View source for Converso

{{Short description|Jew who converted to Catholicism in Iberia}}
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{{History of Portugal}}
{{History of Spain}}{{For|the phenomenon of conversos secretly maintaining Jewish practices|Crypto-Judaism|Anusim}}
{{further|Marrano}}

A '''''converso''''' ({{IPA|es|komˈbeɾso|lang}}; {{IPA|pt|kõˈvɛɾsu|lang}}; feminine form '''''conversa''''', {{Etymology|la|conversus|converted, turned around}}) was a [[Jew]] who converted to [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]] in [[Spain]] or [[Portugal]], particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries, or one of their descendants.

To safeguard the [[Old Christian]] population and ensure that the ''converso'' [[New Christian]]s were true to their new faith, the [[Spanish Inquisition|Holy Office of the Inquisition]] was established in Spain in 1478. The [[Catholic Monarchs of Spain]] [[Ferdinand II of Aragon|Ferdinand]] and [[Isabella I of Castile|Isabella]] expelled the remaining openly practising Jews by the [[Alhambra Decree]] of 1492 following the Christian ''[[Reconquista]]'' (reconquest) of Spain. However, a significant proportion of these remaining practising Jews chose to join the already large ''converso'' community rather than face exile.<ref>Alicia Gojman de Backal, "Conversos" in ''Encyclopedia of Mexico'', Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn 1997, vol. 1, p. 340.</ref>{{verify source|date=December 2020}}

''Conversos'' who did not fully or genuinely embrace Catholicism but continued to practise [[Crypto-Judaism|Judaism in secrecy]] were called ''judaizantes'' "[[Judaizers]]" and pejoratively as ''[[marrano]]s''.

[[New Christian]] converts of [[Muslim]] origin were known as ''[[morisco]]s''. Unlike Jewish ''conversos'', ''moriscos'' were subject to an edict of expulsion even after their conversion to Catholicism, which was implemented severely in [[Kingdom of Valencia|Valencia]] and in [[Kingdom of Aragon|Aragón]] and less so in other parts of Spain.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harvey |first=L. P. |title=Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614 |date=2005 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-31963-6 |location=Chicago |pages=308-312}}</ref>

''Conversos'' played a vital role{{which|date=June 2021}} in the 1520–1521 [[Revolt of the Comuneros]], a popular uprising in the [[Crown of Castile]] against the rule of [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hernando |first=Máximo Diago |date=2015 |title=Líderes de origen judeoconverso en las ciudades castellanas durante la revuelta comunera: su papel al frente de Común de pecheros |journal=Carlos V: Conversos y Comuneros: Liber Amicorum Joseph Pérez |language=es-CL |publisher=Centro de Estudios del Camino de Santiago |pages=71–102 |isbn=978-84-608-4640-6 |url=https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=5446436 }}</ref>

== History ==
[[Ferrand Martínez]], Archdeacon of [[Écija]], directed a 13-year [[Anti-Judaism|anti-Jewish]] campaign that began in 1378. Martínez used a series of provocative sermons<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2020-09-10|title=Ferrán Martínez's speech at the Tribunal del Alcázar in Seville, 19 February, 1388 (English version) |doi=10.17613/a5e1-cj38 |url=https://hcommons.org/deposits/item/hc:32497/ |language=en-US |last1=Miguel-Prendes |first1=Sol |last2=Soifer Irish |first2=Maya |last3=Wacks |first3=David |journal=Open Iberia/América: Teaching Anthology |publisher=Humanities Commons}}</ref> through which he openly condemned the Jews with little to no opposition. He rallied non-Jews against the Jews, creating a constant state of fear through riots. Martínez's efforts led to a series of outbreaks of violence on 4 June 1391,<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Lea |first=Henry Charles |date=1 January 1896 |title=Ferrand Martinez and the Massacres of 1391 |jstor=1833647 |journal=The American Historical Review |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=209–219 |doi=10.2307/1833647}}</ref>  when several synagogues in Seville were burned to the ground and churches were erected in their place. Amidst this outbreak, many Jews fled the country, some converted to Christianity in fear and some were sold to Muslims. Martínez engineered the largest [[Forced conversion|forced mass conversion]] of Jews in Spain.<ref name=":0" />

Both the church and the crown had not anticipated such a large-scale conversion stemming from Martínez's unplanned antisemitic campaign. The new converts represented a new problem, because although their conversion temporarily resolved the friction between the Christian and Jewish populations, it led to the creation of a new group that was neither completely Catholic nor Jewish, and new tensions resulted.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |title=Heretics or Daughters of Israel |last=Melammed |first=Renee |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1999 |location=New York |pages=3–10, 86–95, 166–174}}</ref>

''Conversos'', who were now fully privileged citizens, competed in all aspects of the economic sphere. This resulted in a new wave of racial antisemitism that targeted ''conversos''. This antisemitism evolved into small and large riots in [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]] in 1449 that now oppressed not Jews by Christians, but [[New Christians]] (''conversos'') by the Old Christians. The crown established an office of the Inquisition in 1478 and monitored the religious loyalty of newly baptized Christian ''conversos''. Such religious surveillance continued to the descendants of converts.<ref>Bodian, Miriam. "Men of the Nation": The Shaping of Converso Identity in Early Modern Europe." ''[[Past & Present (journal)|Past & Present]]'', No. 143 (May, 1994), pp. 48–76</ref> Faced with continued oppression, some Jews and ''conversos'' fled Spain to Portugal, but when the Portuguese crown instituted similar anti-Jewish policies, these Jews migrated primarily to the [[Netherlands]]. Others created [[crypto-Jewish]] communities to ensure the survival of Judaism in the Iberian peninsula, although outwardly practicing Christianity.<ref name=":1" />

In 1485, [[Pedro de Arbués]], an inquisitor in the [[Kingdom of Aragon]], was assassinated while praying in [[Cathedral of the Savior of Zaragoza|Zaragoza's cathedral]].{{Sfn|Meyerson|2018|p=177}}{{Sfn|Roth|1995|pp=258–259}} The attack was attributed to a conspiracy involving ''conversos.''{{Sfn|Meyerson|2018|p=177}}{{Sfn|Roth|1995|pp=258–259}} Among those implicated were prominent figures, including a grandson of the well-known convert [[Gerónimo de Santa Fe]], who committed suicide in prison.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|pp=258–259}} Others, including high-ranking officials and ''converso'' elites, were arrested, tortured and executed. Their hands were nailed to the cathedral door before they were beheaded and quartered.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|pp=258–259}} Some suspects fled to [[Kingdom of Navarre|Navarre]] and escaped punishment, while others were condemned posthumously. Though contemporary accounts blamed the ''conversos'' as a group, records also indicate that “old Christians” were involved, although few faced prosecution.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|pp=258–259}}

==Description==
[[File:Padre Anchieta.jpg|thumb|[[Joseph of Anchieta|Saint Joseph of Anchieta]] (1534–1597), [[Spaniards|Spanish]] [[Jesuit]] missionary to [[Brazil]] and one of the founders of [[São Paulo]] and [[Rio de Janeiro]]. José de Anchieta was a descendant of Jewish converts through the maternal line.]]
''Conversos'' were subject to suspicion and harassment from their former and new communities alike.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Novoa |first=James William Nelson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KcFMBAAAQBAJ |title=Being the Nação in the Eternal City: New Christian Lives in Sixteenth-Century Rome |date=2014-12-28 |publisher=Baywolf Press / Éditions Baywolf |isbn=978-0-921437-52-9 |language=en}}</ref> Both Christians and Jews called them ''tornadizos'' (renegades). [[James I of Aragon|James I]], [[Alfonso X of Castile|Alfonso X]] and [[John I of Castile|John I]] passed laws forbidding the use of this epithet. This was part of a larger pattern of royal oversight, as laws were promulgated to protect their property, forbid attempts to convert them back to Judaism or the Muslim faith and regulate their behaviour, preventing cohabitation or even dining with Jews to prevent their return to Judaism.

''Conversos'' did not enjoy legal equality. [[Alfonso VII of León|Alfonso VII]] prohibited the "recently converted" from holding office in [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]]. Although they had both supporters and bitter opponents in the Christian secular community, they became targets of occasional pogroms during times of social tension (as during an epidemic and after an earthquake).

While those considered to be of pure blood (called ''[[limpieza de sangre]]'') with undisputed Christian lineage enjoyed privilege, particularly among the nobility, in a 15th-century defence of ''conversos'', Bishop [[Lope de Barrientos]] listed what historian [[Norman Roth]] calls "a veritable 'Who's Who' of Spanish nobility" including ''converso'' members or those of ''converso'' descent. Roth has also written that given the near-universal conversion of Iberian Jews during [[Visigothic Kingdom|Visigothic]] times, "[W]ho among the Christians of Spain could be certain that he is not a descendant of those ''conversos''?"<ref>Roth, p. 93</ref>

According to a widely publicised December 2008 study in the ''American Journal of Human Genetics'', genetic [[DNA]] tracing has revealed that modern Spaniards and Portuguese have an average admixture of 19.8% of ancestry originating in the Near East (Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Jews and Levantine Arabs) during historic times, compared to 10.6% of North African or [[Berbers|Berber]] admixture.<ref name="pmid19061982">{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.ajhg.2008.11.007 |title=The Genetic Legacy of Religious Diversity and Intolerance: Paternal Lineages of Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula |year=2008 |last1=Adams |first1=Susan M. |last2=Bosch |first2=Elena |last3=Balaresque |first3=Patricia L. |last4=Ballereau |first4=Stéphane J. |last5=Lee |first5=Andrew C. |last6=Arroyo |first6=Eduardo |last7=López-Parra |first7=Ana M. |last8=Aler |first8=Mercedes |last9=Grifo |first9=Marina S. Gisbert |journal=The American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=83 |issue=6 |pages=725–36 |pmid=19061982 |pmc=2668061 |last10=Brion |first10=Maria |last11=Carracedo |first11=Angel |last12=Lavinha |first12=João |last13=Martínez-Jarreta |first13=Begoña |last14=Quintana-Murci |first14=Lluis |last15=Picornell |first15=Antònia |last16=Ramon |first16=Misericordia |last17=Skorecki |first17=Karl |last18=Behar |first18=Doron M. |last19=Calafell |first19=Francesc |last20=Jobling |first20=Mark A.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16200-spanish-inquisition-left-genetic-legacy-in-iberia.html |title=Spanish Inquisition left genetic legacy in Iberia – life  |publisher=New Scientist |date=4 December 2008 |access-date=10 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.ajhg.2008.10.012 |title=Identifying Genetic Traces of Historical Expansions: Phoenician Footprints in the Mediterranean |year=2008 |last1=Zalloua |first1=Pierre A. |last2=Platt |first2=Daniel E. |last3=El Sibai |first3=Mirvat |last4=Khalife |first4=Jade |last5=Makhoul |first5=Nadine |last6=Haber |first6=Marc |last7=Xue |first7=Yali |last8=Izaabel |first8=Hassan |last9=Bosch |first9=Elena |journal=The American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=83 |issue=5 |pages=633–42 |pmid=18976729 |pmc=2668035 |last10=Adams |first10=Susan M. |last11=Arroyo |first11=Eduardo |last12=López-Parra |first12=Ana María |last13=Aler |first13=Mercedes |last14=Picornell |first14=Antònia |last15=Ramon |first15=Misericordia |last16=Jobling |first16=Mark A. |last17=Comas |first17=David |last18=Bertranpetit |first18=Jaume |last19=Wells |first19=R. Spencer |last20=Tyler-Smith |first20=Chris |last21=The Genographic |first21=Consortium}}</ref> This proportion could be as high as 23% for [[Latin Americans]], according to a study published in ''[[Nature Communications]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ruiz-Linares |first1=Andrés |last2=Hellenthal |first2=Garrett |last3=Balding |first3=David |last4=Rothhammer |first4=Francisco |last5=Bedoya |first5=Gabriel |last6=Gallo |first6=Carla |last7=Poletti |first7=Giovanni |last8=Canizales-Quinteros |first8=Samuel |last9=Bortolini |first9=Maria-Cátira |date=19 December 2018 |title=Latin Americans show wide-spread Converso ancestry and imprint of local Native ancestry on physical appearance |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=5388 |doi=10.1038/s41467-018-07748-z |pmid=30568240 |pmc=6300600 |issn=2041-1723 |bibcode=2018NatCo...9.5388C |url=http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10063806/13/Adhikari_Latin%20Americans%20show%20wide-spread%20converso%20ancestry.pdf}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/americas/.premium.MAGAZINE-a-surprising-number-of-latin-americans-have-jewish-roots-study-finds-1.6787129|title=A Surprising Number of Latin Americans Have Jewish Roots, Study Finds |last=Ronel |first=Asaf |date=27 December 2018 |work=Haaretz|access-date=2018-12-28|language=en}}</ref> This potentially higher proportion of Jewish ancestry in the Latin American population could stem from increased emigration of ''conversos'' to the [[New World]] to avoid persecution by the Spanish Inquisition.<ref name=":3" />

== Conversos and the Spanish Golden Age ==
''Conversos'' played a prominent role in shaping Spanish intellectual and literary culture, particularly during the period commonly called the [[Spanish Golden Age]].{{Sfn|Roth|1995|p=xiii}} Their influence began to emerge as early as the 15th century, well before the height of this cultural flourishing.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|p=xiii}} One of the most striking examples of this influence is the authorship of ''[[La Celestina]]'', an 1499 book by [[Fernando de Rojas]] that is considered the first modern play in any language.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|p=xiii, 181–172}} ''Conversos'' were central contributors not only to poetry and fiction but also to historical chronicles, anti-Jewish polemics, philosophical texts,and other literary forms.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|p=xiii}}

== Religious identity and assimilation ==
According to historian Norman Roth, many ''conversos'' possessed only limited knowledge of Jewish religious practice, particularly beyond the most visible customs known even to Old Christians.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|p=199}} While some ''converso'' polemicists displayed varying degrees of familiarity with Jewish sources, ''converso'' poets generally lacked such religious knowledge.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|p=199}} Claims that Hebrew or Talmudic influences shaped ''converso'' literature, such as in the works of [[Juan de Mena]] or Juan Álvarez Gato, have been dismissed by scholars such as Roth as speculative and unsupported.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|p=199}}

Some prominent ''converso'' figures exhibited notable ignorance regarding Jewish heritage. Pedro de la Caballería, for instance, mistakenly called [[Maimonides]] "Moses the Egyptian," assuming that Maimonides had lived in Egypt rather than in Spain.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|p=199}} He also misattributed advice to the Catholic Monarchs to [[Vincent Ferrer|Vicente Ferrer]], who had died decades earlier.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|p=199}} Even those ''conversos'' with formal Jewish education, such as Pablo de Santa María, ultimately rejected Jewish sources in favor of Christian interpretations, sometimes based on misreadings.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|pp=199–200}} In his writings, de Santa María presented biblical narratives through a Christian lens, depicting the serpent as [[Lucifer]] and [[Eve]] as the corruptor of [[Adam]], despite lacking textual basis in the Hebrew bible.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|pp=199–200}}

In [[Burgos]], ''conversos'' were generally regarded as devout Christians, especially those from the influential Santa María family, whose example was considered representative across Spain.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|p=200}} Allegations of religious insincerity, known as "infamy," existed in cities such as [[Calahorra]], [[Burgo de Osma-Ciudad de Osma|Osma]] and [[Salamanca]], although more serious criminal accusations were recorded in Toledo and Seville.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|p=200}} Some ''conversos'' are known to have supported religious and charitable foundations, forming or joining [[Confraternity|confraternities]] (''cofradías'') such as Santa María la Blanca in Toledo, established in 1478.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|pp=200–201}} Founding members of this ''cofradía'' included physicians, merchants, craftsmen and officials, many of whom were ''conversos''.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|p=201}} In 1488, another group of Toledo ''conversos'' founded a chapel in the monastery of San Agustín.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|p=201}}

Some ''conversos'' retained messianic expectations traditionally associated with Judaism. In the 15th century, chronicler [[Alfonso de Palencia|Alonso de Palencia]] reported that many ''conversos'' in [[Andalusia]] continued to believe in the coming of the messiah, interpreting unusual natural events (such as the sighting of a whale off the coast near [[Setúbal]], which they identified with the biblical sea monster [[Leviathan]]) as signs of its imminent arrival.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|p=200}} However, it is unclear whether such beliefs referred to the [[Messiah in Judaism|Jewish messiah]] or to Christ's [[Second Coming|second coming]].{{Sfn|Roth|1995|p=200}}

== Perpetuation of Jewish heritage ==
''Conversas'' played a pivotal role in keeping Jewish traditions alive by observing many Jewish holidays such as [[Shabbat]]. They prepared traditional Jewish dishes in honor of the [[Sabbath]] (starting on Friday at sundown), [[Yom Kippur]] and other religious holidays. During festivals such as [[Sukkot]] and [[Passover]], ''conversas'' participated by giving clothing articles and ornaments to Jewish women, attending a [[seder]] or obtaining a baking [[matzah]]. ''Conversas'' ensured that their households maintained similar dietary regulations as their Jewish counterparts by consuming only [[kosher]] flesh. These women also financially contributed to the growth of the combined Jewish/''converso'' community and the synagogues.<ref name=":1" />

The Jewish community and ''conversos'' exchanged books and knowledge. Jews taught ''conversos'' how to read to ensure constant growth of their Jewish heritage. To take a stance against the church and its principles, some ''conversos'' worked on Sundays in violation of church policy.<ref name=":1" />

The traditional Jewish [[Purim]] was preserved by ''conversos'' still adhering to Jewish observances under the guise of a Christian holiday that they named the [[Festival of Santa Esterica]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Treatman |first=Ronit |title=Queen Esther: Patron saint of crypto-Jews |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/queen-esther-patron-saint-of-crypto-jews/ |access-date=2025-07-18 |website=[[The Times of Israel]] |language=en-US |issn=0040-7909}}</ref>

== Spanish Inquisition discipline ==
The Spanish Inquisition operated in close collaboration with secular authorities to impose a range of penalties on those accused of heresy.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|p=221}} [[Canon law]] prohibited the church from directly executing individuals; instead, those convicted were "relaxed to the secular arm," a euphemism for the transfer of alleged heretics to state authorities for administration of capital punishment.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|p=221}} One of the most infamous methods of execution was death by [[Immolation of Lee Chi-cheung|immolation]], a practice not found in traditional secular law but devised within ecclesiastical circles.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|p=221}} It was justified theologically as a way to save the heretic's soul from eternal damnation through worldly suffering. If the condemned repented just before execution, he would be allowed to be killed by garrote, a method that was believed to spare the soul.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|p=221}}

Public executions, known as ''[[Auto-da-fé|autos-da-fé]]'' ("acts of faith"), were grand, theatrical events involving processions through city streets, public readings of sentences and long sermons.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|p=221}} These spectacles attracted large crowds and, by the 16th century, even royal attendance.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|p=221}} In Madrid, for example, the monarchs observed such a ceremony from a balcony overlooking the [[Plaza Mayor, Madrid|Plaza Mayor]], reportedly enjoying refreshments during the spectacle.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|p=221}}

Those who confessed under torture or pressure were labeled ''reconciliados'' (reconciled to the church) and subjected to public humiliation. They were paraded in distinctive garments called ''[[Sanbenito|sambenitos]]'', often with red crosses, and forced to endure public readings of their offenses. Their ''sambenitos'', bearing their names, were hung permanently in churches as a warning to others and a lasting mark of shame on their descendants.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|p=222}} Some people who had died or fled were condemned ''[[Trial in absentia|in absentia]]'' and burned in [[effigy]], a practice known as sentencing ''in statue'' or ''in statute''.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|p=222}} The bones of deceased heretics could be exhumed and burned publicly to enforce posthumous condemnation.{{Sfn|Roth|1995|p=222}}

== By country ==
=== In Spain ===
{{See also|Xueta Christianity}}
[[File:Església de Monti-sion de Palma.jpg|thumb|Church of Montesión (Mount Zion) in [[Palma de Mallorca]], the main church of Xuetas of [[Majorca]].<ref name="Commentary">{{cite web|url=https://www.commentary.org/articles/robert-graves/a-dead-branch-on-the-tree-of-israel-the-xuetas-of-majorca/|title="A Dead Branch on the Tree of Israel" The Xuetas of Majorca|date =17 February 1957|publisher=Commentary}}</ref>]]
The [[Xueta|Chuetas]] are a current social group on the [[Spain|Spanish]] island of [[Mallorca|Majorca]], in the [[Mediterranean Sea]], who are descendants of Majorcan Jews that either were ''conversos'' or were [[Crypto-Judaism|crypto-Jews]], forced to keep their religion hidden. They practiced strict [[endogamy]] by marrying only within their own group.

The Chuetas have been [[Social stigma|stigmatized]] in the [[Balearic Islands]]. In the latter part of the 20th century, the spread of freedom of religion as well as secularism reduced both the social pressure and community ties. An estimated 18,000 people in the island carry Chueta surnames in the 21st century.<ref>{{Cite web|title={{!}} L'Hora D {{!}} Els xuetes, crònica dels jueus conversos de Mallorca - 13-2|url=https://ib3.org/carta?id=ca6da288-791a-4b9c-8488-f60d357154c7&type=TV|access-date=2021-04-05|website=ib3.org|language=es}}</ref> Traditionally, the church of [[Eulalia of Barcelona|Saint Eulalia]] and the church of Montesión ([[Mount Zion]]) in [[Palma de Mallorca]] have been used by the families of Jewish converts ([[Xueta]]s).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-49374489|title=The New Yorker reviving Jewish life on a holiday island|date =18 August 2019|publisher=BBC}}</ref><ref name="Commentary"/>

According to a survey conducted by the [[University of the Balearic Islands]] in 2001, 30% of Majorcans stated that they would never marry a Chueta and 5% declared that they do not wish to have Chueta friends.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Santamaría Arández|first=Álvaro|date=1997-01-01|title=Sobre la condición de los conversos y chuetas de Mallorca|journal=Espacio Tiempo y Forma. Serie III, Historia Medieval|issue=10|doi=10.5944/etfiii.10.1997.3609|doi-broken-date=10 July 2025 |issn=2340-1362|doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== In Italy ===
Specific groups of ''conversos'' left Spain and Portugal after the [[Spanish Inquisition]] in 1492 for other parts of Europe, especially Italy,<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Melammed |first=Renee Levine |title=A Question of Identity: Iberian Conversos in Historical Perspective |url=https://archive.org/details/questionidentity00mela|url-access=registration|publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2004|isbn=0195170717|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/questionidentity00mela/page/n121 109]–133}}</ref> where they were often regarded with suspicion and harassment in both their former and new communities. Many ''conversos'' who arrived in Italian cities did not openly embrace their Judaism, tempted by the advantages offered in the Christian world.<ref name=":2" />

The first three cities to accept ''conversos'' who openly converted back to Judaism were [[Florence]], [[Ferrara]] and [[Ancona]]. Most of these ''conversos'' appeared after 1536 from Portugal, and most lived in Florence. In 1549, [[Cosimo I de' Medici|Duke Cosimo I de' Medici]] allowed the Portuguese ''conversos'' to trade and reside within Florence. Most of the ''conversos'' who reverted to Judaism lived in the ghetto of Florence, and by 1705 there were 453 Jews in the city.<ref name=":2" />

''Conversos'' arrived in Ferrara in 1535 and were able to assimilate with their neighbours, perform circumcisions and openly return to Judaism pursuant to a declaration issued by [[Ercole I d'Este|Duke Ercole I d'Este]]. After an occurrence of [[Bubonic plague|plague]] in 1505 and the fall of Ferrara in 1551, many of these Jews relocated north toward the economically stable ports of [[Venice]]. The city slowly became a center for ''conversos'' who either stopped temporarily on their way to [[Turkey]] or stayed permanently as residents in the ghetto. Fearful of losing the ''conversos''<nowiki/>' trade to Turkey, Venetian leaders permitted them to openly practice Judaism. Many of the ''conversos'' during this period struggled with their Christian and Jewish identities.<ref name=":2" />

Many ''conversos'' in the city of [[Ancona]] faced difficult lives and fled to Ferrara in 1555. Portuguese ''conversos'' in Ancona were misled that they were welcome there and that they could openly revert to Judaism. [[Pope Paul IV]] imprisoned 102 ''conversos'' who refused to reside in the Anconitan ghetto or to wear identification badges. In 1588, when the duke granted a charter of residence in return for the embittered ''conversos''<nowiki/>' contributions to the city's economy, they refused.<ref name=":2" />

== Notable conversos and their descendants ==

=== First-generation conversos ===

* [[Abraham Senior]] – Crown rabbi of Castille, late-life convert to Christianity (1412–1493)
* [[Alfonso de Cartagena]] – Bishop, diplomat, historian and writer (1384–1456)
* [[Paul of Burgos]] – Rabbi and later archbishop (c.1351–1435)
* [[Petrus Alphonsi]] – Physician and writer (d. after 1116)

=== Later generations ===

* [[António José da Silva]] – Dramatist (1705–1739)
* [[Fernando de Rojas]] – Dramatist (c.1465/73–1541)
* [[Hernán Pérez de Quesada]] –  Conquistador (c. 1515–1544)
* [[Isaac Orobio de Castro]] – Philosopher and physician, returnee to Judaism (c.1617–1687)
* [[Luis de León]] – Poet, friar and scholar (1527–1591)
* [[Luis de Santángel]] – Finance minister of the Catholic Monarchs (c. 1435–1498)

* [[Teresa of Ávila]] – Catholic saint (1515–1582)

* [[Uriel da Costa]] – Philosopher, returnee to Judaism (1585–1640)

==== Possible/debated ====

* [[Christopher Columbus|Christopher Colombus]] – Navigator and explorer (1451–1506)
* [[Joan Miró]] – Painter (1893–1983)
* [[Miguel de Cervantes]] – Writer (1547–1616)

==See also==
* [[Marrano]]
* [[Chuetas]]
* [[Dönmeh]]
* [[Allahdad]]
* [[Banu Israil]]
* [[Falash Mura]]
* [[Chala (Jews)|Chala]]
* [[Neofiti]]
* [[Anusim]]
* [[Crypto-Judaism]]
* [[Judaism in Mexico]]

==Further reading==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
*Alberro, Solange. ''Inquisición y sociedad en México, 1571–1700''. Mexico City: Fondo de Cultura Económica 1993.{{ISBN?}}
*Alexy, T. ''The Marrano Legacy: A Contemporary Crypto-Jewish Priest Reveals Secrets of His Double Life''. University of New Mexico Press 2002. {{ISBN|978-0-8263-3055-0}}. {{OCLC|51059087}}.
*Amelang, James. ''Historias paralelas: Judeoconversos y moriscos en la España moderna''. Madrid: [[Ediciones Akal]], 2011.
*Beinart, Haim. "The Conversos in Spain and Portugal in the 16th to 18th Centuries", in ''Moreshet Sepharad: TheSephardi Legacy'', ed. Haim Beinart. Jerusalem: The Magnes Press, 1992. {{ISBN?}}
*Beinart, Haim. "The Records of the Inquisition: A Source of Jewish and Converso History", ''Proceedings of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities'' 2 (1968).
*Beinart, Haim. ''Conversos ante la inquisición''. Jerusalem: Hebrew University 1965.
*Bodian, Miriam. ''Hebrews of the Portuguese Nation: Conversos and Community in Early Modern Amsterdam''. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997.
*Bodian, Miriam. “'Men of the Nation': The Shaping of Converso Identity in Early Modern Europe". ''Past & Present'' 143 (1994): 48–76.
*Brooks, Andrée Aelion. ''The Woman who Defied Kings: the life and times of Dona Gracia Nasi'', Paragon House, 2002. {{ISBN|1557788294}}
*Dirks, Doris A. "I will make the Inquisition burn you and your sisters: The role of gender and kindship in accusations against Conversas." ''Magistra'' 6.2 (2000): 28.
*Domínguez Ortiz, Antonio. ''Los judeoconversos en la España moderna''. Madrid: Editorial MAPFRE, 1992.
*Gerber, Jane S. ''The Jews of Spain: A History of the Sephardic Experience''. New York: The Free Press 1994. {{ISBN|978-0029115749}}.
*Gitlitz, David. ''Secrecy and Deceit: The Religion of the Crypto-Jews'', Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 2002. {{ISBN|082632813X}}
*Gojman de Backal, Alicia. "Conversos" in ''Encyclopedia of Mexico''. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn 1997, vol. 1, pp.&nbsp;340–344.
*Gojman Goldberg, Alicia. ''Los conversos en la Nueva España''. Mexico City: Enep-Acatlan, UNAM 1984.
*Greenleaf, Richard E. ''The Mexican Inquisition in the Sixteenth Century''. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press 1969.
*Jacobs, J. ''Hidden Heritage: The Legacy of the Crypto-Jews''. University of California Press 2002. {{ISBN|978-0-520-23517-5}}. {{OCLC|48920842}}
*Kamen, Henry. ''The Spanish Inquisition''. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1965.
*Lafaye, Jacques. ''Cruzadas y Utopias: El judeocristianismo en las sociedades Ibéricas''. Mexico City: Fondo de Cultura Económica 1984.
*[[John Tate Lanning|Lanning, John Tate]]. "Legitimacy and ''Limpieza de Sangre'' in the Practice of Medicine in the Spanish Empire." ''Jahrbuch für Geschicte 4 (1967)
*Liebman, Seymour. ''Los Judíos en México y en América Central''. Mexico city: Siglo XXI 1971.
*Martínez, Maria Elena. "Limpieza de Sangre" in ''Encyclopedia of Mexico'', vol. 1, pp. 749–752. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn 1997.
*Navarrete Peláez, María Cristina. "Judeoconversos en el Nuevo Reino de Granada." In ''Los judíos en Colombia: Una aproximación histórica'', edited by Adelaida Sourdis Nájera and Alfonso Velasco Rojas, 26–52. Madrid: Casa Sefarad Israel, 2011.
*Navarrete Peláez, María Cristina.. ''La diáspora judeoconversa en Colombia, siglos XVI y XVII: Incertidumbres de su arribo, establecimiento y persecución''. Cali: Universidad del Valle, 2010.
* {{Cite book |last=Meyerson |first=Mark |title=The Middle Ages: The Christian World |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2018 |isbn=9780521517249 |editor-last=Chazan |editor-first=Roberts |series=The Cambridge History of Judaism |volume=6 |location=Cambridge |pages=146–184 |chapter=The Iberian Peninsula under Christian Rule |doi=10.1017/9781139048880}}
*Novoa, Nelson.  ''Being the Nação in the Eternal City: New Christian Lives in Sixteenth-Century Rome''. Peterborough: Baywolf Press 2014
*Pulido Serrano, Juan Ignacio. "Converso Complicities in an Atlantic Monarchy: Political and Social Conflicts behind the Inquisitorial Persecutions". In ''The Conversos and Moriscos in Late Medieval Spain and Beyond'', Volume Three: Displaced Persons, edited by KevinIngram and Juan Ignacio Pulido Serrano, 117–128. Leiden: Brill, 2015.
*Pulido Serrano, Juan Ignacio. "Political Aspects of the Converso Problem: On the Portuguese Restauraçao of 1640". In ''The Conversos and Moriscos in Late Medieval Spain and Beyond'', Volume Two: The Morisco Issue, edited by Kevin Ingram, 219–246. Leiden: Brill, 2012.
*{{cite book |last=Roth |first=Norman |title=Conversos, Inquisition, and the Expulsion of the Jews from Spain |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |year=1995 |isbn=0-299-14230-2 |location=Madison, Wisconsin |oclc=32132420}}
*Saban, Mario Javier. ''Judíos Conversos: Los antepasados judíos de las familias tradicionales argentinas''. Buenos Aires: Editorial Distal, 1990.
*Seed, Patricia. ''To Love, Honor, and Obey in Colonial Mexico: Conflicts over Marriage Choices, 1574–1821''. Stanford: Stanford University Press 1988.
*Sicroff, Albert A. ''Los estatutos de limpieza de sangre''. Translated by Mauro Armiño. Madrid: Tauros 1985.
*Soyer, François. “'It is not possible to be both a Jew and a Christian': Converso Religious Identity and the Inquisitorial Trial of Custodio Nunes (1604–5).” ''Mediterranean Historical Review'' 26 (2011): 81–97.
*Starr-LeBeau, Gretchen D. “Writing (for) Her Life: Judeo-Conversas in Early Modern Spain.” In Women, Texts and Authority in the Early Modern Spanish World, edited by Marta V. Vicente and Luis R. Corteguera, 65–82. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2003.
*Tobias, H.J. ''A History of the Jews in New Mexico''. University of New Mexico Press 1992. {{page needed|date=July 2022}}. {{ISBN|978-0-8263-1390-4}}. {{OCLC|36645510}}
*Ventura, Maria da Graça A. "Los judeoconversos portugueses en el Perú del siglo XVII: Redes de complicidad". In ''Familia, Religión y Negocio: El sefardismo en las relaciones entre el mundo ibérico y los Países Bajos en la Edad Moderna'', edited by Jaime Contreras, Bernardo J. García García, e Ignacio Pulido, 391–406. Madrid: Fundación Carlos Amberes, 2002.
{{div col end|2}}
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[https://openiberiaamerica.hcommons.org/ Ana Gómez-Bravo, "Conversos and identity in the poetry of the fifteenth century"  (poems of Comendador Román and Antón de Montoro, excerpts from Andrés Bernáldez's ''Memorias'' and the ''Libro de Alborayque''<nowiki> [late 15th century]), in English and Spanish (pedagogical edition) with introduction, notes, and bibliography in </nowiki>''Open Iberia/América'' (open access teaching anthology))]
*[https://openiberiaamerica.hcommons.org/ Selections in English and Spanish of Ferrán Martínez's speech at the Tribunal del Alcázar in Seville, 19 February, 1388 (pedagogical edition) with introduction, notes, and bibliography in ''Open Iberia/América'' (open access teaching anthology)]
*[http://www.outofspain.com/ Out of Spain educational materials]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120219185657/http://www.donagraciaproject.org/ Converso lectures and activities]
*[http://blogs.loc.gov/law/2013/03/alhambra-decree-521-years-later/?ll_f0432 Alhambra Decree:  521 Years Later], a blog post on the [[Law Library of Congress]]'s ''In Custodia Legis''
*[https://cryptojewisheducation.com/2016/09/05/song-from-a-withered-limb-las-posadas-and-the-converso-crisis-of-the-16th-century Song From a Withered Limb: Las Posadas and the Converso Crisis of the 16th Century]

{{Sephardi Jews topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Conversos| ]]
[[Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism]]
[[Category:History of the conversos]]
[[Category:History of the Jews in South America]]
[[Category:Jewish Mexican history]]
[[Category:Jewish Spanish history]]
[[Category:Judaism in Spain]]
[[Category:Puerto Rican Jews|*]]
[[Category:Sephardi Jews topics]]
[[Category:Spanish Inquisition]]
[[Category:Spanish people of Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Crypto-Jews| ]]