The expulsion of the Jews from England by Edward I. is a measure
concerning the causes of which no contemporary historian gives, or
pretends to give, any but the most meagre information. It was passed
by the King in his “secret council,” of the proceedings of which
we naturally know nothing. Of the occasion that suggested it, each
separate writer has his own account, and none has a claim to higher
authority than the rest; and yet there is much in the circumstances
connected with it that calls for explanation. How was it that, at a
time when trade and the need for capital were growing, the Jews, who
were reputed to be among the great capitalists of Europe, were expelled
from England? How did Edward, a king who was in debt from the moment
he began his reign till the end, bring himself to give up the revenue
that his father and grandfather had derived from the Jews? How could
he, as an honourable king, drive out subjects who were protected by
a Charter that one of his predecessors had granted, and another had
solemnly confirmed? To answer these questions we must consider what
was the position that the Jews occupied in England, how it was forced
on them, and how it brought them into antagonism at various times with
the interests of the several orders of the English people, and with
the teachings of the Catholic Church. We shall thus find the origin
of forces strong enough when they converged to bring about the result
which is to be accounted for.