Definition
The Alhambra Decree, issued in March 1492 by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, ordered all practicing Jews to convert to Christianity or leave Spanish territory within months. It was signed in the Alhambra palace of Granada, the Muslim stronghold that had fallen to Christian forces earlier that year.
The decree ended a Jewish presence on the Iberian Peninsula that stretched back more than a thousand years. Tens of thousands left for Portugal, North Africa, the Ottoman Empire, and other parts of Europe, while others converted under pressure and remained.
Why it matters
How it works
A newly unified monarchy sought to bind a diverse realm together through a single faith. Expelling a religious minority was meant to remove perceived obstacles to that unity and to satisfy political and clerical pressure. The mechanism was stark: convert and stay, or refuse and lose home, livelihood, and most property. The human cost was enormous, and the loss of skilled merchants, scholars, and craftspeople weakened the very economy the crown hoped to strengthen.