Judaism in Portugal

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The History of the Jews in Portugal begins with the arrival of the first Jews probably as early as the 6th century. Chr.

In the synagogue of Tomar
Fountain in the Jewish quarter of Castelo de Vide

history

Antiquity

According to unconfirmed historical assumptions, the first Jews came as early as the 6th century BC. At the time of King Nebuchadnezzar III. , on the Iberian Peninsula. The presence of Jews has been archaeologically proven since the first centuries of our era. In the German-speaking area mostly Jews streets named later existed Judiarias (dt .: Jewish quarter) designated area in Portugal already in the time of the Moors in Al-Andalus .

middle Ages

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In the 16th century they formed a rather small group that were organized in so-called comunas (German: communes) and lived in the cities. With the small group of wealthy bankers, merchants and public officials, the larger group of artisans (especially tailors, blacksmiths, goldsmiths and shoemakers) and the smaller group of poor poor people, they had formed at least three social groups. They had to live in quarters separated from the Christians by walls or fences, the Judiarias , whose gates were locked at night, but in which they had their synagogues and their community life. The Islamic quarters outside the city walls were called Mouraria (after Mouros , Portuguese for: Moors).

After the Catholic kings Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon had expelled the Jews with the Alhambra Edict in 1492, while the Jewish communities in Portugal had lived comparatively undisturbed until then, over 50,000 Jews came across the border to Portugal, against payment of considerable sums of money to the Portuguese crown. However, King João II only allowed them into the country for eight months. Many Jews then left Portugal, others were imprisoned, and only 600 of the richest and most powerful were granted residence permits.

Memorial plaque in Porto for the expulsion of the Jews in 1496

King Manuel I released the imprisoned Jews in 1495, but decided a year later to expel them, under pressure from Castile and the Inquisition. From December 1496 to October 1497 almost all Jews were either baptized or cruelly expelled, at the same time as the Muslims who were also deported. Manuel I wanted to forbid all children under 14 from leaving the country in April 1497, whereupon thousands of Jews were baptized again in order to keep children and property. From then on, they were called New Christians (Portuguese: novos-cristãos) and Marranos and officially left in peace due to constantly renewed laws. However, they were forbidden to use rights, public offices and marrying into noble families. In addition, it was likely to pogroms against them, especially around Easter 1506 in Lisbon, where about 2,000 New Christians in the massacre of Lisbon perished. Some of the New Christians , who grew up without parents, were abducted to the Gulf of Guinea to settle Ano Bom ( Annobón ) and São Tomé . Wealthy Jews participated in the lucrative financing of the emerging Indian trade and new expeditions. In 1534 the laws for their protection finally expired and their number continued to decrease, especially with the arrival of the Inquisition in Portugal (1531 and 1536).

In connection with the increasing rivalry between Arabs and the Portuguese , who had risen to become world power, mutual intolerance, which was officially justified on religious grounds, increased. With the Muslims, the remaining Marranos had to leave Portugal in increasing numbers. The situation eased somewhat with the personal union and the temporary loss of Portuguese independence in 1580, with the now improved possibilities of evasion in a larger state structure and the distractions of the authorities due to the new, internal conflicts and tasks. In 1601, an agreement between the Jews and the Portuguese-Spanish king allowed them to settle and trade in Guinea. In the course of the War of Restoration and Portugal's finally regained independence in 1640, the Jewish financiers for the kingdom then played a role, and the property of the New Christians condemned by the Inquisition remained untouched between 1649 and 1659. The royal family also increasingly encouraged investments by the numerous Portuguese Jews who had emigrated , especially to the Netherlands and Hamburg (see Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam and History of the Jews in Hamburg ), also with the help of António Vieiras, for example, which further relieved the position of the Jews. However, their number remained relatively small and did not increase significantly again until 1800.

In the 20th century

During the Second World War there was again a slight increase in the Jewish community in Portugal, which had remained neutral. Today Belmonte, Porto and Lisbon are the centers of the Jewish community in Portugal. In Porto, the Sinagoga Kadoorie, the largest synagogue on the Iberian Peninsula, was built in the 1930s .

In the 21st century

A special law for Sephardic Jews has been in force since 2015, which allows the descendants of displaced persons to obtain Portuguese citizenship through registration.

Speech de Judiarias

The Rede de Judiarias (German: Netz der Judenviertel ) is an association of places in Portugal in which there are or were historical Jewish communities. The uniform tourist marketing as a route is intended to arouse interest in the long Jewish history in Portugal, and to preserve and disseminate knowledge about it.

On March 17, 2011 the Rede de Judiarias de Portugal - Rotas de Sefarad ( Portuguese for: Network of the Jewish Quarter of Portugal - Routes of Sepharad) was founded as a public association under private law with its headquarters in Belmonte . The addition to the name is reminiscent of the Sephardim , the former Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org , accessed January 25, 2013.
  2. ↑ António Henrique de Oliveira Marques : History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 385). Translated from the Portuguese by Michael von Killisch-Horn. Kröner, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-520-38501-5 , pp. 42, 44, 49, 129.
  3. ↑ p. 131
  4. ↑ p. 157
  5. ↑ p. 171
  6. ↑ p. 180
  7. ↑ p. 237
  8. ↑ Walther L. Beckmann, Horst Pietschmann: History of Portugal. Verlag C. H. Beck, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-406-44756-2 , p. 62.
  9. ↑ www.zentralratdjuden.de , accessed on January 25, 2013.
  10. ↑ www.euroenigma.wordpress.com , accessed January 25, 2013.
  11. ↑ Law № 30 - A / 2015, Diário do Governo , Feb. 27, 2015.