La Expulsion De Los Judios De Espana

An analysis of the status of the Jews in medieval Spain, and the process of gestation which led to the general expulsion of 1492. States that the Jews were allowed to live in the Christian kingdoms, not out of tolerance but due to sheer economic necessity, and with the expectation of their future conversion. They were segregated and persecuted through special legislation, their image was negatively stereotyped (e.g. cowards, usurers), they were prey to religious and physical violence (e.g. Talmud burning, theological disputations, forced conversion, pogroms), and were harassed by the Inquisition. All these built up to the point that the Christian conscience perceived the Jews as a collective danger to be eliminated altogether.