his death was accused of being secretly a Jew.
When the persecutions against the remaining Moors and Moriscos, and
against the followers of the German reformer Luther, were added to
those of the Marranos, Spain, under the wrath of the Holy Inquisition,
became literally a scene of human slaughter. With justice nearly all
the European princes, and even the parliament of Paris, bitterly blamed
the perverseness of Ferdinand and Isabella in having driven out so
useful a class of citizens. The sultan Bajasid (Bajazet) exclaimed:
"You call Ferdinand a wise king, he who has made his country poor and
enriched ours!"