Les Juifs des Acores (Portugal)

In the Azores, a Portuguese Atlantic archipelago, New Christians (cristãos-novos), descendants of Jews forcibly converted in Portugal, settled from the early modern period onward. Subject to Inquisition surveillance, some quietly preserved crypto-Jewish practices on several islands. In the nineteenth century, after the abolition of the Inquisition, Jews coming notably from North Africa settled on the islands, founding communities and cemeteries, particularly in Ponta Delgada and Angra. These communities remained small and eventually ceased to exist through emigration and assimilation, leaving heritage vestiges behind.

Sources & resources

• Encyclopaedia Judaica — 2e éd., Keter/Macmillan
• Jewish Virtual Library ↗