How were Spanish Jews affected in the Spanish inquisition?

Answer 1

Since the purpose of the Spanish Inquisition was to investigate whether or not people living in Spain were "sincere" Catholics or not, anyone who was not a sincere Catholic stood to be adversely affected.

The Catholic Kings, (or Los Reyes Católicos), Ferdidand and Isabel, wanted Spain to be a wholly Christian nation, and in Europe at the time, that meant being a Catholic. Soldiers and Inquisitors were sent to closely watch anyone who did not appear to follow normal Catholic behavior and customs. Because Jews had their own religious rituals, it was not always easy for them to appear to behave as Catholics. They were watched closely as they tried to continue their normal religious routines in secret. If an Inquisitor caught a Jew observing religious customs that were not those of Catholicism and decided to prosecute, the Jew would be jailed and punished. The Inquisitor would sometimes use torture to attempt to make the Jew swear to be a sincere catholic and to follow catholic customs. If the Jew refused, they could be exported, along with their family. In some severe cases where Jews refused to convert to Catholicism and held to their Jewish customs, they were burned at the stake in a public ceremony.

This was not, strictly speaking, persecution of the Jews that observed Jewish rituals, but more of a way to exclude Jews from positions of influence or authority (which they might do by pretending to be Catholic). Jews who did not convert were unaffected for the most part by this policy. It was ostensibly intended to ensure the orthodoxy of those who "converted" from Judaism or Islam.

*In 1492, not satisfied with the results of the Inquisition, Ferdinand and Isabella ordered the expulsion of all Jews and Muslims from their realms, under the Alhambra Decree.

Answer 2

During the Spanish Inquisition, Some Jews escaped from Spain and fled to Eastern Europe. Others converted to Christianity. Still others pretended to convert to Christianity. The last group would go to church, have their babies baptized, take their babies home, and wash off the baptism. They would set up secret synagogues.

Answer 3

In 1492 the Spanish were finally able to push the Muslims out of Spain. Since many of the Jewish population of the country had supported the Muslims, the government gave them a choice of either converting to Catholicism or leaving the country as they did not consider them as loyal Spaniards and feared they might be a future problem.

Answer 4

The goal of the Inquisition was to enforce Catholicism in Spain and in Spanish territories. As part of the Christianizing of Spain, Jews who openly remained Jewish were expelled from the country. Many died in the process, and everyone else was uprooted.

Note that torture was considered legitimate by the inquisitors. As under the Soviets, everyone was afraid of informers. Many thousands were tortured and killed.