Spanish Inquisition

The Spanish Inquisition began in 1478 under Ferdinand and Isabella, mainly targeting Jews who had converted to Christianity, called conversos, but were suspected of secretly practicing Judaism. In 1492, the Jews were expelled from Spain, forcing many Sephardic Jews to flee to places like Portugal, North Africa, the Ottoman Empire, Italy, and the Land of Israel. From a Jewish perspective, this was one of the greatest tragedies of the medieval period, but it also spread Sephardic Jewish culture across the Mediterranean and helped strengthen communities in places like Safed, Salonica, and Istanbul.