The Portuguese Inquisition: a History of Religious Persecution

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The Portuguese Inquisition:

A History of Religious Persecution

Bianca Ferreira Department of History Thesis Advisor: Dr. Nina Caputo University of Florida April 10, 2019

Table of contents

Chapter 1: Introduction 5

Chapter 2: The History 11

Chapter 3: Why was the Portuguese Inquisition Established? 25

Conclusion 49

Bibliography 50

Acknowledgements

I would first like to thank my mentor, Dr. Nina Caputo, for her continuous help, encouragement, and guidance throughout this project and my undergraduate years at UF. I would also like to thank my parents and Ryan for all of their love and support for which I am immensely grateful. Finally, thank you to Dr. Jessica Harland-Jacobs, Luc, and the faculty of the

History Department all of whom have educated and prepared me for my future.

Chapter 1:

Introduction

Thesis Intent/Abstract

Portugal underwent many changes of its policy regarding the Jewish population, and their status, during the 15th and 16th centuries. For Portuguese Jews, their society went from acceptance to outright persecution. This thesis analyzed the history of the establishment of the

Portuguese Inquisition. Through this analysis, I identified the specific causes that drove the creation of the Inquisition. In the first and second chapters, the history is presented to establish a basis of understanding upon which my analysis and conclusions in chapter three depend on. By the end, three major factors are presented that answer the question: What led Portugal to establish the Holy Inquisition?

A look at the lack of Historiography

The Portuguese Inquisition spanned over three centuries from 1536-1821and is to this day one of the pinnacle examples of religious persecution. One cannot delve into Portuguese

Inquisition history without first acknowledging the issues within the historiography and its limitations. Hence, historian Jorge Martins presented Anita Novinsky’s paramount statement regarding Portuguese Inquisition historiography:

I would like to remember here ‘in passant,’ a reflection of Theodor

Adorno, that made me ponder to what extent it speaks to the very essence of

Portuguese culture. The author said, “What does one do with the dead, is to

practice what the past Jews considered to be the worst of all evils: to not

remember them. In the face of the dead, the men release the despair of not

having the capacity to remember themselves.” After the extinction of the

Inquisition tribunal, after the advent of liberalism, there was a rock placed on

the memory of the Portuguese people, that erased, in large part, the image of

the Jews in Portugal. The works of authors I refer to (Herculano, Remédios,

and Azevedo) circulated only amongst elite scholars, it did not reach the

Portuguese public of lesser education, nor were they adapted for the

secondary schools and lyceums.1

There is a sense of duty, after reading Novinsky’s statement, to study and understand the history of those who died at the hands of the Portuguese Inquisition. Novinsky concludes that to forget those who came before us is to not understand ourselves.

History makes up the world we see today, and it is imperative that it is studied as well as accessible. Thus, in this section I will outline various reasons why Portuguese

Inquisition history research has been limited. I will also provide an introduction to the sources chosen for this project.

Giuseppe Marcocci wrote an overview of Portuguese Inquisition historiography that details the barriers placed on this field in his Toward a History of the Portuguese Inquisition

Trends in Modern History.2 Marcocci’s began his discussion with the declaration that: “One and a half centuries after the publication of the work that inaugurated the classic histography on the subject—the História da origem e estabelecimento da Inquisiçao em Portugal (1854-59) by

Alexandre Herculano—a comprehensive history of the Portuguese Inquisition (1536-1821) has yet to be written.”3

1 Jorge Carvalho Martins, Portugal E Os Judeus (Lisboa: Vega, 2006), original Portuguese passage on p. 65; translated by me. 2 Giuseppe Marcocci, "Toward a History of the Portuguese Inquisition Trends in Modern His...," S.A.P.I.EN.S. Surveys and Perspectives Integrating Environment and Society, October 01, 2013, https://journals.openedition.org/rhr/7622?lang=en; This section basis much of the conclusions based on Marcocci’s work and will be referenced frequently. 3 Marcocci, Toward a History of the Portuguese Inquisition, p. 1.

In 1974, Portugal faced a democratic revolution, and with it brought free space in order to research the country’s history, including the Portuguese Inquisition. According to Marcocci, two different sections of the Portuguese scholarly movements began from the revolution. The first was driven by the Catholic Church officials of Portugal and the Vatican. As Marcocci clearly explains:

On the Catholic side, an attempt was made to contain the risks of a wave

of studies with anti-clerical overtones by means of erudite works and the

publication of documents, accompanied by an eloquent insistence on attenuating

historical circumstances to the detriment of an in-depth interpretation of available

sources and well-known facts. 4

Catholic priests and scholars such as Isaías da Rosa Pereira, undertook the task of writing historiographic works of the Portuguese inquisition that “reveals a hint of apologetic overtones.”5

This type of scholarly research into the events of the inquisition is obviously problematic due to the downplaying of tragic events by the church in order to preserve its modern reputation. Priest

Pereira’s work may have redeeming qualities, such as factual dates and description of the events, but he did not invite scholars to conduct further research nor did he encourage it.

The second wave of the scholarship after 1974 pushed to make sure that Portuguese inquisition history is written without absolving the church of its crimes. Marcocci states that

“…a new generation of scholars of different political orientation, all of whom had little interest in the old issue of whether to absolve or condemn the Holy Office,”6 emerged. The movement of new scholars used sources they had access to in the Tower of Tombo in order to create a better and factual overview of the Portuguese inquisition. Today there are many more articles, books,

4 Marcocci, Toward a History of the Portuguese Inquisition, p. 5. 5 Ibid, p. 5. 6 Ibid, p. 5.

6 and research published about the Portuguese Inquisition. However, this does not mean that there is enough. There is still a vast lack of work in this area that must be remedied in order for the public to truly understand Portuguese Inquisition history that impacted over five generations.

A note on chosen sources

The chronological work done by Alexandre Herculano, History of the origin and establishment of the Inquisition7, served as the fundamental source for Chapter two: The History.

Alexandre Herculano is cited by many scholars as the father of the Portuguese Inquisition history. Credited for being a part of the liberalism movement in Portugal in the 19th century,

Herculano wrote both histories of Portugal and historic novels. In his Portuguese Inquisition chronicle, Herculano accumulated an impressive amount of information from the 12th century to the establishment of the inquisition in the 16th century. Through his synthetic approach, and extensive research of the archival documents in the Tower of Tombo, he presented the history in its entirety. Herculano’s book has extensively helped in understanding the history of the

Portuguese Inquisition. While I researched and studied many other renowned historians,

Herculano’s work is incomparable to others in its extensive footnotes of countless documents described from the Portuguese National Archives, along with his analysis. Thus, his book was referenced frequently in Chapter Two: The History, as he is one of the few to present the

Portuguese Inquisition history in its entirety.

The compilation of primary source research within this thesis consists of sources found within both secondary sources and digital archives. Due to extenuating circumstances, I was not able to travel to Portugal, and thus my primary source research has been based on works I had access to. Despite any limitations, I was able to find and use multiple accounts of the 1506

7 Alexandre Herculano and John Casper Branner, History of the Origin and Establishment of the Inquisition in Portugal (New York: KTAV, 1972).

Lisbon massacre, legislative documents from various Cortes including one of 1481-1482, and

Damião de Góis’ chronicle of King Manuel I’s reign. These sources served as the basis for

Chapter Three: Why was the Portuguese Inquisition Established?

Brief definitions of key terms:

Crypto-Jews:

Crypto-Jews was a name attributed to those who were forcibly converted to Christianity from Judaism but still practiced (or were suspected of practicing) Judaism in secret. This term was used during Inquisitorial trials and in documents to describe those suspected of heresy.

Heresy:

Heresy is an act or belief that goes against the faith of Catholicism. For instance, practicing or worshipping in unconventional and non-accepted manners, praying in different ways, or even praying to a different God would be considered acts of heresy. For the Portuguese

Inquisition, practicing Judaism in secret, or practicing incorrectly, was considered an act of heresy.

Marranos:

Marranos, like Crypto-Jews, also referred to those forcibly converted to Christianity from

Judaism, and still practiced Judaism. This term can be used interchangeably with Crypto-Jews since it was also used to discriminate and persecute those who supposedly still practiced

Judaism.

New Christians:

The term ‘new Christian’ was used for those who were forcibly converted to Christianity from Judaism and their descendants. This designation was implemented to further alienate and discern those who were supposedly ‘Old Christians’ from those who recently converted.

Essentially, this term was a new way to make sure that even those who were converted to

Christianity were still harassed and oppressed.

Old Christians:

The term ‘Old Christian’ was used to, as mentioned above with New Christians, separate those who were previously Jewish prior to the 1497 conversion from those who have always been Portuguese Christians. In this paper, Old Christians or simply Christians, will refer to those who were not forcibly converted from Judaism in 1497.

Chapter 2:

The history: shift from protection to persecution

The decades after the mid-15th century marked a shift from protective policies to persecution for the Jewish communities of Portugal. Until the year of 1475, Portuguese Jewish communities lived under a specific set of laws called the Ordenançao Affonsiana. The

Affonsiana laws detailed where Jewish people were allowed to live, how communities would be separated from the rest of the city, it required Jewish business owners and farmers to prove all of their correspondence, and it required all clothing to display a six-pointed red star that signified their Jewish faith.8 These laws were put in place by King Alphonso V (Alfonso V) in order to separate religious minorities from the Christian majority, and establish a religious hierarchy within the kingdom. A hierarchy established in order to place all Christian people above the

Jewish and Muslim population. The Affonsiana laws effectively made sure religious hierarchy was not merely theoretical but manifested physically.9

However, despite the restrictions and public degradation caused by the Ordenançao

Affonsiana, the Jewish communities were afforded a certain level of protection until the late fifteenth century. Portuguese Jews contributed high levels of economic prosperity and revenue for the kingdom, and it resulted in royal protections against violence from the Christian people.10

Nonetheless, the Christian public did not let the royal protections of the Jewish people stop them from committing violent acts. Despite the royal protections the Affonsiana code established, the

Christian majority nevertheless regarded Jewish people in extremely negative terms. Various religious reasons were argued to excuse the hatred and discrimination.

8 Herculano, History of the Establishment of the Inquisition, p. 237. 9 Edited by Israel J. Katz and M. Mitchell Serels, Studies on the History of Portuguese Jews: From Their Expulsion in 1497 through Their Dispersion, page 9; Jorge Carvalho. Martins, Portugal E Os Judeus (Lisboa: Vega, 2006), p. 120. 10 Katz and Serels, Studies on the History of Portuguese, p. 8.

The clear public hatred of the Jewish people can be seen as early as 1449 in riots that occurred in Lisbon. According to Alexandre Herculano, “certain youths of the city amused themselves by insulting and ill-threatening Jews in their commune.”11 The Jewish people who suffered at the hands of the Christian youth reported the attack to the royal authority, and the

Christian perpetrators were publicly flogged. The punishment of the Christian youth led to an even larger riot against royal protections of the Jewish people, and King Alphonso V had to intervene in order to stop the riots. However, as is seen repeatedly throughout the history of

Portuguese Jewry, once the king intervened to protect the Jewish people, his Christian subjects led public revolts against him. Once the public outcry of anger occurred, both King Alphonso V,

King Manuel, and later King João III, ceased whatever protections they had set in place for the

Jewish people in order to appease the Christian public.

Riots and revolts against the Jewish people in the fifteenth century provide clear evidence of the hatred that existed from the Christian masses. However, according to Alexandre

Herculano, it was not until 1475 that parliamentary commons documents mention the anti-

Semitism. The Cortes of 1475 (and later of 1480 and 1482), discussed the animosity that existed in the Portuguese kingdom towards the Jews. For instance, a specific warning was made to King

João II that said, “They enter churches and scoff at the Holy Sacrament… they go about without any distinctive badge…vexing Christians.”12 Included in this legislative document is the discussion of Spanish Jews who arrived after the establishment of the Spanish Inquisition, and the complains that impacted the livelihood of the Christian people. Representations of these sentiments in official documents from Portuguese Parliament (Commons) demonstrated that the degraded status of the Jewish people within the fifteenth century was officially documented.

11 Herculano, History of the Establishment of the Inquisition, p. 240. 12 Ibid, p. 242.

The response from King João II to the claims made from Parliament is once again a classic response of this period before the persecutory laws and codes were set in place by the end of the fifteenth century. King João II stated that while he acknowledged the issues and concerns presented by the Parliamentary people, he refused to force the Jewish population to only practice commerce and trade within their own communities. King João’s decision also displayed his commitment to the protection of Jewish work and revenue for the economy.13 His response also corresponded with his predecessor Alphonso’s response to the riots: one that pleased the

Christian people and gave them validation but did not change the type of protection afforded to the Jewish population. Progressing case by case that displayed outright hate of the Jewish people, until the end of the fifteenth century, one can see how both King Alphonso and King João II proceeded with caution and protection. Through this history of anti-Semitic cases, there is a sense of a snowball effect that would eventually sum up to the decision to establish the inquisition.14

At the same time that the general Portuguese sentiment towards the Jewish people became more volatile in the latter half of the fifteenth century, the Spanish Inquisition began in

1478 with far reaching consequences. Even though it would not be until 1492 that the Spanish monarchy expelled the Jewish people, as soon as the inquisition began in Spain there were numerous refugees and migrants that travelled to Portugal for safety. The arrival of Spanish

Jewish refugees increased the size of the Portuguese Jewish communities, arguably resulting in even more resentment from the Christian people. This resentment by the Christian people is seen in a letter from a Portuguese Friar of São Marcos regarding the increased number of Jewish migrants, and how “…strangers in your country are carrying off most of the commodities of your

13 Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi, The Lisbon Massacre of 1506 and the Royal Image in the Shebet Yehudah (Cincinnati: Hebrew Union-Jewish Institute of Religion, 1976) p. 6. 14 Herculano, History of the Establishment of the Inquisition, p. 243.

12 kingdom.”15 This letter from the Friar of São Marcos perfectly represents the type of non- religious arguments that were made to excuse the hatred and resentment towards the Jewish migrants. Hatred and resentment that boiled over to include all Portuguese Jews as well.16

The impact of the arrival of Spanish Jewish refugees into Portugal cannot be overlooked.

It is clear that by the time the Spanish Jews arrived, as explained prior, the relationship between the Christian public and Jewish people was already one of resentment and hatred. Which is why there are many historians who tend to lean with the argument that the eventual expulsion of all

Jews from Portugal was not simply due to the Spanish pressure from Queen Isabella, but rather a combination of causes that includes the impact of the Spanish Jewish people’s arrival in the

Portugal. Historian M.J.P. Ferro Tavares supports this argument by stating, “…it is a fact that their arrival in the Kingdom [of Portugal] had a destabilizing effect on Portuguese society and in particularly on relations between the Christian majority and the indigenous Jewish minority.”17

The logic behind why the relationship of the Christians and the Portuguese Jewish people worsened is also found in Herculano’s explanation: “…the bulk of them, whose fortunes were inevitably diminished or lost in that sudden expulsion, found help in a powerful class of the

Portuguese population…”18 Such statements have lead a majority of historians to conclude that the migration of Spanish Jews is one of the major dominoes that set off the change towards forced conversions, expulsion, and the eventual establishment of the inquisition in Portugal.

One can track actions made by King João II that signal the start of unspeakably cruel acts committed against Portuguese Jews, (later New Christians) that begun in the late 15th century.

The first of these signals was the enslavement of Spanish Jews who arrived in Portugal with no money to pay the taxes and fees to live there. Along with the enslavement, King João II ordered

15 Herculano, History of the Establishment of the Inquisition, p. 241. 16 Martins, Portugal E Os Judeus, p. 130. 17 Francois Soyer, The Persecution of the Jews and Muslims of Portugal, p. 6. 18 Herculano, History of the Establishment of the Inquisition, p. 245

13 all children of the slaves to be kidnapped and sent them to an island off of Africa called St.

Thomè.19 Samuel Usque’s account of the kidnapping, as seen in Studies on the History of the

Portuguese Jews, describes:

When the luckless hour arrived for this barbarity to be inflicted,

mothers scratched their faces in grief as their babes, less than three

years old, were taken from their arms. Honored elders tore their beards

when the fruit of their bodies was snatched before their eyes. The fated

children raised their piercing cries to heaven as they were mercilessly

torn from their beloved parents…20

The children and minors who were sent to this island did not survive, so there are no traces of the children today. King João II’s actions proved to the Portuguese Jewish population that their protections were in jeopardy, and by his death in 1495, the status of Portuguese Jews was officially in question.

King Manuel ascended the Portuguese throne in the year of 1495, a year before the eventual expulsion of Jewish people from the country. Surprisingly, one of the first moves made by King Manuel in regard to the Jewish population was to free the enslaved Spanish Jewish people.21 While this might seem out of character for a king who would later expel all of the

Jewish population by the end of 1496, it is typical of his reign: King Manuel persecuted the

Jewish people, then created laws to annul the persecution, and finally persecuted once again in a non-ending cycle. There is much speculation around what made King Manuel act back and forth on the treatment of the Portuguese/Spanish Jews in Portugal. It can be argued that King Manuel created discriminatory laws to appease the Christian population and the clergy, but then realized

19 Martins, Portugal E Os Judeus, p. 134. 20 Katz and Serels, Studies on the History of Portuguese, p. 195. 21 Martins, Portugal E Os Judeus, p. 135.

14 how it would impact the country’s economy and proceeded in declaring forgiving policies in order to keep the Jewish population in the country, and the cycle continued until his death.

However, it does not take away from the fact that under his reign the Jewish populations truly began to see persecution they had not experienced before.

The marriage contract offered by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand for the matrimony of their daughter to King Manuel directly caused one of the first acts of violent persecution executed by King Manuel. In 1496, as part of the marriage contract agreement, all Spanish

Jewish migrants and later all Portuguese Jews were expelled from the country.22 The decision to expel all Jewish people from Portugal was one deemed to be worthy (despite the economic turmoil it risked) for the exchange of peace and alliance between Portugal and Spain. At the time of expulsion, the Jewish population remained a very lucrative and successful economic source for the country of Portugal. To expel them meant a significant risk to the economic and agricultural sectors of the country. Nevertheless, King Manuel agreed to take this risk in order to create an alliance between the two kingdoms.

Along with the declaration of expulsion in the year of 1496, King Manuel authorized all children younger than fourteen years old to be kidnapped and redistributed to Christian families who would raise them in the Christian religion.23 If the families wished to keep their young children, they had to convert. This act from King Manuel marked a clear foreshadowing to the mass forced conversion of 1497. Along with the foreshadowing of this act, King Manuel’s decision to kidnap these children, fits into his tradition of maintaining the Jewish population in his country for the economic benefit.

22 Katz and Serels, Studies on the History of Portuguese, pages 40-41; Martins, Portugal E Os Judeus, p. 136. 23 Martins, Portugal E Os Judeus, p. 137.

The expulsion of 1496 also raises the question of whether King Manuel’s decision to establish a mass conversion policy was due to the marriage contract or because of the influence from the Portuguese nobility and clergy. This type of debate stems from the fact that a year later, all Portuguese Jews who remained were forcibly converted. By 1497 it was clear to King Manuel that the expulsion did not have the desired impact: one that kept the Jewish population in

Portugal because more Jews chose to convert rather than leave. Thus, soon after the expulsion

King Manuel began the effort to make sure that the expulsion did not mean the loss of the entire

Jewish working force and declared all ports of exit from the country closed and banned travel.

The forced conversion of 1497 was the point of no return for the persecution of the

Jewish people in Portugal. The forced conversions were violent, according to Herculano, and included women, men, and children dragged by their hair to the clergy to be doused by Holy water. In fact, at this period in time many Jewish parents chose to sacrifice their children instead of forcing them into Christianity. Interestingly, there are accounts of Christian parents hiding

Jewish children in order to prevent their forced conversion. In fact, there were other dissenting voices during this period who believed that the forced conversions were in direct violation of the

Christian laws and should not have occurred. Despite this, the forced conversion of the entire

Jewish community was completed in the year of 1497.24

In the same year, King Manuel continued the trend of extreme persecution followed by somewhat forgiving policies when he released a decree that forbade any inquiries into the religious conduct of the New Christians.25 However, every law made by King Manuel does seem to have been motivated more by economics and political convenience rather than religion.

Initially, the expulsion and forced conversion seemed to be intended to please various groups

24 Herculano, History of the Establishment of the Inquisition, p. 253-258. 25 Katz and Serels, Studies on the History of Portuguese, p. 7.

16 such as the Spanish monarchy and the catholic clergy. But in economic terms, King Manuel knew it was harmful to oppress the Jewish people to the point they wished to escape, rather than stay in the country. King Manuel seems to have always been conscious of the fact that losing all of the New Christian population of Portugal could mean economic recession.26

The false sense of security given to the New Christians in 1497 after the decree of no inquiry into their religious practices did not last long. While many New Christians did not emigrate from Portugal (most likely due to the belief that now that they converted, they thought they would be accepted in society), it did not mean that integration was ever successful in

Portugal. Post conversion of 1497, one of the first signs of hatred and non-acceptance of New

Christians was in 1505 during a famine caused by poor agricultural yields. The clergy blamed the famine on New Christian’s lack of faith and its impact on the community.27 The outlandish claims made against the New Christians during 1505 famine highlights the clear impact of the clerical influence on the fate of Portuguese New Christians. As stated by the historian António

José Saraiva: “Among the religious orders it was above all the Dominicans that were responsible for the transfer of hatred from the Jews to the New Christians.”28 The Portuguese clergy across the country preached of the dangers of the heretic threat that New Christians posed. In particular, any time a specific physical event occurred that the clergy could pin-point as God’s dissatisfaction with the New Christians- they took the opportunity and wrote various sermons that pointed out the suspected heresy.

The culmination of constant local sermons produced by Catholic clergy on the dangers of

New Christians resulted in tragic consequences in April 1506. The Lisbon Massacre of 1506

26 Antonio Jose Saraiva, Inquisicao e Cristaos-Novos, (Leiden: Brill, 2001), p. 14-15. 27 Yerushalmi, The Lisbon Massacre of 1506, p. 18. 28 António José Saraiva, H. P. Salomon, and I. S. D. Sassoon. The Marrano Factory: The Portuguese Inquisition and Its New Christians, 1536-1765, (Leiden: Brill, 2001), p. 20. This translation by Salomon and Sasson include augmentations amend where Saraiva did not cite his conclusions with documentary evidence.

17 resulted in the loss of 2,000 New Christians.29 According to the account outlined by Herculano, the three-day riot began due to a supposed heretic act inside of the church of Saint Dominic.

What occurred inside of the church was a declaration by an Old Christian describing a holy light upon the sacrament on the altar, followed by “a New-Christian…[who] let slip certain imprudent expressions of incredulity about the miracle.”30 As soon as his verbal note of disbelief was heard, the New Christian was taken to the front of the church and was burned alive. Following his murder, a larger riot was then incited by two local Dominican friars. Saraiva explained the friars’ actions as, “two Dominican friars, brandishing crucifixes, further excited the electrified mob with shouts of ‘Heresy! Heresy!’.”31 During the Sunday when the riot began, the other New

Christians who lived in Lisbon did not instantly know of the murder at St. Dominic’s church.

Thus, all those who were walking about the city were found by the rioters and brutally murdered on the street.

The next day, Monday, the brutal murders of New Christians continued with even greater aggression and fervor. According to Herculano, on Sunday around 500 people were killed while on Monday the number “exceeded a thousand.”32 During the riots, New Christians’ houses were broken into and the people inside of the homes were brutally murdered. Children, women, and men were killed in front of one another and some were forced to prove their Christianity by displaying their lack of circumcision in public. Women were also kidnapped from their homes, violated by the rioters and burned. The next day, Tuesday, was equally filled with murders and inhumane acts against the New Christians. According to both Herculano and Saraiva, by the end of Tuesday 2,000 people had been murdered.

29 Yerushalmi, The Lisbon Massacre of 1506, p. 16. 30 Herculano, History of the Establishment of the Inquisition, p. 264. 31 Saraiva, Salomon, and Sassoon, The Marrano Factory, p. 20. 32 Herculano, History of the Establishment of the Inquisition, p. 264.

King Manuel ordered an immediate investigation into what happened in Lisbon, and who was to blame. As a result of the investigation, there were up to forty people accused of involvement in the massacre and they were all hung or quartered. According to Herculano the two Dominican friars who incited the mass murder were also sentenced to a public defrocking and burned publicly.33 However, there are mixed reports on whether these two friars, responsible for inciting the attacks, were indeed killed by the government officials. Saraiva claims that “we now know that they apparently got away thanks to collusion, for we find them back 36 years later (in 1542), alive and kicking…”34 Despite the question of whether the two Dominicans responsible were executed or not, the rest of the Lisbon Dominican friars were all kicked out of the convent and ordered to never return to Lisbon.35 Along with the order to execute all responsible, King Manuel declared that Lisbon would “lose a great part of its ancient privileges.”36 And for those who were known to be involved in the riots, King Manuel condemned them to lose all property; these consequences were labeled as the law of May 22.

However, it is worthy to note that despite the immediate response, it is known today that shortly after the massacre, King Manuel stopped the investigation and restored the convent of Saint

Dominic in Lisbon.

Following the Lisbon Massacre of 1506, the period from 1507 to the death of King

Manuel in 1521 was one of relative peace for the News Christians.37 Decrees were made that abolished restrictions on New Christians such as their ability to leave the country. Furthermore, legislative documents from 1507 prove the relative protections with which the New Christians were afforded: “…Portuguese subjects who belonged to the Jewish race were put on the same

33 Herculano, History of the Establishment of the Inquisition, p. 266. 34 Saraiva, Salomon, and Sassoon, The Marrano Factory, p. 21. 35 Herculano, History of the Establishment of the Inquisition, p. 266. 36 Martins, Portugal E Os Judeus, p. 141. 37 Herculano, History of the Establishment of the Inquisition, p. 268.

19 footing with the others, and the common law was made applicable to them…”38 And while this

14 year period of mild protection allowed the New Christians to believe they were safe, it did not exclude local and smaller attacks by Old Christians.

The period of 1507 to 1521 is also interesting in the sense that while new protective policies were set in place, King Manuel in 1510 issued a pardon to all those who had escaped the

Spanish Inquisition and entered the kingdom without paying taxes. Later in 1512, King Manuel also moved to have the religious non-inquiry decree of New Christians extended for another 16 years.39 During this period many families did everything they could to be safe from another massacre by old Christians. Families married their children to families of Old Christian heritage, while others joined the convent in order to ensure their safety.

Despite the outwardly protective decrees from the monarchy and its magistrates, New

Christians still faced discrimination and hatred throughout this period. In 1515, signs were made and placed all over Lisbon that asked for the Old Christians to not accept the Jewish race. Along with these signs, there were many statements publicly declared by Old Christians that said: “…if there were a hundred young men of genuine courage in Portugal, all New-Christians would be put to the sword.”40 Thus, despite outwardly decrees of protection, the feeling of anti-Semitism within the Old Christian populace was not abated—instead, this attitude remained in fervor during this period.

In spite of the certain protections, it was also from 1507 to 1521 that the official discussions and plans of a possible Inquisition in Portugal began.41 Arguably, the King Manuel’s decision to take this directive was due to influences such as debates among the magistrates about the threat of crypto-Judaism within the country, and the constant complaints from the Old

38 Herculano, History of the Establishment of the Inquisition, p. 267. 39 Saraiva, Inquisicao e Cristaos-Novos, p. 15. 40 Herculano, History of the Establishment of the Inquisition, p. 271. 41 Organized by 1st Congress about the Luso-Brasilian Inquisition, A Inquisicao Em Portugal, 1536-1821, p. 36.

Christian public. There were various examples of complaints and threats of crypto-Judaism in the letter sent to the Pope, including a reference to “…Spanish New Christians…who were abusing the hospitality granted them, and continued to practice Jewish rites more or less secretly…”42

Yet, the act of 1512 still existed that did not allow for any inquiries into the faith of New

Christians until 1534. Thus, it can be argued that even though direct inquiry was not made during this time, the mere request for an established inquisitorial body in Portugal still violates the promise. The attempt by King Manuel to establish an inquisition proved to be a failure, and thus

“the records themselves of civil government…do not show that the tranquility of the converts was disturbed during the six years between 1515 and 1521.”43 Nevertheless, even if the outright disturbance did not occur, the preliminary measures for the eventual inquisitorial institution were taken during this time period by the monarchy who promised protections to the New Christians.

King Manuel died in 1521 in the midst of the beginning debates that would eventually establish the inquisition in Portugal. Upon his death, his son Don João III ascended the throne, and quickly proved to be feverishly intent on continuing his father’s work of establishing the inquisition in Portugal. The environment in Portugal that Dom João III faced at the start of his reign was one of resentment and hatred of the New Christians.44 It was made clear to the King that the populace was not satisfied with the failed attempt to establish the inquisition, and it caused an even deeper resentment of the New Christians in Portugal.45 There were also claims that King João III already had a malice towards those of Jewish descent, which was certainly not improved by the constant anti-Semitic advice from the clergy.

Due to the many complaints and threats made to King João III since his coronation in

1521, he ordered an investigation to be made into the actions of the New Christians in Lisbon.

42 Herculano, History of the Establishment of the Inquisition, p. 272. 43 Ibid, p. 274. 44 1st Congress about the Luso-Brasilian Inquisition, A Inquisicao Em Portugal, p. 39. 45 Herculano, History of the Establishment of the Inquisition, p. 277.

Jorge Themundo, who was appointed by the King to complete this investigation, returned with many accusations of crypto-Judaism. New Christians in Lisbon were accused of Judaizing for not attending church on Sundays, not burying their dead in appropriated Catholic cemeteries, not allowing proper Catholic grievances to be made after death, celebrating Passover, etc.46 News presented to the clergy were described by Herculano as having “profoundly scandalized the clergy of Lisbon.”47 The clergy also believed that the more a New Christian was aligned with the

Law of Moses, the more he or she was likely to perfectly practice Catholicism in public. Thus, as the sentiment of the general public festered during the beginning of the sixteenth century, the information disseminated against New Christians to the Portuguese leaders was even worse.

During the period after Dom João III’s ascent to the throne, it is worthy to note that the economic health still depended on the New Christians. Due to this grasp of the wealth,

Herculano points to envy as the reasoning behind the mass hatred felt by the Old Christians against the New Christians; hatred that would arise in the manner of complaints. Herculano specifies two specific reasons as to the economic discrimination and hate: “first of these was envy, a vice common to the less wealthy in all ages; the second was fanaticism, kept alive by the continued encouragement of the clergy.”48 The Old Christian sentiments towards New Christians worsened until and beyond 1525, when the Cortes of Torres Nova occurred. During these parliamentary discussions the first direct documentation of the hatred towards New Christians was written since the fifteenth century. These explanations found in the documents from the

Cortes of Torres Novas also display that during the first quarter of the sixteenth century, the

“state of public morality was deplorable.”49 There were discussions of crimes among the people, bad economic status of the kingdom, and even declarations that the clergy and bishops of the

46 Katz and Serels, Studies on the History of Portuguese, p. 19; Herculano, p. 284 (footnote 26). 47 Herculano, History of the Establishment of the Inquisition, p. 283. 48 Herculano, History of the Establishment of the Inquisition, p. 279. 49 Ibid, p. 280-281.

Catholic Church regularly abused their positions. However, it is clear that even on top of all the complaints of the status of Portugal, those involved in the Cortes of 1525 still took the time to outline the pressing dangers of the New Christians.

The decade from the end of the Cortes government discussions to the establishment of the inquisition in 1536, involved regular disagreements between the Pope and the King of Portugal.

Many leaders and Old Christians during this decade made it very clear to King João III that, in their eyes, the inquisition needed to occur. Among those who made their stance very clear was the new Queen of Portugal, Dona Catharina. Upon her arrival, it was claimed that she “brought to her adopted country the ideas and prejudices of the court of Spain against the New-

Christians.”50 During this period it is also documented that many Dominican friars came to

Portugal from Spain to help with decisions regarding the establishment of the Inquisition.

By 1531, various requests from King João III had been sent to the Pope for the establishment of the Inquisition. However, it would not be until 1536 for it to be approved because the Pope repeatedly denied the requests from King João III. Yet, it is worthy to note that the issue of approval was not due to a higher moral struggle against murdering of innocent people, but because King João III wanted minimal Papal overreach in the inquisition. After years of back and forth, and many decrees made by the King João III and Pope Clement VII (later

Pope Paul III), the Inquisition was officially established in Portugal in 1536.

50 Herculano, History of the Establishment of the Inquisition, p. 291.

Chapter 3

Causes that led to the establishment of the Portuguese Inquisition

Introduction

As detailed in the previous chapter, the road to the establishment of the Inquisition in

Portugal involved many telling events that point to the inquisition. Thus, in this chapter, I will build upon the historical foundation established in Chapter 2 and analyze specific factors that influenced the establishment. The factors discussed through primary sources are the impact of

Spain’s influence over Portugal’s leadership, the anti-Semitic indoctrination from the clergy, and the consequences of the Christian public’s sentiments regarding Portuguese Jews and New

Christians. By analyzing these three factors, it will be clear why Portugal chose to establish the

Portuguese Inquisition.

Spanish Influence

Spain contributed significantly to the fate of the Portuguese Jews and New Christians.

Contributions such as Spanish refugees settling in Portugal, the marriage contract between

Queen Isabella’s daughter and King Manuel I, and the influence over the 1497 forced conversions. By analyzing these specific events and discussing the available documents from the

15th and 16th century, the impact will be apparent.

In 1492, the Spanish Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand released a decree to expel all of the Jews in Spain. As a border country to Spain, Portugal was understandably a destination for many of the Castilian Jews and conversos. Due to this, the size of the Portuguese Jewish community increased exponentially, and scholars today debate on the impact this arrival had on the deterioration of Christian-Jewish relations in Portugal. For this debate, Francois Soyer’s book, The Persecution of Jews and Muslims in Portugal is crucial.

Soyer begins his book declaring that many scholars have presented the impact of the arrival of Spanish Jews in Portugal as a direct cause for the deterioration of tolerance between

Christians and Jews. Soyer points to a pertinent conclusion made by Maria Tavares:

Regardless of the number of Castilian Jews who settled in Portugal, it is a fact that their

arrival in the Kingdom had a destabilizing effect on Portuguese society and particularly

on relations between the Christian majority and the indigenous Jewish minority. (…)

The expulsion edict is therefore a direct consequence of the destabilization of

Portuguese society, aggravated by other facts of a domestic nature or linked to

peninsular politics.51

When one analyzes the history prior to the 1492 arrival of the refugees, Tavares’s conclusions are sound. By 1492, the Christian majority had already displayed their animosity against Portuguese Jews. Thus, the addition of more Jews to the Portuguese community naturally had a negative impact since it quite literally increased the group of people the Christian majority expressively hated. The impact of the refugees is discussed further by A. Gross:

The admission of such influx was contrary to reason. This country [Portugal], whose

population numbered barely one million, could not afford such a move that would create

chaos from socio-economic, health, and religious perspective.52

However, despite the reasonable conclusion that the influx of Spanish refugees impacted the anti- Semitic atmosphere of Portugal in 1492, Soyer argues that “there is little concrete evidence to suggest that the sudden arrival in Portugal of thousands of Jews expelled from Castile in 1492 was a catalyst that caused a sudden deterioration of the situation of Portuguese Jews…”53

51 François Soyer, Persecution of the Jews and Muslims of Portugal King Manuel I and the End of Religious Tolerance 1496-7, (Boston: BRILL, 2014), p. 6. 52 Soyer, Persecution of the Jews and Muslims of Portugal, p. 85. 53 Soyer, Persecution of the Jews and Muslims of Portugal, p. 7.

Soyer’s conclusion relies on his argument that, first, the impact has been exaggerated since the Spanish exiles settled throughout the country and thus minimized their impact. Second, that despite many scholars pointing to King João II’s mistreatment of exiles, he allowed some to leave and resettle in another country. And finally, that the ascension of Manuel and his decisions were a bigger catalyst to the deterioration of Jewish-Christian relations than the increase of Jews due to the Castilian refugees.

However, Soyer’s arguments seem to exclude that while the addition of refugees did not single-handedly impact the full deterioration of the situation, it does not mean the overall impact was exaggerated and had little impact. Instead, the addition of Castilian Jews (one event amongst many) did affect deterioration of the Christian-Jewish community. Furthermore, Soyer’s chosen examples appears to contradict his conclusions. For instance, Soyer presents an account of the impact by Gedalya ibn Yahya, who claimed:

The heads of the Jewish communities in the kingdom of Portugal took counsel to

decide how to deal with the large number of Spanish exiles. They decided to

strenuously attempt to prevent the exiles from entering Portugal so as not to make

themselves loathsome in the eyes of the King, the courtiers, or the [Christian]

inhabitants.54

And while Soyer is correct to conclude that since there are not multiple sources corroborating

Ibn Yahya’s statements, one has to read this source with the possibility that it might be exaggerated. However, this does not mean we should ignore the statements Ibn Yahya made altogether. Especially since Soyer himself claims this account is “usually considered an unreliable source by historians, but in this case his account may be credible since he cites his

54 Soyer, Persecution of the Jews and Muslims of Portugal, p. 106.

26 grandfather.”55 Thus, whilst it is true that the lack of sources from the end of the 15th century makes it hard to declare unquestionable conclusions, it does not mean one cannot venture to guess as who what happened based on the sources we do have. Beyond Gedalya ibn Yahya’s statements, Soyer also presents a letter from King João II that shows King João asking for the denial of any Castilian Jew that appeared to be dying from the plague:

We have been informed that you have prohibited any Jew that has come

from Castile to our realms from entering the town. At present We have

not ordered you to act in this manner but have only ordered those places

on the borders not to receive Jews from parts of Castile where they are

dying [of the plague], We order you to let into the town those Jews that

are not already dying of the plague.56

Again, King João’s statement did not ban all of the Castilian Jews from entering, and we do not have statements of other Christians in Portugal fearful of the introduction of the plague from the refugees. However, one may still conclude from the statement that there was a fear of plague brought in by Castilian refugees. If there was no fear, then the King would not have ordered to deny entry to those who appeared to be infected by the plague.

Thus, while Soyer is correct to argue that the sources are very limited from the end of the

15th century, he is incorrect in assuming that means we cannot conclude on possible affects.

Specifically, using the sources Soyer himself included (as shown above) one can venture to guess the consequences from such an arrival of refugees on the relationships between the

Christian majority and Jewish minority in Portugal. It is true that this event alone did not cause the beginning of the inquisition years later, however, it is clear that it did contribute to the overall

55 Soyer, Persecution of the Jews and Muslims of Portugal, p. 106. 56 Soyer, Persecution of the Jews and Muslims of Portugal, p. 115.

27 deterioration of the situation in Portugal when considered alongside other described circumstances outlined in the following pages.

Spain’s influence continued after the arrival of the Castilian Jewish refugees. In Damião de Góis four-part chronicle, he described the letters that were sent to King Manuel I from Castile prompting Manuel to follow their lead and also expel all Portuguese Jews, “…After the Kings of

Castile, expelled the Jews out of their kingdom and dominions…the King Manuel I encouraged by letters from these same Kings, determined to do the same.”57 The influence that this statement described was direct and poignant for the fate of Portuguese Jews. Up until the eventual

Portuguese expulsion in 1496, Spain and Portugal had not established a peaceful alliance.58 Thus, letters asking for expulsion to occur carried unspoken threats of further deterioration of foreign relations if the demand was not met. King Manuel I reportedly sought out advice on the decision, and as described by Góis, many of his councilors encouraged him to not expel the Jews. King

Manuel’s councilors elicited reasons such as the fact that the Pope himself had not declared Jews unwelcomed within catholic territories.59

However, Spain’s influence over Manuel’s decision grew beyond the letters when a marriage contract between Manuel and Queen Isabela’s widowed daughter was proposed. The possibility of a permanent peaceful alliance with Spain appeared too great an opportunity for

King Manuel. Thus, Manuel accepted the marriage even with the condition that he would expel all of the Portuguese Jews.60

To fully grasp the impact of Spain’s influence, one has to understand that expelling all

Portuguese Jews was not in the best economic interest for King Manuel. As Jorge Martins

57 Góis, Damião de. Chronica do Felicissimo Rei Dom Emanuel. (Lisbon: Francisco Correa, 1566-1567). http://purl.pt/14704: “Depois que os Reis de Castela lançaram os Jedeus for a de seus reinos e snehorios…el Rei Dom Manuel requerido por cartas dos mesmos Reis, determinou de fazer o mesmo…” 58 Soyer, Persecution of the Jews and Muslims of Portugal, p. 140. 59 Góis, Chronica do Felicissimo Rei Dom Emanuel, chapter XVIII. 60 Martins, Portugal E Os Judeus, p. 135.

28 presents in his detailed comprehensive history of the Portuguese Jews: “The particular social and economic function that the Jews contributed to the Kingdom makes of them an inestimable force of production that was indispensable.”61 Thus, as Martins discussed, the possibility of a peaceful alliance proved to be too great of an offer to ignore, despite the negative consequence of losing the Portuguese Jewish workforce.62

Furthermore, Spain’s push for the Jewish expulsion in Portugal had a direct impact on the later decision to forcibly convert all Portuguese Jews in 1497. As stated above, losing Jewish economic contribution was not in the best interest for King Manuel even though the alliance with

Spain was imperative. Hence, King Manuel found a loophole of sorts, one in which he could accept the matrimonial alliance with Spain (even with its condition of expulsion) while also maintaining the Jewish population in Portugal. The solution King Manuel found was to forcibly convert all Portuguese Jews. Jorge Martins directly commented on this decision: “…it was not possible to dispense of the good services of the Jews…it was due to this that King Manuel took out of his arsenal a solution—, a forced baptism.” 63

Thus, one can track Spain’s irreparable influence through the impact of the arrival of

Castilian refugees in 1492, the initial letters from Castile calling for expulsion, to the demand of expulsion in the marriage contract that directly led to the forced conversion of 1497. It is imperative to note at this point that the forced conversions prompted the beginning of widespread suspicion and fear of the existence of crypto-Judaism and heresy in Portugal. After the forced conversions, the discussion within the Christian clergy was no longer of the impact of Jewish residents on the country but of New Christian’s level of faith to Christianity. This suspicion from the clergy, and later the Christian public, would eventually set the stage for the Portuguese

61 Martins, Portugal E Os Judeus, p. 131. 62 Ibid, p. 131. 63 Ibid, p. 132.

29 inquisition (as will be discussed in the following sections). Without the influence of Spain that caused the initial persecutory decrees from King Manuel, the road to the establishment of the

Portuguese inquisition would be vastly different.

Influence of Catholic Clergy

The extent to which the Portuguese Catholic clergy influenced the establishment of the Holy

Inquisition cannot be understated. The clergy preached hateful and anti-Semitic rhetoric in sermons and outright encouraged Christian people to start attacks and violence. Clergy, particularly the Dominican friars, have been credited with even blaming Earthly disasters on the

New Christians- such as earthquakes and famines. In this section, primary sources will be discussed in order to present the extent to which the Portuguese clergy influenced anti-Semitic beliefs and led the decision to establish the Holy Inquisition.

The clergy in Portugal led and developed the morals and values of the people. Every

Sunday, all Christians were expected to be in mass, repenting and hearing the words of their local priest. During the 15th and 16th centuries, the church was not only in charge of establishing the set of values the Portuguese populace would hold themselves accountable to, but the King also obtained his power to govern from God. The clergy’s power over the set of beliefs for the

Christian people has direct and severe ramifications for the Portuguese Jews and New Christians.

The concept of the clergy establishing how the Christian public viewed Portuguese Jews and New Christians is discussed by Maria Tavares. In her Judaismo e Inquisiçao, Tavares presents and discusses the history to the establishment of the Inquisition in Portugal. As part of her introduction to the environment the Jews found themselves by the end of the 15th and into the

16th century, Tavares discusses the role of the clergy. Tavares begins her arguments by defining ideology as, “The mental representations, whatever they might be,” and claims they, “are part of

30 the ideological mechanics of a society.”64 Thus, for Jews and New Christians, the ideology or mental representations about them were created by the clergy.

Tavares expands on this concept and displays how the ideologies were established,

“…with a textual basis from conciliar and synod councils, disseminated by the clergy, a figure emerged of a Jew as unfaithful, secluded from salvation because of deicide,” upon which she elaborates, “…the Jew transformed himself into the demon that lived next to you [Christians], following a religious practice that was strange and that carried a demonic construction of the

Jewish myth: of blasphemy, assassination of children, defiling of the consecrated host and of sacred places, tailed like devil, worship of the goat, etc.”65 This type of description led the

Christian people to truly believe that the Portuguese Jews, and later New Christians, not only murdered their God but practiced heresy on a daily basis against Christianity. Anti-Semitic and inflammatory rhetoric as described above was hard to ignore and led to the attacks and murders seen prior to the establishment of the Inquisition.

Consequences of anti-Semitic rhetoric is present as early as 1449 in the Lisbon riots.66

Lisbon Christian youth not only harassed Jews but destroyed their homes and temples. This type of behavior had to emanate from a source, and there had to be a reason why Christian youth decided to spend their day harassing and vandalizing. This is a learned behavior, and as Tavares pointed out in the aforementioned description of ideological mechanics of a society, these group of youth were taught that the Jewish people in their city was deserving of such treatment. Thus,

64 Maria José Pimenta Ferro Tavares, Judaísmo E Inquisiçao, (Lisboa: Presença, 1987), p. 69: “as representações mentais, sejam elas quais forem, fazem parte do aparelho ideológico de uma sociedade.” 65 Tavares, Judaísmo E Inquisiçao, p. 69: “… com base em textos conciliares e sinodais, difundidos pero clero, surgia a figura do Judeu como infiel, afastado do salvação porque deicida… o Judeu transformava-se no demónio que vivia a seu lado seguindo uma practica religiosa que lhes era estranha a que levaria a construção do mito Judeu: blasfemo, assasino de crianças, conspurcardor da hóstia consagrada, e dos lugares sagrados, rabudo como o diabo, adorador do bode, etc.” 66 Tavares, Judaísmo E Inquisiçao, p. 17.

31 one can conclude that the weekly Sunday mass rhetoric of anti-Semitism and the ideological mechanics of society that were in place in Lisbon in 1449 were acutely anti-Jewish.

The impact of clerical rhetoric is again present in 1505, when a famine occurred in

Portugal due to an inadequate harvest. At this time, instead of providing comfort and aid to various Christians across Portugal going hungry, the Clergy preached that their misfortunes were to blame on New Christian is lack of faith. Furthermore, not only was the belief of New

Christian lack of faith established, but the sense of personal responsibility of the Old Christians was also abundantly clear. Meaning, the clergy preached the famine was due Portugal’s decision to allow New Christians (and suspected crypto-Jews) to live amongst the Old Christians and thus

God was punishing them. This sense of personal responsibility in removing the reason of their famine and misfortunes has direct correlation and consequence to the 1506 massacre discussed in the following pages.

To further display the extent to which the Portuguese clergy’s anti-Semitic indoctrination impacted the environment, I will compare the various accounts of the 1506 Lisbon Massacre.

Four different accounts of the events remain today in Hebrew, German, Portuguese, and Spanish.

I will compare the Hebrew, German, and two Portuguese accounts in order to prove the clerical influence in the murder of thousands of New Christians in Lisbon.

Yosef Harim Yerushalmi translated the Jewish and German accounts for his book, The

Lisbon Massacre of 1506.67 Yerushalmi not only wished to introduce a revised translation of these accounts, but also wished to write about it in order to present his own conclusions of the

1506 massacre. Yerushalmi analyzed the power structure that existed between New Christians and the Portuguese kings through a discussion of the history from Solomon ibn Verga’s account and from the anonymous German. Yerushalmi presented the concept that Jewish people, and

67 Yerushalmi, The Lisbon Massacre of 1506.

32 later New Christians, could not trust their neighbors nor municipal authorities for help, and thus went straight to the highest authority- the king of Portugal or the Pope. For the purpose of this section, I will use Yerushalmi’s findings and translation of Ibn Verga and the German account to display my conclusions of the impact the clerical anti-Semitic indoctrination had in inciting the

1506 attack, and furthermore creating a toxic environment in which the establishment of an inquisition would thrive.

The first account comes from Ibn Verga, a Jewish Spanish refugee who escaped to

Portugal in 1492 following the expulsion of Jews form Spain. Ironically, while living in

Portugal, Ibn Verga would ultimately face the forced conversions of 1497, and had to live in

Portugal as a Crypto-Jew. While in Portugal, however, he wrote his eyewitness account of the massacre of 1506 in Lisbon. It is worth noting that Ibn Verga reportedly died around 1507 escaping Portugal in route to Flanders. His son Joseph Ibn Verga is the one who put together his writings, and due to that we do not know how much was altered by him. However, Ibn Verga’s account is recognized as legitimate and has been utilized by many historians including

Yerushalmi and François Soyer. The following excerpt was written by Ibn Verga, and translated by Yerushalmi:

On Passover Eve the Christians found Marranos seated before

unleavened bread… At that time there was a famine and drought in the

land, and the Christians gathered and said: “Why did the Lord do this

unto us and unto our land, if not because of the guilt of these Jews?”

And as their words were heard by the Order of Preachers who are

called predicadores, they concentrated on seeking a device with which

to help the Christians. So one of them arose in their house of worship

and preached extremely harsh and bitter things against the seed of

Israel. And they concocted a ruse and made a hollow crucifix with an

aperture in the rear, and its front of glass, and they would pass through

there a lit candle, saying that the flame emerged from the crucifix,

while the people would prostrate themselves and cry: “See the great

miracle! This is a sign that God judges with fire all the Jewish seed.”

…After this all the friars arose and took out all the sticks of Jesus the

Nazarene. They went to the main avenue of the city and proclaimed:

“Anyone who kills the seed of Israel shall be granted one hundred days

of absolutism for the world to come!”68

This excerpt from Ibn Verga’s eyewitness account proves the indoctrination of anti-

Semitic beliefs perpetuated by the clergy, and its impact on the Old Christian population. Ibn

Verga started his depiction of the 1506 massacre with the description of the group of marranos

(crypto-Jews) who were discovered before the unleavened bread. Ibn Verga then quickly shifts to the Old Christians wondering as to why there have been famines and droughts in their communities- the organizational choice in this depiction is not accident. The quick transition of the events allows, and is intended for, a direct correlation to be made. A correlation that naturally leads to his connection of the inquiry regarding the famine to the ‘Order of the Preachers’ who claimed to have a way to help the Old Christians. By making sure to retell the events in this order and manner, Ibn Verga made it very clear where the preachers obtained their reasoning and excuses for the misfortunes in Portugal: the marranos found before the unleavened bread, along with all the other New Christians who were suspected to be doing the same thing. Thus, a natural progression was created into Ibn Verga’s next description of the priest preaching ‘extremely harsh and bitter things against the seed of Israel.’ Ibn Verga makes it abundantly clear that the

68 Yerushalmi, The Lisbon Massacre of 1506, p. 2.

Old Christians did not come to blame the New Christians on their own, considering they were wondering about famines and the clergy were the ones to lead them to the anti-Semitic conclusion.

Beyond Ibn Verga’s blatantly clear depiction of where the Portuguese clergy found their excuses for anti-Semitic drivel, his account (unlike other accounts I will discuss below) presents the miracle in the Church of Sao Domingos as a ‘ruse.’ A ruse created in order to excuse and legitimatize the murder of thousands of Portuguese New Christians. If true, the clergy’s decision to create a fake miracle to further convince Old Christians of the idea that Jewish acts are to blame for all of their suffering, leaves no question as to who one can blame for the 1506 massacre. Ibn Verga points to the clergy’s responsibility by further describing their rhetoric:

“See the miracle! This is a sign that God judges with fire all the Jewish seed.” If that were not enough to prove the clerical guilt for the violence that ensued, Ibn Verga explains how the friars promised one year of absolutism for “anyone who kills the seed of Israel.”

Ibn Verga’s account presents to readers a narrative that without a question proves the clergy’s responsibility in inciting anti-Semitic beliefs and actions that ultimately resulted in the murder of thousands of innocent New Christians. Admittedly, one might wonder if there is a bias to be considered here since Ibn Verga himself was a Crypto-Jew. However, the timeline of the events that Ibn Verga presents match up (as I will display next) with the other accounts from non-Jewish witnesses; the only difference was the claim that the miracle was a ruse. However, all other claims made by Ibn Verga are vindicated with the depiction from other writers of the time. Thus, it is entirely fair to read Ibn Verga and argue that the responsibility of the clergy in the events that followed the supposed miracle within Saint Dominic’s chapel.

Yerushalmi also presents the narrative and conclusions from the German account of the

1506 massacre. This German account was written anonymously, however, both Yerushalmi and

Francois Soyer expand on new information regarding his identity.69 Yerushalmi, for his work, located three versions of this German account that had appeared in a pamphlet during the 19th century. By analyzing the three accounts, Yerushalmi concluded that it was written “almost immediately after the Lisbon massacre, in the last week of 1506.”70 Yerushalmi also informs his readers that while all three versions do not include a date, “they were probably printed within a short time of one another.” There are also possibilities that there are more versions than the ones we have today, but what is relevant to this discussion is Yerushalmi’s conclusion that “even his anti-Jewish animus was kept within bounds sufficient to enable him to retain a measure of objectivity concerning the events themselves.” The discussions and presentations within his book are from version C, or the third version, which is the one I will utilize to compare and further prove the description of the clergy’s anti-Semitic actions and instructions.

The German account (like that of Ibn Verga and the Portuguese accounts discussed later) attributes the beginning of the 1506 massacre to the miracle within the Convent of Sao Domingo in Lisbon. However, the German writer also mentions the New Christians who were discovered having a Passover Seder—proving Ibn Verga’s claim of the marranos discovered before unleavened bread. However, the German account does not immediately relate the discovery to the clergy’s claims that their heretic act leads to a famine. Instead, the German account points to the Old Christian population wishing for them to be burned.

Yerushalmi continues the description of the German account and provides its explanation of what occurred inside of the convent. It is worth nothing that the German writer is the only writer from the various accounts that was present in the convent the day in which the miracle

69 In Francois Soyer’s article, The Massacre of the New Christians of Lisbon in 1506: A New Eyewitness Account, Gasper Correia’s account points to a German man who was a sailor from the Hanseatic League in Lisbon. There is no way to know if this is the same man as the one who wrote it, but it does display that indeed in 1506 there were Germans present in Lisbon; specifically, in the same part of Lisbon as the Convent of Sao Domingos. 70 Yerushalmi, The Lisbon Massacre of 1506, p. 70-71.

36 supposedly occurred; other writers of the account arrived at the scene once the violence had already begun. Interestingly, in the German’s description of the miracle, he outright claims that he saw no light nor any type of holy reflection. He also comments that not only did he not see it, but he asked his friends if the light and the miracle was created by the clergymen. Even though his friends are described as saying the light was most certainly there, the German’s doubts bring up a very vital detail to this discussion, especially since Ibn Verga himself claimed the entire miracle was a ruse. Thus, what are the chances two strangers from two different backgrounds, and who speak two different languages both express doubt of whether the miracle was a façade created by the clergy. While we may never know if the miracle was indeed a holy apparition or a

‘ruse’ created by the clergy, the fact of the matter is two separate accounts point to a doubt of validity that must be taken into account when deciding the clergy’s responsibility in inciting this violent scene.

Furthermore, the German account presents the words of disbelief one New Christian said inside of the convent surrounded by Old Christians: “How can a piece of wood work miracles?

Take water and wet it, and everything will be extinguished.”71 The exact words that were said vary from account to account, even with Ibn Verga claiming that the New Christian said: “Would that there were a miracle of water instead of fire, for in view of the drought it is water that we should rather need!”72 However, the conclusion to draw from this in both accounts there is a

New Christian who doubted the miracle verbally, and drew anger from the Old Christians who claimed them to be mocking. Thus, the account proceeds (exactly as the other accounts) of the

Old Christian people inside of the convent carrying the New Christian to the front steps and murdering him. The German account also points to the friars taking it upon themselves after the

71 Yerushalmi, The Lisbon Massacre of 1506, p. 10. 72 Ibid, p. 2.

37 murder to “preach an inflammatory sermon against the Jews.”73 Meanwhile, two other friars took a crucifix and urged the crowd to begin the murders with shouts of: “Heresy! Heresy…! Destroy this abominable people.” The German account then elaborates on this, pointing out that in the first 24 hours of the attack, over six hundred New Christians had been put to death in Lisbon.74

Analyzing the descriptions from both the Ibn Verga account and that of the German’s of the events that took place, the level in which the clergy took an active role in inciting the violence is abundantly clear.

The first Portuguese account I will include in this analysis is by Damião de Góis in his

Chronica do felicissimo rei Dom Emanuel. Góis was a Portuguese scholar, philosopher, and historian who grew up in the court of King Manuel I. Today, he is known for his chronicles of the history of Portugal, specifically of the reigns of the kings. In this particular four-part chronicle of King Manuel I, Góis wrote of the 1506 Lisbon massacre:75

In the monastery of Sao Domingos in this city discussed [Lisbon],

there was a chapel which they call Jesus, and in the chapel a crucifix,

upon which a sign was seen, that gave the color of a miracle, for which

the people within the church believed to be judged contrary to what one

New Christian quietly claimed to be a light lit next to the image of Jesus,

of which some men heard and removed him by the hair and dragged him

out of the church, where they killed, and quickly burned his body. An

73 Yerushalmi, The Lisbon Massacre of 1506, p. 10. 74 Ibid, p. 11. 75 Góis, Chronica do Felicissimo Rei Dom Emanuel, chapter CII: “No mosteiro de São Domingos da dita cidade está uma capela a que chamam de Jesus, e nela um crucifix, em que foi entao visto um sinal, a que davam cor de milagre, com quanto os que na igreja se acharam julgavam ser contrário dos quais um cristão-novo disse que lhe parecia uma candeia acesa que estava posta no lado da imagem de Jesus, o que, ouvindo alguns homens baixos o tiraram pelos cabelos a rasto fora da igreja, e o mataram, e queimaram logo o corpo no rocio. Ao qual alvoroço acudiu muito povo, a quem um frade fez uma pregaçao convocando-os contra os cristãos-novos… A esta turma de maus homens, e dos frades, que sem temor de Deus andavam pelas ruas concitando o povo a esta tamanha crueldade…matando e queimando sem nenhum temor a Deus assim a elas come a eles.”

act of which gathered many people, to which a friar then preached

against the New Christians… Then this group of bad men, and friars,

without fear of God walked about the streets inciting the people to this

immense cruelty… killing and burning without even the smallest fear of

God, both men and women.

Not only is it necessary to include an account of the massacre by a Portuguese source in order to represent the view of the Portuguese people, but Góis’ account in particular is vital due to his surprising choice of words regarding the description of those involved in the massacre. As a

Portuguese member of the upper class writing a history of King Manuel, one would not expect him to be against the actions of fellow Portuguese Christians. However, Góis chooses to describe the events within the church along with the push from the clergy for violence as: “group of bad men, and friars,” “without the fear of God,” and of “immense cruelty.” Góis’ statements serve as a blatant difference from the description provided by Gaspar Correia (discussed next) who makes sure to include in his narration the fact that the words of disbelief from the New Christian originated from sin. Thus, by reading Gòis’ account one can see that even amongst the

Portuguese themselves, some recognized the atrocities that the clergy were pushing for, and the level of cruelty that it ensued.

The clerical influence on and responsibility for the 1506 massacre does not end with the sermons instructing the start of the attacks. Beyond the push to start killing the New Christians, the clergy were also seen maintaining the violence when it appeared to die down during the three days. In order to display the push from the clergy to continue the mass murders, I will discuss the

Gaspar Correia’s Portuguese account found in François Soyer’s article, “The Massacre of the

New Christians of Lisbon in 1506: A New Eyewitness Account.”76 Soyer wrote this article in order to present an account of the 1506 events that had yet been discussed and analyzed by scholars. In the article, Soyer translates vital pieces of the account while also presenting the background history, and eventually comes to her own conclusions regarding what was depicted.

While Soyer presents an analysis of this account (he included important observations on the key similarities and differences in comparison to the accounts of Damiao Gois, Ibn Verga, and the anonymous German), he does not point to specifically the actions of the clergy and their incentivization of the attack.

The Portuguese account presented by Soyer was written by a chronicler named Gaspar

Correia. Correia wrote a manuscript called, Chronicas dos Reys de Portugal e sumarios das suas vidas com a historia das Indias e Armadas que se mandarom athe o anno de 1553, which narrates the lives of many Portuguese kings from 1365 to 1553. Correia is known for his published history of Lendas das Indias, however the work in question was never published and

“forgotten.”77 Soyer points to this lack of publication to the unfinished-ness of this manuscript, including most of the history being retold from other chroniclers. However, Correia presented a very detailed account of the events of 1506 in Lisbon, and very useful for this discussion of the clerical impact in maintaining the fervor of the attacks.

In Correia’s account, he described that the massacre began on Sunday morning and lasted until Monday night with full fervor. But early the next day it appeared as if the murdering had stopped:78

76 François Soyer, “The Massacre of the New Christians of Lisbon in 1506: A New Eyewitness Account,” (Cadernos de Estudos Sefarditas, no. 7) p. 231-243. 77 François Soyer, The Massacre of the New Christians of Lisbon, p. 233. 78 François Soyer, The Massacre of the New Christians of Lisbon, which includes his own translations on p. 229; the above direct English translations are mine; “…durou esta matamca asy ate segumda feyra per noyte que jaa parecya que ao outro dya nom mararyam huu frade do dicto musteiro de Sam Domygos… sahyo ha terça deira pola menhã com hua cruz de pao gramde aleuamtada em suas mãos e se foy pola cydade bradamdo aquy filhos pola fee de Jhesu

“…the killings lasted until Monday night when it already appeared as if

the next day they did not kill, a friar from the monastery of Saint

Domingos…left on Tuesday in the morning with his cross lit and raised

within his hands and went through the city calling out to sons by the faith

of Jesus Christ do not allow these Jews [to remain], and with him soon

appeared mass groups of killers and filled with love went this Tuesday In Correia’s description, one learns that not only did the clergy have a direct role in inciting until the hour of dinner…” violence, they made sure to keep it alive. Above all, as seen in Correia’s choice of words, the friar did not merely ask for the Old Christians to keep killing without giving them a sense of renewed purpose. Instead, the friar called to their faith in God, and to their place as sons who carry the faith of Jesus Christ. A call to action not because they were just protecting Lisbon or

Portugal, but because they were protecting their reputation in the eyes of God as the sons with the faith in Jesus Christ. Thus, if any Old Christian after the friar’s city-wide declarations chose not to join the masses murdering New Christians, they were not acting as sons in the faith of

Jesus Christ. This religious guilt and manipulation tactic, as can be expected, worked perfectly and as depicted above, a mass crowd of Old Christians began murdering with a new impassioned fervor.

As described in this section, the clerical influence over Jewish and New Christian position in the Portuguese early modern society is immense. The clergy established the tone and environment that would lead to the establishment of the Inquisition in 1536. The anti-Semitic riots and attacks that occurred in Portugal prior to 1536 all involved persecutory rhetoric created by clergy members. From very early on, the Portuguese clergy made certain to engrain in the

Christo nom fyque nenhu destes judeos com o que se logo ajumtaram gramdes cabyldas destes matadors e açezos em mor yra nesta terça feira ate oras de jamtar… “

41 psyche of Christian people the idea that any misfortune that might arise, it was because the Jews

(later New Christians) were allowed to reside in Portugal unchecked. From attributing famines to crypto-Jewish heresy to encouraging Lisbon Old Christians to murder thousands of New

Christians and pillage their homes, the indoctrination of anti-Semitism was ramped. The

Portuguese clergy’s role in dehumanizing Jewish and New Christians established the persecutory environment. An environment well versed in persecutory actions, and perfect for an institution such as the Holy Inquisition.

Old Christians, Mass Populace

As concluded in the previous section, the clergy had an irreparable effect on the attitude and belief system of Portugal’s population—specifically, Old Christians. With the influence from the clergy, one can track specific anti-Semitic actions made by Old Christians in the 15th and 16th centuries that established the road to the inquisition in 1536. In this section, I will analyze multiple primary source accounts of Old Christian’s actions that impacted Portugal’s descent to a society of persecution and anti-Semitism of the Holy Inquisition. The main influences on Old Christians were resentment of differing economic statuses, envy of protection from royal protection, and the drive to keep New Christians excluded from the rest of society.

The first manner in which old Christians contributed to the establishment of the

Inquisition was in their resentment of the Jewish community’s success and mobility within the

Portuguese economy. While many restrictions were in place on the Jewish communities, later the

New Christians, it did not stop them from succeeding as merchants, money lenders and even tax collectors. François Soyer, in his book The Persecution of the Jews and Muslims of Portugal, analyzed the end of religious tolerance for both Portuguese Muslims and Jews by the year of

1497: the year of the expulsion. However, for the purpose of this analysis, I will be referencing

Soyer’s findings and conclusions of the chapter called: “Jews and Muslims in the Economy.”79

Soyer begun his discussion by declaring that the Portuguese Jews were “…actively engaged in a wide-ranging number of economic activities that encompassed agriculture, artisanry, commerce, money-lending and tax farming,” also noting that, “…The Crown particularly appreciated the expertise of Jews in the production of weapons…”80 Soyer’s findings are imperative because they point to the wide range of economic success the Jews were able to have, despite their forced residence in the Judiarias. One would assume that because the Jews were alienated from the rest of the Portuguese communities, they would have had a difficult time participating in the economy. However, Soyer’s conclusion leads to another result—one of

Jewish economic success. In fact, Soyer established that Jewish artisans and business people traveled throughout the country to trade and sell their commerce.

Due to the trade mobility, documents from the commons of Parliament from 1472 have complaints from Old Christians of Jewish merchants supposedly not following appropriate fairs.81 Within the realm of Jew’s economic success, was their activity as money lenders and tax collectors. The extent to which this success reached is seen in Soyer’s sources displaying Jewish families lending and collecting money from the Portuguese Royal family. Information such as this does not excuse the resentment of Old Christians over economic differences, but it does provide valuable insight into why it was there to begin with. The consequences of such resentment are seen in the accounts of the 1506 massacre by both the German and Portuguese

Correia’s narrative. In both of these accounts, there is a discussion that the massacre did not end until the Old Christian mob was able to find a man named João Rodrigues Mascarenhas. While

79 Soyer, Persecution of the Jews and Muslims of Portugal, p. 72. 80 Ibid, p. 71. 81 Ibid, p. 74.

43 the massacre did not begin or occur solely because of the search for Mascarenhas, it is clear the

Lisbon Old Christians viewed it as an opportunity to conveniently remove a particular successful tax collector. Mascarenhas is referenced in the German account as the “head of all the Jews,”82 and in the Portuguese account by Gaspar Correia as a “prominent official and tax collector and therefore the focus of considerable public loathing.”83 These accounts of the actions of the Old

Christians prove that the resentment was acknowledged and known by Lisbon residents, and that it manifested itself physically in murder of New Christian Mascarenhas.

Along with resentment of economic status, Old Christians also revolted against any royal protections occasionally afforded to Jews (later New Christians). Anytime there was danger involving Jews and New Christians, the king or royal officials intervened. And while the protections and interventions were not significant enough to prevent attacks, murders, and pillaging that occurred—the mere fact that there was any intervention infuriated the Old

Christians and led to even more hatred and resentment towards New Christians. I will display this resentment through the 1449 riots, complaints regarding economic protections, and during the 1506 attacks.

One of the early demonstrations from Old Christians of their unhappiness regarding royal protections for the Jewish people is seen in the Crónica D. Afonso. An excerpt found in the chronicle is presented in the Marrano Factory, “In 1449 the corregedor of Lisbon had some

Christians publicly whipped for insulting Jews in the street. This sparked off a popular uprising and a raid on the principal Judiaria. The King, who was outside the city, rushed in with armed troops to quell the riot and ordered many of the mobsters hanged.”84 This situation described represents an occasion that would be seen for years after 1449. A situation in which the Christian

82 Yerushalmi, The Lisbon Massacre of 1506, p. 11. 83 Yerushalmi, The Lisbon Massacre of 1506, p. 11; soyer (Article) for the portuguese account on p. 230 84 Saraiva, Salomon, and Sassoon, The Marrano Factory, p. 7.

44 people publicly harassed or attacked Jews, and yet felt they had gotten unfair treatment by facing consequences from the king. The Christian’s expectation that the king should have recognized their superiority over the Jewish people is clear in this description and is an expectation that is seen throughout both 15th and 16th centuries.

Not only did the animosity appear post Jewish royal protections, but it also appeared when the king refused to acknowledge the Jewish people (supposed) unfair business procedures.

An instance of this is discussed in the Marrano Factory: the episode outlined is one documented in the Cortes of 1481-1482 and Saraiva described how the documents portrayed,

“…the voice of ‘good men’ representing the ‘common people,’ clamoring

for the dismissal of the Jews who levied the revenues of the crown ‘because

they were oppressing and despoiling the Christian population.’ But this time

the king, D. João II, replied that the Christian tax-farmers were greedier than

the Jews. Also heard was the complaint of the hand-workers, petitioning the

government not to permit Jewish tailors, shoemakers and other artisans to

work outside of the judiarias…Pressured by this uproar of ‘vox populi,” the

Crown…efficaciously defended the Jews, giving only verbal satisfaction to

their enemies.”85

As described above, this particular instance included both the Christian people’s resentment over the Jewish position within the economy but most importantly the King’s decision to ignore the complaints and protected the Jewish people instead. While it is clear that the King’s motive here was to maintain the revenue provided by the Jews, nevertheless, the protection was provided despite possible negative reactions from the Christian “vox populi.” One also may note the inclusion of the king giving only “verbal satisfaction to their [Jewish people] enemies.” It is clear

85 Saraiva, Salomon, and Sassoon, The Marrano Factory, p. 7.

45 by this statement that the king wished to avoid a riot or hatred from his Christian population and thus verbally claimed to understand the complaints regarding the Jews. However, in reality the

Jewish economic protections remained intact.

Furthermore, the resentment and anger that existed due to New Christians royal protections can also be found in the German account of the 1506 massacre:

“…He [German] relates that a group of New Christians who were celebrating

the Passover Seder in a private home had been denounced to the authorities by

one of their own… A magistrate and some constables suddenly broke into the

house while they were seated around the table. Sixteen of the New Christians

were arrested… In Abrantes the King was informed of what had occurred.

Two days later the imprisoned were released. It was rumored wildly and

plausibly, that their freedom that had been obtained through bribery or

influence of highly placed persons. This brought about a feeling of general

resentment. People said that the New Christians should have been burned.”86

This account also directly discussed the general sentiment that existed within the Old Christian community of unfair protections from the king for New Christians. But, the critical part of this account lies in the detail that the Old Christians not only resented the protections but believed that the New Christians had influences and bribery power over the king. As discussed previously,

Yerushalmi analyzed this vertical safety net for New Christians of reaching out past local authorities straight to the king. Thus, there was some truth to the Old Christian’s doubt of connections between the New Christians and the king. However, the critical fact is in the explicit manner in which Old Christian doubts and resentments are represented by the anonymous

German account. It proves that the Old Christians had some level of knowledge and suspicion of

86 Yerushalmi, The Lisbon Massacre of 1506, p. 9.

46 royal protections, and this allows for a deeper understanding of where the Old Christian hatred stemmed from.

It is important, however, to note that the royal protections provided to the Portuguese

Jews and New Christians did not point to a moral struggle over their wellbeing nor a belief that they were equal in social strata or hierarchy. After analyzing 15th and 16th century Portuguese history, there seemed to be constant ulterior motives for royal actions regarding the Portuguese

Jews. Ulterior motives such as economic protections for the country by maintaining their contributions, and to maintain order within the cities. The questionable motives for protections was expressed in the account of the 1506 massacre that displayed how the governor of Lisbon attempted to stop the massacre, not out of moral fear of the atrocities occurring there but in order to save the destruction of the city’s buildings: “…the Governor compromised. He told the people that they may go on killing the Jews, but they must not pillage anymore.”87 However, despite the question of the motives for royal protection, it does not change the fact that the protections did exist and caused extreme resentment from the Old Christians that manifested itself in various physical attacks.

87 Yerushalmi, The Lisbon Massacre of 1506, p. 15.

Conclusion

Portugal changed its attitude towards its Jewish people drastically during the 14th and 15th centuries. As a country that once accepted its Jewish population, many events occurred before it deserted the protection sentiment and moved to one of persecution of an inquisition. Naturally, the question of what led Portugal to abandon the co-existence of Judaism and Christianity and establish the inquisition. And while we no longer have many documents from this period due to events such as the 1755 fire of the Tower of Tombo (National Archives of Portugal), there are enough resources for scholars today to further research the history of the Portuguese Inquisition.

Thus, by using the documents and resources available to me, this thesis aimed at answering the above outlined question regarding what caused the deterioration of the Portuguese

Jewish status in Portuguese society and their persecution. Through the study of various accounts of the 1506 Lisbon massacre, legislative (Cortes) documents, letters from the Spanish monarchy, and Damião de Góis’ Chronica do Felicissimo Rei Dom Emanuel, I was able to pinpoint exact occurrences that directly caused the decision in 1536 to establish the inquisition. After lengthy research, I have concluded that the Spanish influence over Portugal’s decisions regarding its

Jews, the encouragement of anti-Semitism by the clergy, and the deterioration between the

Christian majority and the Jewish minority (later New Christians), compounded to create a society in which an inquisition would flourish.

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