A converso (; ; feminine form conversa), "convert", () was a Jew who converted to Catholicism in Spain or Portugal, particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries, or one of their descendants.
To safeguard the Old Christian population and make sure that the converso "New Christians" were true to their new faith, the Holy Office of the Inquisition was established in Spain in 1478. The Catholic Monarchs of Spain Ferdinand and Isabella expelled the remaining openly practising Jews by the Alhambra Decree of 1492, following the Christian Reconquista (reconquest) of Spain. However, a significant proportion of these remaining practising Jews chose to join the already large converso community rather than face exile.
Conversos who did not fully or genuinely embrace Catholicism, but continued to practise Judaism in secrecy, were referred to as judaizantes "Judaizers" and pejoratively as marranos "swine".
New Christian converts of Muslim origin were known as moriscos. Unlike Jewish conversos, moriscos were subject to an edict of expulsion even after their conversion to Catholicism, which was implemented severely in Valencia and in Aragón and less so in other parts of Spain.
Conversos played a vital role in the 1520–1521 Revolt of the Comuneros, a popular uprising in the Crown of Castile against the rule of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.
History
Ferrand Martínez, Archdeacon of Écija, directed a 13-year anti-Semitic campaign that began in 1378. Martínez used a series of provocative sermons, through which he openly condemned the Jews with little to no opposition. He rallied non-Jews against the Jews, creating a constant state of fear through riots. Martínez's efforts led to a series of outbreaks of violence on 4 June 1391, where several synagogues in Seville were burned to the ground and churches were erected in their place. Amidst this outbreak, many Jews fled the country, some converted to Christianity in fear, and some were sold to Muslims. Martínez set in motion the largest forced mass conversion of Jews in Spain.
Both the Church and the Crown had not anticipated such a large-scale conversion stemming from the unplanned anti-Semitic campaign led by Martínez. The new converts represented a new problem. Their conversion temporarily resolved the friction between the Christian and Jewish populations in Spain; however, it led to the creation of a new group that was neither completely Catholic nor Jewish and new tensions resulted.
Conversos, who were now fully privileged citizens, competed in all aspects of the economic sphere. This resulted in a new wave of racial anti-Semitism that targeted conversos. This anti-Semitism evolved into small and large riots in Toledo, 1449, that now oppressed not Jews by Christians, but New Christians (conversos) by the Old Christians. Thus, the Crown established an office of the Inquisition in 1478, monitored the religious loyalty a newly-baptized Christian (converso). Such religious surveillance continued to the descendants of converts. Often due to continued oppression, some Jews and conversos fled Spain, going to Portugal, then when the Portuguese crown instituted similar anti-Jewish policies as Spain's, they migrated particularly for the Netherlands. Others created crypto-Jewish communities to ensure the survival of Judaism in the Iberian Peninsula, although outwardly practicing Christianity.
Perpetuation of Jewish heritage
Conversas played a pivotal role in keeping Jewish traditions alive by observing many Jewish holidays such as Shabbat. They prepared traditional Jewish dishes in honor of the Sabbath (starting on Friday sundown), Yom Kippur, and other religious holidays. During festivals such as Sukkot and Passover, Conversas participated by giving clothing articles and ornaments to Jewish women, attending a seder, or obtaining a baking matzah. Conversas ensured that their household maintained similar dietary regulations as their Jewish counterparts, by eating only kosher birds and other animals. These women also financially contributed to the growth of the Jewish/Converso community and synagogue. The Jewish community and conversos exchanged books and knowledge, Jews taught conversos how to read to ensure constant growth of their Jewish heritage. To take a stance against the church and its principles, some conversos performed professional work even on Sundays.
The traditional Jewish Purim was kept by conversos still adhering to Jewish observances in the disguise of a Christian holiday, they named it "Festival of Santa Esterica".