JACOB JR, MY JEWISH WORLD. THE POGROM IN LISBON, APRIL 19, 1506.
Sunday, Iyar 4, 5777. April 30, 2017. Shalom! World. The 1506 Lisbon pogrom (massacre) was a massacre of converted Jews that took place in Lisbon/Portugal in the spring of 1506. Because the victims were Marranos or Conversos (converted Jews) and were not Jewish by religion, it was somewhat unique among incidents of anti-semitic violence. Marranos often died at the hands of the inquisition. Mob violence against them was less frequente. It is also known as the Easter Massacre. The Jews had been forcibly converted to avoid expulsion. They had reached Portugal after beeing expelled from Spain. Between 2,000 and 4,000 "New Christians" (also called Marranos or Conversos), Portuguese Jews who had been forcible converted to catholicism by order of King Manuel about 10 years before, were massacred by a mob incited by Dominican friars. In 1506, a plague that lasted for several months aroused suspicion that it was "punishment" for secret Judaizing ...