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First in Sales, First in Service, First in Value
SINCE 1926
Jewish community in Spain
had been a fundamental part
of the country since the early
Christian era and possibly be
fore. In medieval Spain, Jews,
Christians and Moslems had
been three branches—and not
always friendly ones—of the
same population.
OUTWARD CONVERTS
Jews were a large and
thriving minority, and even
after the expulsion in 1492
they continued to be so, for
very many simply accepted
the outward formalities of the
Catholic faith. These converts,
or conversos, had been grow
ing in number ever since the
fourteenth century, when a
particularly vicious series of
pogroms had obliged many
Jews to conform in order to
exist.
Pogroms and expulsi on s
were all part of an anti-semitic
mood that had its roots deep
in Spanish history. There
were, of course, different di
mensions to it: some historians
will emphasize the social and
class content, others will stress
the religious and racial over
tones.
The point to note is that in
so far as this anti-semitism was
religiously inspired it was
self-defeating, for few people
converted by force will prac
tice their religion sincerely, so
all that the zealots obtained
was the creation of pseudo-
Christians. When the author
ities realised that a fifth col-
lumn of false Christians was
in being within the Church,
they appealed for the creation
of an Inquisition to root out
the heretics.
Throughout southern Spain,
argued a pamphlet of 1488
with some exaggeration, of all
the conversos “hardly any are
true Christians, as is well
known in all Spain.” The In
quisition, therefore went to
work with a will from 1480
onwards.
From 1480 to 1490 it burnt
2,000 people and allotted vari
ous penances and punishments
to 15,000 others. Nearly 700 of
those burnt came from the
Seville area alone. It was part
ly because this approach was
not considered wholly adequ
ate that the expulsion of 1492
was decided upon. But even
after 1492 the Inquisition was
considered to have further
work to do. What was this
work?
The fact is that the purely
anti-heretical tasks of the In
quisition were never its chief
raison d’etre. Neither in des
troying a few thousand conver
sos (and they had to be bap
tised conversos, it must be re
membered, for the Holy Office
had no jurisdiction over the
un-baptised) in the 1490s, nor
a few hundred Protestants in
the 1560s was the tribunal ful
filling its real social func
tion.
The number of Jews and
heretics actually destroyed by
the inquisitors pales into in-
sig n i f i c a n c e before the
achievements of modem reg
imes. It is extremely doubtful
if more than 10,000 conversos
were executed in the whole
history of the Holy Office
from its first activities in 1480
to its extinction in 1834.
Critics who emphasize its
thirst for blood are missing
the point, for if figures alone
were to count it would be easy
to prove that many other in
stitutions surpassed it in fer
ocity.
RACIAL PREJUDICE
The real significance of the
Inquisition lies in the way in
which it sanctioned, institu
tionalised and perpetuated
antisemitism in society, and
this is its principal legacy to
modern Spain. The extent to
which racial prejudice dom
inated the mind of Catholic
Spain is little realised. Where
else but in Spain could the
highest authorities in the land
have believed that Luther was
a Jew?
There were many Spaniards
who condemned this racialism,
prominent among them being
St. Ignatius Loyola, founder
of the Society of Jesus. Des
pite such opposition, racial and
social discrimination flourish
ed. How it worked in practice
is shown by the treatment ac
corded to the conversos of
Palma, in Majorca. Down to
the nineteenth century, though
good Catholics, their sons
were refused promotion in the
Social and Commercial Stationery Since 1916
MURPHY STATIONERY CO.
720 Broad St. Telephone 722-2122 Augusta, Ga.
Skinner Auto Supply Company
DISTRIBUTORS
AUTOMOTIVE PARTS & SUPPLIES
1337 REYNOLDS ST. 2864 DEANS BRIDGE RD.
724-8247 733-7705
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA
436 WEST 6TH ST., WAYNESBORO, GA., 2196
McGowen
Printing Company
Letter Press Printing
Phone 722-7596-7 601-11th St.
AUGUSTA, GA.
-STotun (fabim :
15 SEVENTH ST.
AUGUSTA. GA.
30902
Air Conditioned
Manager
W. J. Hefferman,
Barrett Supply Company
WHOLESALE
PLUMBING - HEATING - PUMPS
635 BROAD ST. Phone 722-5716
Augusta, Georgia
GLOBE SHOE
COMPANY
Distinctive
FOOTWEAR end
HOSIERY
★
17 Broughton Street, E.
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA
The Southern Israelite
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