How Did The Spanish Reconquista
The Spanish Reconquista inspired a common anti-Semitism among the Spanish people which led to the banishment of Jews. The common anti-Semitism came from the General- Inquisitor Torquemada and the Reconquista. In order to purify Spain, Isabella called upon Torquemada. Torquemada’s main objective get rid of all heresy in Spain. This meant the persecution of Jews and Muslims, and root out unfaithful Christians. Not only did Torquemada doings inspire anti-Semitism, but there was a common theme of anti-Semitism during the Middle Ages all around Europe. This anti-Semitism sentiment was influenced by Dominican and Franciscan friar in Italy, who before had Jews exiled from major cities in Italy. As Torquemada being a Dominican Friar it is easy to see
…show more content…
where he was influenced. Jews were persecuted due to them being a religious minority. Christians accused Jews of several crimes including poisoning wells during the black death, the practice of usury, and the death of Jesus Christ. Christians held crusades against the Jewish peoples, confiscating property and driving them out from cities.
The Christian Kings of Europe, initially protecting Jews eventually banished them from their kingdoms. The Spanish had a crusade against the Moors, and so they decided to attack the Jews as well. This was caused by religious enthusiasm to have a state which only has one religion; Catholicism. The anti-Semitism in Spain was further based on the Marranos. The long-standing Catholic families did not like Jewish peoples converting and being able to get better opportunities for being Catholic. During the war against the Moors, several Jews attempted to contribute to the war efforts by donating money in order to improve their standing in Spain. This made the Spanish crown install the Inquisition in Spain. The Inquisition’s purpose was to root out unfaithful Christians. The Inquisition used several methods to root out unfaithful Christians including public executions, torturing’s, and mass conversions. However, the best way to prove the sincerity of their repentance was to name other Christian converts whom they knew to be secret Jews. When the inquisitors rooted out the unfaithful Christians, their property and wealth went into the hands of the church and the Spanish
crown. The confiscated wealth was relocated to the war chest to fund the war against the Moors. The Spanish crown used the inquisition an institutional way to not only make Jews convert and pay but also for the conversions to be killed and their property confiscated, to pay for the war. The Inquisition was away to use the anti-Semitism from the people and still be religiously acceptable to make money while purifying Spain. Machiavelli, states that Ferdinand “always makes use of religion” (Machiavelli, 88). This shows how the Inquisition was a tool used by the Spanish crown to “expel the Marranos from his kingdom and despoiling it of them” (88).
The Reconquista inspired the creation of Catholic State with Catholic rulers. A Catholic Spanish state was created after the Moors were driven out and the Jews were banished from Spain. The Spanish Crown wanted to purify Spain in order to create a Catholic state with Catholic values. In order to build a Catholic state, the Spanish crown had to get rid of another religion and banish any citizen that was not a true Catholic or who practices a different faith in secrecy. This is why, the Marranos or converted Jews were exiled because they could not become good Christians. “The real motive was the religious zeal of the Church, the Queen, and the masses. The official reason given for driving out the Jews was that they encouraged the Marranos to persist in their Jewishness and thus would not allow them to become good Christians.” (Marcus). This policy was typical for a Christian state in Europe at that time. In 1290, Edward I of England expelled all Jews from England. As well as in France Jews left in 1306 (Spielvogel, 297). Jews were also exiled in the city-states of Italy, and several states in the Holy Roman Empire. The purpose was to achieve unity of faith in their states. The banishment of non-Christians led to a state based on Christian faith and values. The only way to purify Spain and build a Catholic state was to follow in the footsteps of other European countries before them. Spain had to drive out the Moors, and banish all who were not real Christians. “the unity of faith was an integral part of the new political unity. . .. How would it have been possible to tolerate that the unity would not be complete for the fault of a small group of inhabitants of Spain?” (Roth, 271). This shows that it would be impossible for a Catholic state to function with other religions in that state. The problem that the Spanish crown had with having a different religion ended with the Alhambra Decree. After the Treaty of Granada ended the Granada War and the 700-year Reconquest, The Alhambra Decree was enacted which exiled all Jews from Spain. King Ferdinand is the basis of Machiavelli’s The Prince, where Machiavelli states that Ferdinand “has become by fame and by glory the first king among the Christians” and “in the beginning of his reign he attacked Granada, and that enterprise was the foundation of his state” (Machiavelli, 88). Machiavelli, one of the most renowned political scientists, states that the Reconquista was the bases of Ferdinand’s Catholic state. Ferdinand is not only remembered for reconquering Spain, or exiling Jews, but also Ferdinand’s greediness and ambition, which was a cause of the exiling of Jews. Several historians believe that Ferdinand had a love for money. The Italian Jew states that the expulsion of Jews was partly caused “by the greed of the king” (Marcus). Due to Ferdinand’s greed and ambition to accumulate reputation and praise, he aided in banishing Jews from Spain. The Inquisition was more of Isabella’s doing, however, Ferdinand only cared about the money that the crown acquired by taxing Jews, or confiscating property. Ferdinand needed this large sum of money to arm and pay soldiers to drive out the Moors. Machiavelli was an admirer of Ferdinand always stating that his actions are “all very great and some of extraordinary” (88), and he “has always done and ordered great things” (88). However, Machiavelli also criticizes Ferdinand as he states that “he turned to an act of pious cruelty, expelling the Marranos from his kingdom and despoiling it of them; nor could there be an example more wretched and rarer than this” (88). This shows that Ferdinand has an enormous ambition and greed to obtain reputation, glory and fame. Through this hunger for more ambition and fame, it can only be assumed that Ferdinand was at fault for banishing the Jews. Ferdinand’s ambition to conquer as shown as his Reconquista against the Moors, attacking “Africa under this same cloak” and he “made his campaign in Italy, and has lately attacked France” (88). This shows that Ferdinand has always had an ambition for military conquest and glory. In order to have these conquests and wars, Ferdinand needs a constant flow of money. When, Ferdinand became king, he inherited a basically empty treasury. Due, to Jews being a different religion than the status-quo, Ferdinand decided to tax Jews based on being Jewish. This caused several Jews to convert to Christianity in order to pay less. This led to a tax on conversion, and a general anti-Semitism among the Spanish people. Furthermore, it led to the inquisition rooting out the converted Jews and eventually the exiling of Jews.
The significance of the Spanish Reconquista, the Spanish Inquisition and the expulsion of Jews is that these events changed European History. After driving out the Moors, and exiling Jews from Spain, Spain lost its diversity. Spain had one of the largest Jewish settlements in Europe, and after the expulsion, it further contributed to the Jewish diaspora. Spain driving out the Moors erased the Moorish civilization from existence. The Spanish Inquisition influenced other inquisitions in South America. Several historians believe that the expulsion of Jews from Spain crippled the Spanish economy due to Jews making up a large portion of merchants and bourgeoise populations. The economy was also devastated because of thousands of abandoned homes especially in Granada, which contributed to Granada economic downfall, decreasing its inhabitants in modern times. The questions that still remain unanswered are how these events relate to and influence the Spanish Empire and Spanish colonialism. These events also pose the question of what if the Reconquista had failed and the Christian kingdoms were unable to push the Muslims out of Iberia?
where he was influenced. Jews were persecuted due to them being a religious minority. Christians accused Jews of several crimes including poisoning wells during the black death, the practice of usury, and the death of Jesus Christ. Christians held crusades against the Jewish peoples, confiscating property and driving them out from cities.
The Christian Kings of Europe, initially protecting Jews eventually banished them from their kingdoms. The Spanish had a crusade against the Moors, and so they decided to attack the Jews as well. This was caused by religious enthusiasm to have a state which only has one religion; Catholicism. The anti-Semitism in Spain was further based on the Marranos. The long-standing Catholic families did not like Jewish peoples converting and being able to get better opportunities for being Catholic. During the war against the Moors, several Jews attempted to contribute to the war efforts by donating money in order to improve their standing in Spain. This made the Spanish crown install the Inquisition in Spain. The Inquisition’s purpose was to root out unfaithful Christians. The Inquisition used several methods to root out unfaithful Christians including public executions, torturing’s, and mass conversions. However, the best way to prove the sincerity of their repentance was to name other Christian converts whom they knew to be secret Jews. When the inquisitors rooted out the unfaithful Christians, their property and wealth went into the hands of the church and the Spanish
crown. The confiscated wealth was relocated to the war chest to fund the war against the Moors. The Spanish crown used the inquisition an institutional way to not only make Jews convert and pay but also for the conversions to be killed and their property confiscated, to pay for the war. The Inquisition was away to use the anti-Semitism from the people and still be religiously acceptable to make money while purifying Spain. Machiavelli, states that Ferdinand “always makes use of religion” (Machiavelli, 88). This shows how the Inquisition was a tool used by the Spanish crown to “expel the Marranos from his kingdom and despoiling it of them” (88).
The Reconquista inspired the creation of Catholic State with Catholic rulers. A Catholic Spanish state was created after the Moors were driven out and the Jews were banished from Spain. The Spanish Crown wanted to purify Spain in order to create a Catholic state with Catholic values. In order to build a Catholic state, the Spanish crown had to get rid of another religion and banish any citizen that was not a true Catholic or who practices a different faith in secrecy. This is why, the Marranos or converted Jews were exiled because they could not become good Christians. “The real motive was the religious zeal of the Church, the Queen, and the masses. The official reason given for driving out the Jews was that they encouraged the Marranos to persist in their Jewishness and thus would not allow them to become good Christians.” (Marcus). This policy was typical for a Christian state in Europe at that time. In 1290, Edward I of England expelled all Jews from England. As well as in France Jews left in 1306 (Spielvogel, 297). Jews were also exiled in the city-states of Italy, and several states in the Holy Roman Empire. The purpose was to achieve unity of faith in their states. The banishment of non-Christians led to a state based on Christian faith and values. The only way to purify Spain and build a Catholic state was to follow in the footsteps of other European countries before them. Spain had to drive out the Moors, and banish all who were not real Christians. “the unity of faith was an integral part of the new political unity. . .. How would it have been possible to tolerate that the unity would not be complete for the fault of a small group of inhabitants of Spain?” (Roth, 271). This shows that it would be impossible for a Catholic state to function with other religions in that state. The problem that the Spanish crown had with having a different religion ended with the Alhambra Decree. After the Treaty of Granada ended the Granada War and the 700-year Reconquest, The Alhambra Decree was enacted which exiled all Jews from Spain. King Ferdinand is the basis of Machiavelli’s The Prince, where Machiavelli states that Ferdinand “has become by fame and by glory the first king among the Christians” and “in the beginning of his reign he attacked Granada, and that enterprise was the foundation of his state” (Machiavelli, 88). Machiavelli, one of the most renowned political scientists, states that the Reconquista was the bases of Ferdinand’s Catholic state. Ferdinand is not only remembered for reconquering Spain, or exiling Jews, but also Ferdinand’s greediness and ambition, which was a cause of the exiling of Jews. Several historians believe that Ferdinand had a love for money. The Italian Jew states that the expulsion of Jews was partly caused “by the greed of the king” (Marcus). Due to Ferdinand’s greed and ambition to accumulate reputation and praise, he aided in banishing Jews from Spain. The Inquisition was more of Isabella’s doing, however, Ferdinand only cared about the money that the crown acquired by taxing Jews, or confiscating property. Ferdinand needed this large sum of money to arm and pay soldiers to drive out the Moors. Machiavelli was an admirer of Ferdinand always stating that his actions are “all very great and some of extraordinary” (88), and he “has always done and ordered great things” (88). However, Machiavelli also criticizes Ferdinand as he states that “he turned to an act of pious cruelty, expelling the Marranos from his kingdom and despoiling it of them; nor could there be an example more wretched and rarer than this” (88). This shows that Ferdinand has an enormous ambition and greed to obtain reputation, glory and fame. Through this hunger for more ambition and fame, it can only be assumed that Ferdinand was at fault for banishing the Jews. Ferdinand’s ambition to conquer as shown as his Reconquista against the Moors, attacking “Africa under this same cloak” and he “made his campaign in Italy, and has lately attacked France” (88). This shows that Ferdinand has always had an ambition for military conquest and glory. In order to have these conquests and wars, Ferdinand needs a constant flow of money. When, Ferdinand became king, he inherited a basically empty treasury. Due, to Jews being a different religion than the status-quo, Ferdinand decided to tax Jews based on being Jewish. This caused several Jews to convert to Christianity in order to pay less. This led to a tax on conversion, and a general anti-Semitism among the Spanish people. Furthermore, it led to the inquisition rooting out the converted Jews and eventually the exiling of Jews.
The significance of the Spanish Reconquista, the Spanish Inquisition and the expulsion of Jews is that these events changed European History. After driving out the Moors, and exiling Jews from Spain, Spain lost its diversity. Spain had one of the largest Jewish settlements in Europe, and after the expulsion, it further contributed to the Jewish diaspora. Spain driving out the Moors erased the Moorish civilization from existence. The Spanish Inquisition influenced other inquisitions in South America. Several historians believe that the expulsion of Jews from Spain crippled the Spanish economy due to Jews making up a large portion of merchants and bourgeoise populations. The economy was also devastated because of thousands of abandoned homes especially in Granada, which contributed to Granada economic downfall, decreasing its inhabitants in modern times. The questions that still remain unanswered are how these events relate to and influence the Spanish Empire and Spanish colonialism. These events also pose the question of what if the Reconquista had failed and the Christian kingdoms were unable to push the Muslims out of Iberia?