15th–17th centuries
Expulsion of Jews from Provence following annexation to France
1500-1501·Provence
The toll is reproduced exactly as the source states it — never rounded, never added to another. Tolls overlap from one event to the next.
baptism or departure
An independent county until its annexation by France, Provence had welcomed learned communities in Marseille, Arles, Aix, Tarascon, and Draguignan, which gave Hebrew philosophy and translation some of their greatest masters. The King of France extends to it the policy applied in the rest of the kingdom: the Jews must receive baptism or leave the country.
Many remained and converted; these families, long singled out and suspected, formed a distinct group within Provençal society. Others made their way to the Comtat Venaissin, a papal enclave where Jewish presence remained permitted and where the "four holy communities" survived until the Revolution.
- Period :
- 15th–17th centuries
- Type :
- Expulsion
- Region :
- Western Europe
- Country :
- France
Danièle Iancu-Agou, *Juifs et néophytes en Provence* ; Gérard Nahon, *Les Juifs du Languedoc, de la Provence et des États français du Pape*.