Jewish Portugal
Source: The Jews in Portugal" booklet issued by the Tourism Information Dept. Lisbon, Portugal...
The Jews that integrated into Portuguese Christian society were able to retain relative autonomy and their own organization by a delicate balance of compromise, concession and
interdependence, until the 15th. century. According to legend, the first Jews came to the Iberian Peninsula at the time of Nabucodonosor, King of the Chaleans (6th century) or
even before, at the time of Solomon who reigned in Israel from 974B.C. to 937B.C. While these hypotheses may lie in the legendary domain, it has been ascertained that the Jewish
presence in Iberia preceded and accompanied that of the Romans. From the 5th. century onward the Jews reinforced their position and remained active in Peninsular society during
the Visigoth and Muslim periods of occupation.
When the kingdom of Portugal was formed, in the 12th century, there were already a number of important Jewish communities in
several cities reconquered by the Christians.
Generally speaking, Portuguese Jews enjoyed the protection of the Crown during the first dynasty. D. Afonso Henriques entrusted
Yahia Ben Yahi III with the post of supervisor of tax collection and nominated him the first chief rabbi of Portugal. D. Sancho I (1185-1211)continued the same policy as his father,
making Jose Ben Yahia, the grandson of Yahia Ben Yahia, High Steward of the Realm. The clergy, however, invoking the restrictions of the Lateran Council, brought considerable pressure
to bear against the Jews during the reign of D.Dinis (1279-1325), but the monarch maintained a conciliatory position.
Later, anti-Jewish movements became increasingly apparent
in the Iberian Peninsula during the political crisis of 1383-1385, which accentuated the rivalries between Portugal and Castile. The crisis culminated in the establishment of the Avis
dynasty and the accession of Joao I to the throne. In 1391, serious incidents between Christians and Jews in Seville and other places, provoked a growing wave of Jewish migration from
Spain to a welcoming Portugal. Thus, the beginning of the second dynasty (1385) also initiated a new era for the Portuguese-Jewish population which was to embark on a period of
great prosperity.
In the period 1279 to 1383, there were some 31 communes in various parts of the country, but in the 15th century this number increased so rapidly that soon there
were 135 judiarias or Jewish quarters in different places. Nevertheless, if this was the golden age of the Jewish community in Portugal, when crucially important contributions were
made to the development of the county at the economic, cultural and scientific level, it was also a period during which the first, major social tensions between Jews and Christians
were to appear. Intolerance largely stemmed from the emerging mercantile, middle class which was alarmed by the not inconsiderable competition of Jewish capital.
During the reign of King Joao I (1385-1432) decrees were passed which required Jews to wear a special habit with a distinctive emblem and to obey a curfew at night. In the reign of
D. Duarte, from 1433-1438, laws were introduced which prevented Jews from employing Christians. D. Afonso V, however, was to return to the more tolerant policy of the first dynasty
and some of the rights that had been withdrawn were restored, particularly those which allowed Jews to hold public office.
In 1492 Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain signed a decree
expelling all Jews who refused to be converted to Christianity. A considerable number moved into Portugal where the king authorized their entry on payment of 8 crusades a head, and
on the understanding that after 8 months they would move on elsewhere. The measures taken by D.Manuel
I, (1495-1521) were as complex as they were ambiguous. At first the king
maintained a neutral attitude and revoked the decree of his predecessor,
freeing Jews who had been made slaves.
However, on drawing up his marriage contract with the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabells, he yielded to the demands of Spain and agreed
to expel the Jews from the kingdom. The decree, signed in December of 1496,
anticipated that the departure of the Jews would take place by October
of the following year. Measures were taken to convert Jews to
Christianity and to control the ports of exit. Lisbon was the only
permissible port of exit and a completely inadequate number of vessels
were provided for a mass exodus. In practical terms, the king was fully
aware of the advantage to be gained by the Jewish community remaining in
the country and did everything to hinder their departure. These
impositions culminated in the creation of New Christians when thousands
of Jews who were waiting to leave the country were baptized in Lisbon.
The attitude of the king reflected the vicissitudes and contradictions
of the policy of Iberian union, in the ambit of which each of the two
kingdoms, Spain and Portugal, sought to play a leading role.
CRYPTO-JEWS and MARRANOS...
Those Jews who had been unable to leave Portugal were baptized into the Christian faith and officially designated "New-Christians" to distinguish them from the "Old-Christians.
" Many Jews accepted the new religion which had been imposed upon them and with the passage of time gradually adapted to Christian society, but equally there were many others who
covertly remained resistant. While they had to all appearances yield, they never abdicated their faith which was passed down from generation to generation, and maintained within
a restricted ambit and the family circle, with a degree of religiosity marked by secrecy. These were the crypto-Jews who publically followed Catholic rituals but who, in the privacy
of their own homes, maintained their religion and culture and celebrated Hebrew rites on holy days.
During this period, over which the Inquisition cast a long shadow, the term
marrano (which means "pig" in popular and archaic language) was used derogatorily by Old Christians when speaking of crypto-Jews. The Court of the Holy Office often took action
against the New-Christians or crypto-Jews accusing them of following the Jewish faith, and therefore, of being guilty of apostasy.
Sentences and sanctions imposed by the
Inquisition against the accused ranged from public forswearing of the alleged sins, the obligatory wearing of a special penitential habit, a Sam Benito, to burning at the stake.
Among the Jews who died at the hands of the Inquisition were well-known names of the period such as Isaac de Castro Tartas, Antonio Serrao de Castro and Antonio Jose da Silva,
who was known to history as "The Jew." Apart from the periods during which the activities of the Inquisition were suspended, it was only in the 18th century that its power was
completely curtailed with the introduction of the Enlightenment policies of the Marquis of Pombal, principal minister to King Jose I (1750-1777). The last public "auto de fe"
at which Jews professing their religion were condemned took place in 1765, though the Inquisition was only formally disbanded in 1821.
HISTORICAL FIGURES
Abraham Zacuto
(c.1450-c.1522) Author of the famous "Almanach Perpetuum" published in Leiria in 1496, with tables which provided the principal base for Portuguese navigation
at the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th. He belonged to a family of French origin, which had emigrated to Castile in the 14th century. The expulsion decree
of 1492 brought them to Portugal, where his expertise was immediately employed in the preparation of the voyage of Vasco da Gama to India. He made a sterling contribution to the
development of navigation and was greatly respected as "Mathematician to the king."
Guedelha-Master Guedelha
(1432-c.1453) A member of the Negros family , one of the most
important and influential in the Jewish community in Portugal. In the reign of King Fernando, his father, Solomon Guedelha, founded a hospital in the Grande Judiaria in Lisbon.
Master Guedelha was a rabbi and also doctor and astrologer to both King Duarte and King Afonso V. One of his sons, Abraham Guedelha (1450-1471), also became a chief rabbi and
doctor to King Afonso V, which further increased the influence of the family.
Guedalha Palacano
(second half of the 15th century) A leading merchant, holder of a number
of special prerogatives, he had considerable influence at Court. He
played an important role in the history of the kingdom, by loaning huge
sums
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to the Crown, on many occasions he financed royal activities. In
1478, he and Isaac Abravanel lent the sum of 3,384,615 reales to D. Afonso V. Guedelha Palacano was known as a loyal supporter of Prince Henry,
having financed a number of overseas expeditions and justly deserved his honors and special treatment at Court.
Isaac Abravanel
(second half of the 15th century) One
of the principal merchants in the kingdom and a member of one of the most important Jewish families in Portugal. In 1478, along with Guedelha Palacano, he made a hugh loan to
King Afonso V. He was greatly respected as a man of learning, a doctor and philosopher.
Jose Vizinho
(second half of the 15th century) Born in Viseu, he was a doctor
and astrologer to King Joao II. Columbus and Joao de Barros knew him as Master Jose and he was considered to be one of the most outstanding figures in the scientific context
of the great feats of navigation. He translated the "Almanach Perpetuum" by Zacuto into Castillian and Latin and navigated to Guinea to test the regiment of latitudes by
meridian observation of the sun.
Abraham Usque
(16th century) Born in Portugal and given the Christian name of Duarte Pinhel, he fled from the Inquisition and settled
in Ferrara about 1543, where he was associated with Yom-Tob Ven Levi Athias (Jerome de Vargas), a New-Christian of Spanish origin who owned a typography. His name is linked
to the publication of the "Biblia de Ferrara" ( The Ferrara Bible) in 1553. He published other books which included "Menina e Moca" by Bernardim Ribeiro and "Consolaco as
Tribulacoes de Israel" ("Consolation for the Tribulations of Israel") by Samuel Usque.
Pedro Nunes
(1502-1578) A great Portuguese mathematician and cosmographer-major,
author of "Tratado da Esfera", published in Lisbon in 1537, he was a first generation New-Christian. Born in Alcacer do Sal, he studied philosophy and mathematics at the
University of Lisbon, where he obtained his degree and became a teacher in 1529.
Antonio Jose da Silva
(1705-1739) Known as "the Jew", he was born in Rio de Janeiro,
the son of a wealthy colonial family, and was one of the victims of the Inquisition. One of the great Portuguese playwrights of the 18th century, he wrote operas and satirical
plays which were tremendously critical and entertaining, one of the most interesting being "The Jew." Other well-known works include: "Guerras de Alecrim e da Manjerona"
and "Vida do grande D. Quixote de la Mancha e do gordo Sancho Panca." He was imprisoned for the first time in 1726 but, after being tortured, was released. He was sent to
prison again and condemned to death at the stake in a dramatic auto-de fe which took place in Lisbon on October 18th 1739.
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