Marrano facts for kids

Marranos: A secret Passover Seder in Spain during the times of Inquisition. An 1893 painting by Moshe Maimon.

Marranos was a name given to Spanish and Portuguese Jews who lived in Spain and Portugal during the Middle Ages. These people were either forced to become Christian or chose to convert to Christianity. However, they secretly continued to practice their Jewish faith. This secret practice is called Crypto-Judaism.

The word marrano specifically referred to those who secretly practiced Judaism. The term converso was used for all Jewish people who converted to Catholicism, whether they practiced Judaism in secret or not. Converts from Judaism or Islam were also called "New Christians."

The term marrano became more common after 1492. This was when the Castilian Alhambra Decree was issued. This law made it illegal to practice Judaism in Spain. All remaining Jews had to convert to Christianity or leave the country. The idea was that if they didn't become good Christians, their children would.

By 1492, many Jews in Spain had already converted to Catholicism. This happened partly due to pressure from events like the Massacre of 1391. Hundreds of thousands of people were conversos. The Spanish Inquisition watched them closely. Many Catholics suspected them of secretly practicing Judaism, which was called "Marranism."

Today, the word "marrano" can be seen as offensive. Some scholars prefer to use "crypto-Jew" instead.

What Does "Marrano" Mean?

First Cemetery of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, Shearith Israel (1656–1833), in Manhattan, New York City

The exact origin of the word marrano is debated. There are a few ideas about where it came from.

One idea is that it comes from an Arabic word, muḥarram, which means "forbidden" or "illicit." In some contexts, this Arabic word also means "swine" or "pork." This might have been used to show how much some people disliked the converts. It could also suggest that converts were still loyal to Judaism, which has dietary laws against pork.

Another idea is that marrano comes from the Spanish verb "marrar." This word means "to deviate" or "to err." This would mean that the converts were seen as straying from their new Christian faith by secretly practicing Judaism.

A third idea suggests it comes from Galician-Portuguese. In this language, marrar means "to force." So, marrano could mean "forced one," referring to the forced conversions.

How Many People Converted?

In the late 1300s and early 1400s, more than half of the Jews in Spain and Portugal converted to Christianity. This helped them avoid the Decree of Expulsion in 1492. This decree forced the remaining openly Jewish people to leave Spain.

Historians have debated how many people converted. A study in 2008 looked at DNA. It suggested that about 20% of the people in Spain and Portugal might have Jewish ancestors. This could mean that many more people converted than previously thought. However, the study also noted that other groups from the Near East could also explain these DNA results.

Marranos in Portugal

Some Portuguese conversos continued to practice Judaism in secret. These were the crypto-Jews. In the early 1900s, a historian named Samuel Schwartz found crypto-Jewish communities in northeastern Portugal. These communities, like the one in Belmonte, had managed to keep their traditions for over 400 years.

The last crypto-Jewish community in Belmonte officially returned to Judaism in the 1970s. They opened a synagogue in 1996.

There have been documentaries about these communities. In 1974, "The Marranos of Portugal" showed how families still practiced Jewish customs in secret. Another film, "The Last Marranos," was made in 1997.

After Jews and Muslims were expelled from Spain (1492) and forced to convert in Portugal (1497), conversos were often suspected. In 1506, a plague in Lisbon led people to look for someone to blame. Some suspected conversos were secretly practicing Judaism.

A riot broke out in Lisbon from April 19 to 21, 1506. This event is known as the Lisbon massacre. Mobs attacked and killed conversos. Even Old Christians who were connected to New Christians were attacked.

King Manuel punished those who took part in the killings. The leaders of the riot and the priests who encouraged it were executed. The king also gave religious freedom to all conversos for 20 years as a form of apology.

The king began to think that a Portuguese Inquisition might help control such violence. The conversos tried to prevent this, spending large amounts of money to influence church leaders. However, the Inquisition was finally established in Portugal in 1536. It gained the power to take away property in 1579, just like the Spanish Inquisition.

Conversos suffered greatly from both mob violence and questioning by the Inquisition. There were attacks and murders in many towns. In 1562, some religious leaders asked for conversos to wear special badges and live in separate areas called ghettos.

Marranos in Spain

In Spain, anti-Jewish policies led to violence in 1391. The Jewish quarter of Seville was attacked. Other cities like Ecija, Córdoba, and Barcelona also saw their Jewish areas destroyed and people killed.

It's believed that about 200,000 Jews converted to Christianity to save their lives during these attacks. Others left the country. Around 100,000 openly practicing Jews remained in Spain.

Feelings against conversos grew over time. In 1449, a riot broke out in Toledo. Mobs looted and burned the homes of wealthy conversos. Another riot happened in Toledo in 1467, where 1,600 houses of New Christians were burned.

In 1473, tensions rose in Córdoba. A small incident led to a mob attacking conversos, calling them heretics. They killed people and burned their houses. The rioting lasted three days. Similar attacks happened in many other Spanish cities.

The Inquisition and Conversos

Tens of thousands of Jews were baptized in the three months before the 1492 expulsion deadline. Many did this to avoid leaving Spain, not because they truly changed their faith. These conversos became the main focus of the Spanish Inquisition. If they were suspected of still practicing Judaism, they could be arrested and put on trial.

Some conversos fled to Navarre to escape the Inquisition. Tudela in Navarre became a safe place for them. The people of Tudela even said they would throw any inquisitor into the Ebro river.

The most intense period of persecution for conversos lasted until 1530. After that, the number of conversos trials decreased. However, there was a rise in accusations again in the late 1500s. Some conversos who had fled to Portugal returned to Spain, escaping the Portuguese Inquisition. This led to more trials for crypto-Jews. In 1691, 37 chuetas (conversos from Majorca) were burned in public ceremonies called autos-da-fé.

By the 1700s, the number of conversos accused by the Inquisition dropped significantly. The last person tried for being a crypto-Jew in Spain was in 1818.

Relations Between Conversos and Jews

The conversos in Spain strongly opposed the Spanish Inquisition. They held important jobs in the government, finance, and military. The government tried to keep traditional Jews and conversos separate. However, Jews and New Christians often stayed in touch.

The government accused Jews of trying to convince conversos to return to Judaism. They said Jews taught conversos about Jewish laws and customs. They provided them with prayer books, explained fast days, and helped them get kosher meat and unleavened bread for Passover. These accusations were a main reason for the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492. Jews who did not want to leave had to be baptized.

Some historians, like Henry Kamen, question how strong these links really were. He suggests that Jews sometimes even testified against conversos when the Inquisition started. This topic is still debated by historians today.

Where Did Marranos Go?

Many conversos who secretly practiced Judaism felt threatened by the Inquisition. They chose to leave Spain. Many moved to Italy, where the climate and language were similar. They settled in cities like Ferrara, Florence, and Livorno. They were often welcomed for their skills in trade and business. In some Italian cities, they could openly practice Judaism again.

Some conversos also went to Dubrovnik, a seaport in Croatia. In 1544, a ship full of Portuguese refugees landed there.

To the Americas

During the 1500s and 1600s, some conversos moved to the Americas. They often went to Spanish territories like Mexico, Peru, and Argentina. It was difficult to legally move to the New World without proving Christian ancestry for three generations. However, many conversos found ways to get around these rules.

To France

After the 1492 expulsion from Spain, about 3,000 Jews came to Provence, France. In 1501, the king of France ordered the expulsion of Jews from Provence. Those who stayed had to convert to Christianity. These converts and their children faced discrimination.

To Portuguese India

Some New Christians went to India, especially to Jewish communities like the Cochin Jews. Others became very important in the spice and gem trade between Portugal and India. This made some Catholic clergy angry. The Goa Inquisition was set up in 1560 to deal with suspected crypto-Jews in India.

Other Migrations

There wasn't a huge wave of conversos leaving Spain. Most Sephardic communities, like the one in Salonika, were formed by Jews who left Spain in 1492. However, some crypto-Jewish Marranos steadily left to find places where they could practice their faith freely.

They also moved to Flanders (modern-day Belgium), and then to cities like Hamburg and Altona around 1580. They formed communities there and kept business ties with their old homes. Some even went as far as Scotland.

In the early 1600s, the king of Spain allowed New Christians to sell their property and leave the country freely. Many took this chance and went to North Africa and Turkey. But after a few years, this permission was taken away, and the Inquisition continued its work.

Some conversos moved to London. From there, their families spread to Brazil and other colonies in the Americas. Migrations to places like Constantinople (Istanbul) and Thessaloniki (where Jewish refugees had settled after the Spanish expulsion) continued into the mid-1700s. They also went to Italy, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Vienna, and Timișoara.

Marranos Today

In recent times, Spain has started to recognize the contributions of Jewish and Muslim people to its culture. There is new research on Sephardic Jews and the effects of conversion and expulsion. The Spanish government has also made efforts to welcome tourists with Jewish and Moorish ancestry.

Spain has made it easier for Sephardi Jews to gain Spanish citizenship. In 2012, the requirement for them to live in Spain for a certain number of years was removed completely.

In 2004, Rabbi Shlomo Moshe Amar visited Portugal. He met descendants of Jewish families who were persecuted by the Inquisition and still practice Judaism in secret. This was a historic meeting. Rabbi Amar promised to create a committee to help these communities. This led to the creation of a second Jewish community in Lisbon, Comunidade Judaica Masorti Beit Israel, to help these descendants be recognized as Jews.

In Literature

• Richard Zimler, The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon, The Overlook Press, ISBN: 9781585670222
• Richard Zimler, Hunting Midnight, Delacorte, ISBN: 9780385336444
• Richard Zimler, Guardian of the Dawn, Constable & Robinson, ISBN: 9781845290917
• Antonio Muñoz Molina, Sepharad, Harvest Books, ISBN: 9780156034746
• David Liss, The Coffee Trader, Abacus, ISBN: 978-0349115009

See also

In Spanish: Marrano (judeoconverso) para niños

Jews in Iberia