Edict of Expulsion from Spain

What does the account of the Italian Jew tell us about the last days of Spanish Jewry?

This account tells us that the Spanish Jews were not only expelled from Spain, but they were to begin packing up during one of the highest holy days of the year, which shows enormous disrespect for the religion of the expelled.  The treatment of the Jews in the last days of Spanish Jewry was extremely unfair and cruel.  They had a once Jewish, Christian heretic forced on them to be their leader.  When the Jewish people tried to arrange a deal in order for them to stay in the country, the Queen had the audacity to say that it was God’s will to expel the Jews—that the King was just following God’s direction.  When the Jews saw that the King was not going to buy into this agreement and that he was going to go against them instead, the Jewish people gave up hope and were forced to sell everything at a ridiculously low cost.  Not only that, but they weren’t even allowed to bring any silver or gold out of the country, even the money that they had gotten for their homes and other material items.  The Jews had no choice but to exchange their money for clothing and other things.

What was the precipitating event that led to the order of expulsion?

The precipitating event that led to the order of expulsion was when the Jews tried to get the Marranos to stick with the Jewish religion, and because of this, they were incapable of becoming good Christians.

Who were the leaders of the Jews at that time and what did they do in response to the order? For example, what were the contrasting responses of Don Abraham Seneor and Don Isaac Abravanel?

While Don Abraham Seneor and Don Isaac Abravanel both pushed for the arrangement to keep the Jews in Spain, their responses were both very different.  Don Isaac Abravanel did not turn his back on his people.  He joined them in the expulsion and was an equal.  Don Abraham Seneor was a heretic and so he sold out his own blood by converting, just to stay in Spain and gain power.

Where did the refugees go? How were they treated in Portugal, in Morocco, in Genoa, in Naples, and in  Turkey? How did their fellow Jews deal with them?

One hundred and twenty five thousand fled to Portugal and within a very short time, they became slaves.  The King of Portugal also banished seven hundred children to the isle of St. Thomas where they all died.  Many of them also fled to Northern Africa where fellow North African Jews treated them very well and helped them a great deal.  When Genoa got word of the expulsion, ships went to Spain to take the Jews away.  They were treated terribly on the ship and in Genoa.  Jews were robbed, Jewish babies were taken away from their mothers, and some Jews were even given to pirates.  In Naples, the Jews were treated very kindly by the King and by local Jewish people who both helped them with money and food as best as they could.  The local Jews actually sent the Spanish Jews around Italy to collect money.  Sadly, because there were so many Spanish Jews, all of the help from the Marranos, the King, the local Jews, and the Dominican monks was not enough and a plague spread.  Many exiled Spanish Jews went to Turkey.  On the ship to Turkey, many of them were drowned but once they arrived in Turkey they were treated almost like kings.  The King of Turkey gave them food, money, land, and estates on an island.  Some of the other places that the Spaniards fled to include: the March, Romagna, Ferrera, Rome, and Patrimonium.