Jewish History, Part Five
by Persecution And Hope, Part Two Of Two.
In 1480, the Spanish Inquisition was established in Spain. This court – independent of the Church – persecuted persons suspected of heresy (not believing in the doctrines of the Church). In order to save their lives many Jews converted to Christianity, while secretly practising Judaism. But all Jews were finally banished from Spain in 1492.
Thousands of Spanish Jews emigrated to Turkey, which still followed the Muslim policy of toleration. Jews were expelled from England, France, Germany and Switzerland and settled in Poland and Russia. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Jews were again welcomed in England and France. Many also sought refuge in the new colonies of North America.
But in Russia and Poland, terrible massacres (pogroms) of entire Jewish villages began. In the centuries of wandering, the Jewish people in every land retained their identity as Jews by retaining their faith. They waited for the coming of a Messiah who would again lead them to the Promised Land.
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