Papro's monologue
Editor|Papro's monologue
The Jewish community on the Iberian Peninsula is very old, having settled here since the Roman period of ancient Greece, and has been part of the Greco-Roman Jewish social environment for centuries.
The origin and development of Sephardic Jews in the Netherlands
In the sixth century, before much of Iberia came under the religious authority of the Roman Church, the Jewish community had taken root here. Jews living on the Iberian Peninsula often had a higher social status than Jews in other parts of Europe.
They were court advisers, doctors, wealthy merchants or scholars who could invent navigational instruments, but they suffered the most ruthless blows in Spain, "and no country has been as cruel and dramatic as Spain did in 1492." The establishment of the Inquisition was the most brutal and merciless blow to the Jews living on the Iberian Peninsula.
Fleeing religious persecution was the most important reason for the departure of Sephardi Jews from the Iberian Peninsula.
Some of them came to the Netherlands directly by sea, while others were scattered to cities or colonies on the European continent, and later immigrated to the Netherlands and its colonies directly or indirectly, continuing to use their traditional trading advantages and participating extensively in transatlantic trade under the Dutch Golden Age.
The Inquisition and the Diaspora of the Iberian Peninsula
The Inquisition, also known as the "Inquisition" or "Inquisition", is derived from the Latin word "inquiro", meaning to investigate and investigate, and was an institution set up by the Roman Church to deal with heretics and infidels.
During the Middle Ages, the Inquisition played an important role in Spain, strengthening the Christian faith in the Iberian Peninsula in the struggle against the Moors.
By the end of the 15th century, the Christian reconquest campaign was almost complete, and the rulers' desire for a unity of faith intensified, with a large proportion of Jews and new converts becoming their new targets.
Especially after the marriage of King Ferdinand of Aragon in Spain in 1469 to Isabella of Castile, in order to strengthen the dictatorship of the Catholic monarchy, they held a campaign against the rebellious aristocracy in Andalusia.
The area was densely populated by Jews and new Christians, and the rebels were suspected to be converted Jews and were numerous. In order for suspicion and hatred to cease to be excuses for social riots and riots, they felt the need for large-scale, state-sponsored religious investigations.
In 1478, Spain, with the support of Popo Sixtus IV (1414-1484), established the Inquisition, which began hearing cases in 1480.
Spanish royal decrees clearly defined the Inquisition as a search for and punishment of new Christians who had betrayed Christianity by strictly enforcing Jewish rituals and rituals. Most of these new Christians were of Jewish descent who converted to Christianity between 1367 and 1417.
King Enrique Ilof Castile (reigned 1369-1379) was the first monarch to make anti-Jewish policy a national policy, and under his rule, Jews were either mercilessly murdered or converted to Christianity to save their lives.
The fourth Black Death in Europe from 1388 to 1390 caused social chaos, people felt helpless about life, and many Jews were baptized under the influence of a missionary movement led by the kind priest Femán Martinez.
Beginning in the summer of 1391, a series of raids and murders spread to C6rdoba, Toledo, Valencia, Jitiva, Barcelona, L6rida, and Logrofio, throughout southern and eastern Spain, and almost all those who did not flee were baptized in exchange for their own peace and that of their families.
Some of them have abandoned their religion and become Christians; Some have converted to Christianity on the surface, but secretly they have tenaciously adhered to the faith of their ancestors.
For some converts, when the imminent danger has passed, most return to their familiar and safe families, which may include both converts and non-converts, leading to widespread suspicions that converts will continue their lives like Jews.
Converted Jews would not be subject to many legal restrictions
After conversion, Jews will not be subject to many legal restrictions for religious reasons, they can practice all walks of life in Spain, such as law, administration, military, university and even church, and some can enter the power class, gradually occupy a dominant position in Spanish social life, and even in the Spanish aristocratic family, there will be Jewish blood.
For example, the De La Cabasaria family in Zaragoza has produced bishops, vice-rectors of universities, magistrates of the Kingdom of Aragon, and chancellors of finance in the Kingdom of Navarre. Half of the positions at the court of Aragon were occupied by converts of Jewish descent and their children.
Paporod Santamaria (1352-1435), a member of the Regency of the Kingdom of Castile, was also a convert, and his son had attended the Congress of Christ in Basel as a Spanish delegate. Jewish converts occupied important sectors of the kingdom, and wealthy and prestigious families among them were married to the most noble nobility and even to the royal family.
Jews gained some of their high positions and power at the Spanish court during the period of Muslim rule in Spain. Since the 11th century, the Christian kingdoms of Aragon and Castille have gained the upper hand in Spain, and the status of Jews, who had been "allies" of Christians, who also served as royal advisers, chiefs or chief financial officers of the king's ministers, rose with them.
However, as Jews and new Christians increasingly occupied important positions in the social sphere in Spain, the existing religious hostility also turned into a deeper hatred in the coveting of Jewish wealth.
For the Jews, baptism opened the doors for Jews to enter the profession and the Church, in addition to the nobles who entered the court to serve the royal family, but also ordinary people scattered in all walks of life in Spanish society.
Andies Bem Mdez, a parish priest in the Seville village of Los Palacios, wrote in his writings: "[Jews] are merchants, salesmen, tax collectors, shopkeepers, real estate deacons, barbers, tailors, shoemakers, tanners, spice merchants, silk merchants, blacksmiths, silversmiths, carpenters or stonemasons ... All seek easy careers and effortless ways to make a living".
This view reflected the prejudice against Jews in fifteenth-century Spanish society, who believed that Jews could easily gain social wealth through easy employment, not to mention Jewish or new Christian tax collectors who wielded financial power in the Spanish court.
The enormous wealth they acquired gave them the opportunity to venture into the field of international trade, establishing extensive business communities in Spain, Serbia, Toledo and Barcelona, and possessing more social wealth than ordinary people. The exploitation of ordinary people by taxpayers aroused people's disgust and hatred, and even the Spanish aristocracy in high positions did not hide their contempt for these people.
Michael Alpert argued that the Inquisition arrested Jews and secret Jews primarily for religious and political reasons, not simply for the acquisition of Jewish wealth. The Inquisition confiscated almost all of the suspects' property as part of the punishment imposed on the Jews.
Some of the seized property was not sufficient to cover the costs of the courts, the salaries of judges, notaries and prison administrators, food, clothing, medical care and other expenses for prisoners.
Relatives of prisoners who are locked up are often censored or hidden, so they do not bring their food and clothing into prison like ordinary prisoners.
Take the religious tribunal in Murcia, for example, which in 1675 earned 6,003,924 Maravedis but spent 6,883,505 Maravedis.
In general, the Inquisition was able to receive occasional rewards, but not more economic benefits through this.
Although religious and political purposes were the main reason for the Inquisition's persecution of Jews and new Christians, those convicted of guilt were executed with property and financial proceeds from the sale going to the local Christian churches, and many areas made windfalls overnight.
bibliography