Much of what is popularly believed about the effect of Catholicism on Judaism and Islam in the Spain and Portugal of the Inquisition period is really more precisely about what happened in the 15th to 17th centuries, rather than what went before or came after. And yet, it is possible to posit the possibility that the Inquisition began earlier, in a very legalistic way that was meant, in fact, to save Jews (and one would assume other non-believers) from the excesses of Catholic religious frenzy, particularly that brand that could break out on Good Friday when, as Ma

Still, reading on makes it plain that the Spanish were trying to avoid having to impose this sanction by restricting Jews to their homes on that day. This early form of 'house arrest,' without a trial, is certainly one way to ensure that Jewish society was held in lower regard than Christian society.

Long-term effects of the Inquisition: Nationhood

Further, of course, because the code seems to have two levels of sanction-really horrid and highly inconvenient-it was open to manipulation by "influential personages with a vindictive agenda" (Loomie 1999 356), making it impossible for Jews to live in the same legal environment as Christians, always fearing ex officio mistreatment. It would be logical, too, for Jews to tread gingerly lest they arouse vindictive feelings in anyone, and to suffer other minor injustices in order to avoid serious ones.

Loomie agrees with Kamen that the Inquisition was, in many cases, a completely Castilian enterprise, resented, in fact, by clerics and secular leaders both in Catalonia and Valencia. In fact, Loomie and Kamen propose that the Inquisition, as it has been handed down through popular thought and in popular 'research' and textbooks, was not nearly as draconian as has been supposed. They contend that it has gotten bad press because of the Reformation in the north, in an effort for those reformers to shift attention away from their own excesses (Loomie 1999 356). As an example of justice, Kamen/Loomie also believe the Seven Point Code is not so bad, at least "alongside of contemporary oppressive northern European systems of justice .... Even a notorious auto-da-fe occurred far less often and ended up finally as an occasional festivity" (Loomie 1999 356).

The story of the Jews is one of victimization; the story of Catholics is one of viciousness. Whether it was the orthodoxy of Catholicism or the greed of monarchs is debatable: very likely, it impossible to sunder one from the other, as kings and queens ruled by divine right, and therefore believed that all things were theirs, a priori. To allow other Catholics to share the wealth was one thing; to allow Jews and Muslims to share in it was quite another. That Jews sought refuge in Muslim nations would be unthinkable today, and was probably only slightly less unusual then. However, it must have seemed the lesser of two evils. Some Moors did abuse the refuge Jews, but others cared for them. Some Jews sought refuge in Turkey; there the King received them kindly because they were artisans and he needed "smiths and makers of munitions for the war against Christian Europe" (Marcus 1938).

If the attitude of the Spanish royals was cold, that of the Portuguese king was cruel. After the six months, he "made slaves of all those that remained in his country, and banished seven hundred children to a remote island to settle it, and all of them died" (Marcus 1938).

Even in the conduct of government, however, actions seem to have equal and opposite reactions. Perez-Diaz writes that the intimidation practiced by the monarchs, notably against the Jews and Muslims, but against any dissenters, had the effect of producing some great dissenting art. While they never dared to oppose the monarch outright, "the circles of Erasmians and the School of Salamanca, and such writers as Cervantes, the Baroque moralists, and the arbitristas, regarded with distance and critical comment the rationale and feasibility of the royal missions" (Perez-Diaz 1998 251+).

Effects on Catholics, Jews and Muslims

On the other hand, it seems to have been almost universal that Catholics behaved toward the Jews as the Catholic Italians did. Ships sailed from Genoa to pick up the Jews, with the crews robbing them and delivering some of them to a pirate called the Corsair of Genoa. Those who escaped to Genoa found that the citizens oppressed and robbed them (Marcus 1938).

Some common words found in the essay are:
Jews Muslims, Seven Code, Ferdinand Isabella, Jews Moors, Jesus Christ, Moors Catholics, Portugal World, Muslims Jews, Judas Iscariot, Isabella Spanish, 1998 251+, perez-diaz 1998, marcus 1938, perez-diaz 1998 251+, jews muslims, 1999 356, loomie 1999 356, loomie 1999, jews moors, seven code, ferdinand isabella, catholics jews, 1998 251+ perez-diaz, rhodes 1998 887+, significant steps towards,
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