The Expulsion of the Jews from Spain is a detailed study of the events surrounding this infamous chapter in Spanish history. Based on hundreds of documents discovered, deciphered, and analyzed during decades of intensive archival research, this work focuses on the practical consequences of the expulsion both for those expelled and those remaining behind. It responds to basic questions such as: What became of property owned by Jewish individuals and communities? What became of outstanding debts between Jews and Christians? How was the edict of expulsion implemented? Who was in charge? How did they operate? What happened to those who converted to Christianity in order to remain in Spain or return to that country? The material summarized and analyzed in this study also sheds light on Jewish life in Spain preceding the expulsion. For example, Jews are shown to have been present in remote villages where they were not hitherto known to have lived, and documents detailing lawsuits between Christians related to debts left behind by Jews reveal much about business and financial relations between Jews and Christians. By focusing on the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in such detail - for example, by naming the magistrates who presided over the confiscation of Jewish communal property - Professor Beinart takes history out of the realm of abstraction and gives it concrete reality.

• List of tablesList of illustrationsAbbreviations 1 Introduction: Ferdinand and Isabella, King and Queen of SpainThe Situation of Spanish Jewry Forced Segregation The Inquisition Financing the Reconquista Propaganda against Jews and Conversos The Fall of Granada 2 The Edict of ExpulsionPromulgation Analysis of the Structure Drafting The Views of the Catholics Monarchs Text and Translation of the Edict of Expulsion 3 The Fate of Jewish Communal PropertyLand and Buildings Loans Synagogues, Houses of Study, and Ritual Baths Abattoirs and Baking Ovens Cemeteries 4 Jewish-Christian Credit and its LiquidationThe Kingdom of Castile: Attempts to Settle Accounts before Departure Public Debts to Jews Private Debts of Christians to Jews Collection of Christians' Debts to Jews after the Expulsion Debts of Jews to Christians and the Payment of these Debts The Kingdom of Aragon 5 Implementation of the Edict of ExpulsionThe Road to Implementation Organizing the Departure: The Role of the Genoese Implementation of the edict in the Kingdom of Aragon: Departure by Land
• Departure by Sea Implementation of the Edict in the Kingdom of Castile: Conversion instead of Exile or Prison
• Tribulations of Departure
• Exploitation on the Border: Ciudad Rodrigo
• The Passage from Castile into Portugal
• Departure by Sea Implementation of the Edict in Sardinia and Sicily Navarre: Asylum and Expulsion The Number of Jews Expelled 6 Smuggling 7 Return and ConversionReturn and Conversion among Jews of Castile Return and Conversion among Jews of Aragon 8 The Senior DynastyThe Origins of the Family and its First Steps in Government The Case of Juan de Talavera Abraham Senior's Public Service before Conversion Abraham Senior's Property Abraham Senior as Tax-Farmer and Tax-Collector Abraham Senior as Chairman of the Hermandad Expulsion and Conversion Fernan Nunez Coronel's General Financial Activity Rabbi Meir Melamed and his Sons Solomon Senior, the Sons of Abraham Senior, and Other Family Members 10 The House of Abravanel, 1483-1492 11 Contemporaries Describe the Expulsion Appendix: Other Activities of Some Royal OfficialsBibliographyIndex of PeopleIndex of PlacesGeneral Index