Jews Expelled from Spain

In 1492, the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, issued the Alhambra Decree, ordering all practicing Jews in their kingdoms to convert to Christianity or leave. The edict ended more than a thousand years of continuous Jewish presence on the Iberian Peninsula and sent tens of thousands of people into exile. Many resettled in the Ottoman Empire, where they reshaped the Jewish communities of cities such as Istanbul, Salonica, and Izmir.

The decree followed a long decline in the position of Spanish Jews. Medieval Iberia had been home to one of the world's largest and most culturally productive Jewish communities, which flourished under Muslim and later Christian rulers. But anti-Jewish feeling grew sharply in the late fourteenth century, culminating in the violent riots of 1391, after which many Jews converted, often under pressure. These converts, known as conversos, were frequently suspected of secretly keeping Jewish practices. In 1478 the monarchs established the Spanish Inquisition, initially to investigate such cases. The completion of the conquest of Granada in January 1492 gave the crown a newly unified Catholic realm and fresh momentum for religious uniformity.

The Alhambra Decree was signed in late March 1492, and Jews were given a few months to depart. They could sell property but were barred from taking gold, silver, or coin out of the country, so many sold land and homes quickly and at a loss. Estimates of how many left vary widely, with figures around 100,000 to 200,000 commonly cited, and historians still debate the numbers. A substantial portion of Spain's Jews also chose baptism and stayed. Others went to Portugal, where refuge proved short-lived, since the Portuguese crown forced conversion in 1496-97. Further exiles found homes in North Africa, Italy, and the Low Countries.

The Ottoman Empire became one of the main destinations. Sultan Bayezid II is traditionally said to have welcomed the exiles, and the empire generally allowed non-Muslim communities to govern their religious life in exchange for special taxes. The newcomers brought languages, trade networks, and skills, and their descendants, the Sephardim (from the Hebrew word for Spain), maintained a Spanish-derived language, Ladino, for centuries. Salonica in particular became a major Jewish center.

For Spain, the expulsion meant the loss of a skilled minority, though its precise economic effect is debated. Suspicion of conversos continued, and later rules emphasizing "purity of blood" extended discrimination. Spain formally revoked the decree only in 1968, and in 2015 it passed a law offering citizenship to descendants of the expelled Sephardim.