Jews Driven From Spain

On 31 March 1492 the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella issued the Alhambra Decree, ordering the expulsion of all Jews from the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon. The edict came in the same year that Granada, the last Muslim kingdom in Iberia, fell to Christian forces, capping a long campaign to impose religious uniformity on the Spanish realms, reinforced by the workings of the Spanish Inquisition.

Jews were given until the end of July 1492 to convert to Christianity or leave the country. Some accepted baptism and remained, but tens of thousands—estimated by many historians at over 100,000—chose exile rather than abandon their faith. The refugees scattered across the Mediterranean world: many found refuge in the Ottoman Empire, which welcomed them, while others crossed into neighboring Portugal or settled in North Africa and Italy.

The expulsion ended one of the oldest and most flourishing Jewish communities in Europe, the Sephardim, whose presence in Iberia stretched back centuries. The exiles carried their language, traditions, and skills abroad, enriching the lands that received them, while Spain lost a significant portion of its merchant and professional class. The decree remained a defining act of the era's drive toward enforced Catholic orthodoxy.