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1490 FIRST YESHIVA ESTABLISHED IN CRACOW (Poland)
By Jacob Pollack (see 1470).
1490 GENEVA (Switzerland)
Jew were expelled and not allowed to return for 300 years. Jews had lived there since their expulsion from France by Philip Augustus in 1182.
1490 April 24, BEHEADING OF THE COURT PHYSICIAN (Muscovite kingdom)
Grand Duke Ivan III had invited one master Leon, a Jewish physician from Venice, to be the court physician. When his son took ill master Leon was instructed to heal him. Unfortunately despite his efforts the Dukes son died (March 15). After the proscribed 40 days of morning, Duke Ivan promptly and publicly beheaded his physician.
1490 December 17, LA GUARDIA BLOOD LIBEL (Spain)
Six conversos and two Jews were accused of killing a child for ritual purposes. Although no body was ever found, they were judged guilty on November 14, 1491, of host desecration and the taking of the child's heart of use in sorcery by a special inquisition. They were all burned at the stake in the town of Avila. The child became a saint known as the "Child of La Guardia". Books and plays were written and embellished about him as recently as 1943.
1492 (9 Av 5252) SPAIN
The expulsion of the Jews from Spain.
1492 January 2, GRENADA (Spain)
The last Moorish stronghold was overrun, adding even more Jews to Catholic Spain. Under the terms of surrender, the Jewish inhabitants were promised protection by the King and Queen. Within a few months the razing of the Jewish quarter was ordered by Ferdinand.
1492 March 31, EDICT OF EXPULSION (Spain)
Since professing Jews were not under the jurisdiction of the Inquisition, the Church leveled a ritual murder accusation against them in Granada and was thus able to call for the expulsion of both Jews and Marranos from Spain. The Marranos themselves were accused of complicity in the case, and both were ordered to leave within four months. Torquemada, the director of the Inquisition (and incidentally of Jewish descent), defended this against Don Isaac Abarbanel. It is estimated that approximately 200,000 Jews were living in Spain. Approximately half of them found temporary sanctuary in Portugal. Another 50,000 fled to friendlier shores and the rest remained as "Christians".
1492 August 3, COLUMBUS (Spain-America)
Set sail for the New World. His journal recorded the sighting of some vessels carrying Jews away from Spain. The loan for his voyage was advanced by Luis de Santangel, chancellor of the Royal household, and Gabriel Sanchez, high treasurer of Aragon. Both were born into Marrano families. Support also came from Alfonso de la Caballeria vice-chancellor of Aragon and also of converso descent.rnrn
1492 October 12, LOUIS DE TORRES (Spain-America)
Became the first white man to set foot in the Western Hemisphere landing in
San Salvador with Christopher Columbus. De Torres converted to Christianity right before sailing and served as an interpreter for Columbus.
He discovered and introduced tobacco into Europe. There is an interesting story relating to Torres who saw a bird he thought to be a peacock and called it a "tuki" (Hebrew for peacock - I Kings X22). Today that bird is known as a turkey. In Spanish one of the names for Turkey is Pavo, which originally referred to a peacock.
1492 October 24, MECKLENBURG (Germany)
Jews were again accused of stabbing a consecrated wafer. Twenty-seven Jews were burned, including two women, and all the Jews were expelled from the duchy. The spot where they were killed is still called the Judenberg.
1493 January 12, JEWS WERE EXPELLED FROM SICILY
Sicily became a province of Aragon in 1412. Approximately 37,000 Jews had to leave Sicily. Despite an invitation during the 18th century, Jews, except in extremely small numbers, never returned.
1493 January 31, GENOA (Italy)
During the previous year, Jews fleeing Spain were allowed to land for three days. As of this date this special consideration was cancelled due to the "fear" that the Jews might introduce the Plague (Black Death) into Genoa.
1494 BUTCHERS GUILDS (Kazimierz, Poland (near Cracow)
Limited to four the number of kosher butchers allowed in the entire district.
1494 TYRANU / TRNAVA (Hungary)
Riots began after a blood libel with 16 Jews being burned at the stake. Tyranu was one of the oldest Jewish settlements in Hungary/Slovakia being founded before 1350.
1494 June 29, FIRE IN CRACOW (Poland)
A fire broke out in the Jewish quarter, destroying part of the city of Cracow. The Jews were accused of purposely setting the fire and attacked with many of the Jewish residents trying to defend themselves King John Albert I (1459–1501) ordered them to leave the city and move to the "suburb" of Kazimierz, which became the first Polish ghetto. Jews were confined to the ghetto until 1868.
1495 EXPULSION FROM LITHUANIA
Alexander the Grand duke of Lithuania ( brother to king John Albert of Poland) expelled the Jews from his districts including Grodno, Brest, Lutzk, and Troki, and confiscated their properties. He allowed them to return 7 years later and some of their properties were returned.
1495 December 26, SAVONAROLA (Italy)
Expelled the Medici and the Jews from Florence. The Jews, who had previously served as the Medici's bankers, were replaced by the Monte di Pieta, a public loan bank.
1496 - 1578 JOSEPH HACOHEN (Italy)
Historian author of Emek Habacha (Valley of Tears), a history of Jewish martyrdom, as well as other works.
1496 December 5, (23 Tevet 5257) MANUEL OF PORTUGAL
During the first year of his reign he befriended the Jews, but his desire to unite the Iberian Peninsula through marriage to the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella changed all that. Four years after the expulsion of Jews from Spain, he ordered them expelled from Portugal within 11 months (October 31, 1497). As his real desire was not to see the Jews leave, he only opened one port, which first forced most of them to remain behind after the designated date, and then forced them to be baptized.
1497 January 6, GRAZ (Austria, Holy Roman Empire)
Emperor Maximilian I expelled the Jews. Jews had been settled there since 1160, thirty years after the town was established.
1497 March 19, PASSOVER IN PORTUGAL
King Manuel, in an effort to prevent the Jews from fleeing the persecutions, secretly ordered the baptism of all children between the ages of four and fourteen.
1498 EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FROM LITHUANIA
By Prince (later king) Alexander, he forced most of the Jews to forfeit their property or convert. The main motivation for the expulsion was to cancel the debts owed by the nobles to the Jews. Within a short time trade ground to a halt and the Prince was forced to invite the Jews back in with some of the properties returned to them.
1499 March 11, VERONA (Italy)
Jews were banished from the province and their position as the territory bankers was taken over by Christians. The Jews were asked to return after only a short period of time, owing to the usurious interest rates charged by the Christians.
1499 April 21, NEW CHRISTIANS (Portugal)
Were forbidden to leave Portugal, including those who had been forcibly baptized.
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