Expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492

The Ninth of Av of the year 1492 was the date designated for all Jews of Spain to leave the country. This mass expulsion was a disaster of a magnitude that we can barely imagine. The horrors that those Jews experienced are not diminished by the centuries that have passed.

Dr. David Raphael has collected accounts from those who personally lived through these events. He has translated them into English from the original Hebrew, Spanish and Portuguese, and collected them into a unique volume entitled, "The Expulsion 1492 Chronicles." We include here a few excerpts to help you better understand this tragic time in Jewish history.

The Expulsion 1492 Chronicles

For Further Reading:

The Expulsion 1492 Chronicles

An anthology of medieval chronicles relating to the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and Portugal. Selected and edited by David Raphael.

The Alhambra Decree

A historical novel about the 1492 expulsion of the Jews from Spain. Written by David Raphael.

The Cavalier of Malaga

A historical adventure novel about Converso life in 15th century Inquisitional Spain. Written by David Raphael.

(7) Reuben Arlen, December 22, 2012 7:02 PM

Did many or any of the Jews expelled from spain go to England?

Did many or any of the Jews expelled from Spain go to England?

(6) Anonymous, June 29, 2010 8:13 PM

source for the ninth of Av being the date of expulsion? i know its tempting to says otherwise, but i learned that all Jews were expelled by the eighth of Av.

anonymous, September 21, 2011 5:01 PM

I would like to find out about the Zayas (Jews that were not wanted in Spain,and settled in Cerro Gordo, San lorenzo Puerto Rico.

(5) Moshe Z. Hoch, October 7, 2008 9:11 AM

Excerpt Int'l Herald Tribune, November 5, 2006

"We've gone from a period of pillaging the Jews and then suppressing and ignoring their patrimony to a period of rising curiosity and fascination," said Ana María López, the director of the Sephardic Museum in Toledo, a hub of Jewish life before the Jews were expelled or forced to convert to Christianity in 1492 during the Inquisition. Cities and towns across Spain are searching for the remains of their medieval synagogues, excavating old Jewish neighborhoods and trying to identify Jewish cemeteries. Scholars say they are overwhelmed with requests from local governments to study archaeological findings and ancient documents that may validate a region's Jewish heritage.

(4) Adela, August 9, 2008 9:22 PM

Where are they now?

Like so many other evil, foolish countries that chase the blessings out of their country...

(3) Rena, July 24, 2007 12:04 PM

The expulsion of the Jews

Everybody is aware of the golden ages the Jews enjoyed before decrees of death and expulsion were made against them.We see this in the Inquisition,in Germany before the Holocaust and in other counries aorund the world.Jews of America 'The Golden Medina', should awaken to history repeating itself. True,now our people enjoy material success and good neighbors.But all galus must come to the end,so I call you to join us in the land of Israel,before its too late. The thought 'this would never happen to us' resounds in history.

(2) Chava, July 22, 2004 12:00 AM

An interesting thought about 1492.

I have heard theories that Christopher Columbus was really seeking a place for the jews to go. I often think they may have been true.

(1) David S. Levine, July 13, 2004 12:00 AM

The Past is Prolouge

The expolusion from Spain was the culmination of hatred and dehumanization that was going on in Spain for hundreds of years before 1492. Ghettoization, pogroms and forcible conversions were the norm there before that sad year. The worst of all were those born Jews who turned on the Jewish People with a viciousness which would have done any "Judenrat" member proud. It is no accident that Thomas de Torquemada had a born Jewish grandmother.

Having rid Spain of professing Jews the anti-Jewish forces then turned on the converts to Christianity and their descendants. The Inquisition was a self-financing bureaucracy, just like the SS which learned so much from it, right down to how to define who and what a Jew was and certificates of pure blood.

From the Inquisition, to the Nazis and Communists to the Arab Islamists and their friends the Democrats--especially those who were born Jews, it's a bloody history!