Forced conversion and the Marranos (crypto-Jews)

The Marranos — a historically pejorative term, today often replaced by Conversos or crypto-Jews — designates the Jews of the Iberian Peninsula converted to Christianity, willingly or by force, and their descendants suspected of continuing secretly to practice Judaism. The phenomenon took on massive proportions after the pogroms and conversions of 1391, then during the expulsion of 1492 in Spain and the forced conversion of 1497 in Portugal. To track down these "Judaizers," the Spanish monarchy instituted the Inquisition in 1478, which conducted trials, resorted to torture, and organized autos-da-fé. Many Conversos emigrated to more tolerant lands — Amsterdam, the Ottoman Empire, Italy, southwestern France, or the American colonies — where some returned openly to Judaism. Studied from Europe to Mexico and Brazil, crypto-Judaism raises profound questions about identity, Memory, and the clandestine transmission of a faith across generations.

Sources & resources

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