Nadene Goldfoot
What is remembered about the Jews of Portugal is the 1492 Spanish Inquisition where the Jews were told to leave the country or convert. Many left, moving to Portugal, the nearest other country.
What we didn't know was this: Galicia (Spain) and Northern Portugal are deeply connected historically, culturally, and linguistically, sharing roots in the Roman province of Gallaecia, leading to a common Galician-Portuguese linguistic base and a strong cross-border identity, formalized today in the Galicia-North Portugal Euroregion. While they are now separate political entities (Galicia in Spain, Portugal a country), their shared past as a united realm under the Kingdom of Galicia and ongoing cultural exchange make them feel like close neighbors, with easy movement and mutual understanding. Galicia is not another name for Spain; it's a distinct, historic region and an autonomous community in the northwest of Spain, known for its unique Celtic culture, language (Galician), and traditions, differing from the broader Spanish national identity. Think of it like Texas within the USA – a part, but with its own character.
Nowhere are the ties between Spain and Portugal stronger than between Galicia and Northern Portugal. The two regions share a border, history, culture, language, and an economy. (Source: Real Instituto elcano Royal Institute.)Galicia is an autonomous community of Spain that was once known as the Kingdom of Galicia. It was at one time part of Portugal, causing the people of Galicia to have mixed Spanish and Portuguese ancestry. The region Galicia and northern Portugal incredibly also shares a language called Galician-Portuguese.
He is misunderstood by our Native Americans as his role brought the downfall of their world, allowing white man to invade. (Columbus Day and Thanksgiving are not their happy times).
However, Columbus did have seamen on board who were Jews getting out of town, so to speak. Jews on Columbus's voyage included Luis de Torres, a converso (forced convert) who served as interpreter, and other Jewish-stock members like surgeon Rodrigo Sanchez and physician Maestre Bernal, most fleeing the 1492 Spanish Inquisition, with some serving vital roles due to their skills in Hebrew/Arabic, while Jewish financiers and navigators like Abraham Zacuto also provided crucial support for the expedition. Crew Composition: While not the majority, a significant portion (some estimate 10-20%) of the crew had Jewish backgrounds, including diverse backgrounds like Moors, Irish, and Genoese.
Earlier Days
A Berber man Arabs, primarily Berber and Arab forces, began ruling parts of what is now Portugal from around 711 AD, following the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, and this "Moorish" rule lasted for roughly five centuries,
ending with the Christian Reconquista in the south (Algarve) by 1249, though Muslim communities lived on until their final expulsion in 1496, marking nearly 800 years of significant Islamic presence.
During this period from 711 to 1249, Jews had established themselves in the land of Portugal. When the Christian state was formed, there were communities in Lisbon, Beja, and Santa-rem. Little is known of themuntil the 13th century (1200s.) Conditions were generally tranquil, exceptriots in Lisbon in 1373 and Portugal escaped the wave of massacres thatengulfed Spain in 1391.
The community was closely organized by Alfonso III King of Portugal (1248-1279) in his own elaborate code, with a chief rabbi (Arrabi Mor). Afonso III of Portugal (reigned 1248–1279) generally fostered a period of relative tolerance for Jews, integrating them into the developing Portuguese society and economy, unlike later monarchs like Manuel I, who expelled them; Afonso III's reign saw charters (like in 1276 for Monsaraz) organizing Jewish communities and recognizing their presence within the growing kingdom, marking an era where Jewish populations contributed to administration and urban life before later persecutions.
In 1492, King John II (João II) was ruling Portugal; he reigned from 1481 until his death in 1495, known for strengthening the monarchy, boosting the economy, and continuing Portuguese exploration for a sea route to India. King John II of Portugal rejected Christopher Columbus's proposal for a westward voyage to Asia around 1484 and again in 1488, primarily because his expert advisors found Columbus's estimates for the Earth's circumference and distance to the Indies wildly inaccurate, while Portugal was successfully pursuing the eastern route around Africa. Despite this rejection and Columbus later finding Spanish backing, some historians, like Mascarenhas Barreto, theorize Columbus was a Portuguese agent, potentially even Portuguese himself, sent to mislead Spain, though this remains a debated theory. Columbus was a hidden Jew, first spoken about in Jewish Digest. He wrote letters to his son in Hebrew.
King João II, of Portugal, allowed Jews to enter. He was preparing for war against the Moors and he needed the taxes collected from these Jews to finance that war. He also was aware of the great talent of the Jews in many fields including the mechanics of arms making, which he hoped he would call upon and he did not want that talent to be available to the Moors. But his welcome was not complete. His bride to be would not have it.
After Jews were expulsed in 1492 from Spain, large numbers of the exileswere allowed to enter Portugal on payment of a poll-tax but many were subsequently detained in the county and sold as slaves. Manuel I, the King of Portugal in 1496 was Manuel I (the Fortunate), who reigned from 1495 to 1521, succeeding his cousin John II and overseeing a significant period of Portuguese exploration and empire-building, including the decree for the expulsion of Jews and Muslims that year. King Manuel I of Portugal, seeking to marry a Spanish princess and align with Spain's policies, decreed in 1496 that all Jews convert to Catholicism or leave Portugal; however, he then forcibly baptized them in 1497, preventing their departure and creating "New Christians" (Marranos), marking the end of open Jewish life in Portugal and paving the way for the brutal Portuguese Inquisition and persecution of these secret or suspected Jews for centuries.
The story is that he ordered the expulsion of the Jews from hisdominion on October 1496 in order to secure the hand of the Spanish Infanta but later changed hismind and had almost had the entire community converted by force in 1497.
- The Event: When Jews gathered at Lisbon's port to leave, they were met by priests and forcibly baptized en masse, rather than being allowed to depart freely.
- The Aftermath: Those who converted (the "New Christians") now Anusim, faced intense scrutiny and persecution from the Portuguese Inquisition for centuries, with many tortured or executed for secretly practicing Judaism.
Thus, a large body of (Marranos) was created in Portugal. Marranos were Spanish and Portuguese Jews who, facing forced conversion to Christianity (especially after 1492), outwardly became Catholic but secretly maintained Jewish beliefs and practices, becoming Crypto-Jews, a term often preferred as "Marrano" is derogatory, meaning "pig". They faced intense scrutiny from the Inquisition, practicing Judaism in secret for centuries, with descendants preserving traditions, often becoming a distinct cultural group, and some later returning to Judaism, notes Britannica and EBSCO. The newer, more respectful term used by many Jews for "Marrano" (a derogatory word for forced Iberian converts who practiced Judaism secretly) is Anusim (Hebrew for "forced ones") or Crypto-Jews, while Converso (neutral/academic for "convert") or New Christians are also common, but "Marrano" itself, meaning "swine," is largely avoided as it's insulting.
The Spanish Inquisition was introduced in the 16th century and the refugees who fled to escape it formed the "Portuguese" synagogues in London, AmsterdamNew York, etc, in the 16-17th centuries. At the close of the 18th century,Jews from Gibraltar and North Africa established themselves in Lisbon,though freedom of worship was permitted only after the Revolution of1910.
Askenazi immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe have arrived inrecent years. There was also for a time, a tiny community at Faro.Marranos with strong Jewish sympathies are still numerous in northernPortugal. A movement to rescue them was started in 1925, and in 1938,a synagogue was built as their religious center in Oporto. A large groupwas found in Belmonte, some of whom are returning to Judaism. Apartfrom the Anusim (Marranos) the Jewish population of Portugal was 300 (1990_mostly in Lisbon.
While exact numbers vary, Portugal's Jewish population is estimated to be around a few thousand, with recent reports suggesting figures from 3,000 to 6,000 people, primarily concentrated in Lisbon and Porto, experiencing growth due to the Sephardic citizenship law. The community, once very small after expulsions and the 1974 revolution, has seen an influx of descendants and others drawn by heritage and lifestyle, making it a growing, though still small, presence.
Resource:
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/jewish-expulsion-from-portugal/
