Changes

An Inquisition had existed in Aragón since 1232, when Pope [[Gregory IX]] had issued the [[Papal Bull]] ''[[Declinante]]'', although Castile had never had an Inquisition and Granada was an independent [[Islam]]ic stronghold. In 1474 Isabella  succeeded to the throne of Castile and her husband Ferdinand to that of Aragón in 1479. They made a political decision to force religious conformity across all three regions, and the enforced conversion of the Jewish and Muslim population were crucial to their aim.

An Inquisition had existed in Aragón since 1232, when Pope [[Gregory IX]] had issued the [[Papal Bull]] ''[[Declinante]]'', although Castile had never had an Inquisition and Granada was an independent [[Islam]]ic stronghold. In 1474 Isabella  succeeded to the throne of Castile and her husband Ferdinand to that of Aragón in 1479. They made a political decision to force religious conformity across all three regions, and the enforced conversion of the Jewish and Muslim population were crucial to their aim.

Spanish Jews had been persecuted since the 7th century, but the persecution reached new heights in the 13th and 14th centuries. In 1235 Jews were forced to wear a yellow circular patch for easier identification. In 1391 massacres of Jewish communities began, in Majorca, Aragón and Seville (where at least 4000 were killed).<ref>'''Kamen, Henry''', ''The Spanish Inquisition'', New York: New American Library (1965).</ref> Tens of thousands of Jews converted to Christianity to escape death, but the sincerity of these ''conversos''  was questioned. Ferdinand and Isabella, along with the rest of the ruling elite believed that the Jews and the ''conversos'' posed a genuine threat to their power and saw a full Inquisition as a means of reasserting the predominance of the aristocracy. The Jews who did not become conversos, were forced to leave Spain. This expulsion, in the main, took place in 1492, the year that Columbus, financed in part by confiscated Jewish wealth, discovered America. They fled mainly to the countries around the Mediterraenean - North Africa, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, as well as to Holland. From Holland, they went to the Americas. They are called Sephardic Jews, as they continued speaking the language of Spain, Spain being called in the Hebrew language, Sepharad.

Spanish Jews had been persecuted since the 7th century, but the persecution reached new heights in the 13th and 14th centuries. In 1235 Jews were forced to wear a yellow circular patch for easier identification. In 1391 massacres of Jewish communities began, in [[Majorca]], Aragón and Seville (where at least 4000 were killed).<ref>'''Kamen, Henry''', ''The Spanish Inquisition'', New York: New American Library (1965).</ref> Tens of thousands of Jews converted to Christianity to escape death, but the sincerity of these ''conversos''  was questioned. Ferdinand and Isabella, along with the rest of the ruling elite believed that the Jews and the ''conversos'' posed a genuine threat to their power and saw a full Inquisition as a means of reasserting the predominance of the aristocracy. The Jews who did not become conversos, were forced to leave Spain. This expulsion, in the main, took place in 1492, the year that Columbus, financed in part by confiscated Jewish wealth, discovered America. They fled mainly to the countries around the Mediterraenean - North Africa, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, as well as to Holland. From Holland, they went to the Americas. They are called Sephardic Jews, as they continued speaking the language of Spain, Spain being called in the Hebrew language, Sepharad.

==Tomás de Torquemada==

==Tomás de Torquemada==