WI the timing and content of the Christian Spanish Kingdoms’ policies towards Jews were different?

raharris1973

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For examples of alternatives to OTL's policies:

a) WI Castille-Aragon chooses policies of toleration or ghetto-ization or a “Pale of Settlement” on the Jews of Spain instead of expulsion & later inquisition?

b) WI Kingdoms of Aragon, Castille, Leon and Portugal follow a policy of expelling Jews 200, 300 or 500 years before 1492?

over the 700 year reconquista process local expulsions of Jews and pogroms sometimes occurred, but if I recall correctly, large Jewish communities were still tolerated in Christian ruled kingdoms, in the midst of a peninsula divided between frequently fighting Christian and Muslim states. In other words, it's not like the Jewish population was routinely expelled as each portion of the peninsula was brought under Christian rule, rather mass expulsion only became the policy once the last Muslim Kingdom was conquered.

What if we end up with no final expulsion, but other alternatives?

Or, on the other hand, the final expulsion/zero tolerance policy is adopted by Christian Kingdoms much earlier.
 
If a massive, intolerant empire like the Almohads still controlled the south, the Christian Spaniards would have continued to allow the Sephardic Jews significant autonomy and privileges, to get that economic/social advantage against the Almohads. Once the Reconquista ends though, it seems inevitable that expulsion and inquisition would occur.
 
Had spain kept its jews, it could have profited even more from its colonialism with their advice: Gold that was used for regalia and status could instead be used to commerce and employ workers and tools for production, reform, military improvement, and so on. And the jews' banking capabilities could be of some interest to spain. When the jews were banished from spain, they took their wealth with them.
A possible PoD for this could be Ferdinand of Aragon being a bit more influential and imposive than his wife, possibly allowing the jews to stay (with conditions). Silas-Coldwine did a very good scenario with this PoD:

http://silas-coldwine.deviantart.com/art/Madrid-Aeterna-220871144
 
Had spain kept its jews, it could have profited even more from its colonialism with their advice: Gold that was used for regalia and status could instead be used to commerce and employ workers and tools for production, reform, military improvement, and so on. And the jews' banking capabilities could be of some interest to spain. When the jews were banished from spain, they took their wealth with them.
A possible PoD for this could be Ferdinand of Aragon being a bit more influential and imposive than his wife, possibly allowing the jews to stay (with conditions). Silas-Coldwine did a very good scenario with this PoD:

http://silas-coldwine.deviantart.com/art/Madrid-Aeterna-220871144

I think a key person to eliminate here is Torquemada. He was the one who burst in on the interview with the Jews and turned Isabel against it, by throwing his crucifix at her head and shouting at her: "Judas sold Christ for thirty pieces of silver, and now you will do the same". Then Torquemada was the one who also orchestrated that the Jews were to leave Spain without material possessions, only their wealth, by the same day as the destruction of the Temple is commemorated in the Jewish calendar.
 

raharris1973

Gone Fishin'
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How important was Spanish policy in browbeating or inspiring the Portuguese to convert/expel their Jews? Was Portugal a temporary stop for Spanish Jews before expulsion became Lisbon's policy?
 
How important was Spanish policy in browbeating or inspiring the Portuguese to convert/expel their Jews? Was Portugal a temporary stop for Spanish Jews before expulsion became Lisbon's policy?

The reason we expelled the Jews was because Manuel wanted to marry Isabella and the Catholic Kings demanded we expelled them so they are one of the main causes for we kicking them out.
 
The main problem there, is eventually less the Castillan mindset on Jews, than the decline of the political and social status of Jews since the XIIIth century.

Simmarizing this

The Fourth Council of Latran, for instance, definitely consider Jews as akin to heretics for their treatment, highlighting "the threat these were supposed to represent for society [let's recall that in MA, religion is the main social referent. Going against or turning away was seen as damaging the communauty as a whole], imposing them discriminatings features [not unlike what existed in Islamic Middle Ages or in earlier Byzantium. It would be interesting to see how the reuse of roman law happening at the same period didn't favoured that]. At this date began to disappear the previous housing that was more mixed (in town as in countryside) with co-existance of both communauties.
While in the XIIth, Christian scholars (that are divided on this : some support the expulsions and discriminations, other plaid for the former one) tried to read Jewish religious texts openly and "objectivly", these are now burnt. The situation didn't stop to degradate at this point" [emphasis mine]

In the same time, Jews status change and they are now considered as belonging to a secular authority rather than to their own. Eventually,the feudal management of Jewish communauties was diverse : "They defended firmly what they considered to be theirs, but when they ceased to be useful, they were abandoned" at the same time that Jewish communaites began to loose the social and economical importance they had earlier.

Of course it didn't happened overnight and coming from nowhere, the reintroduction of roman law as it happened IOTL lined up heresy and lease-majesty. But my point is more to deal with the general trend in Europe, rather than dealing with pontcual events that could, with such background, eventually repeat itself easily.

Now, I think you could have something like Jews situation in mediterranean Europe up to the XVIth/XVIIth century lasting in Spain rather than blunt expulsion and violent repression (I mean, even for XVth standards) : basically Jewish communauties more or less integrated into a broader social life (altough clearly being isolated socially and territorially), but without great changes in classical Middle-Ages, it's still going to be holding to a thread.
 
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