Lisbon Portugal April 1506 thug Christians massacre new Black converts

Following the expulsion from Spain, in 1492, by the Catholic kings, about 93 thousand Jews took refuge in Portugal. The king of Portugal, D. Manuel I, seemed to be more tolerant towards the Jewish community, but, under the pressure of Spain, as from 1497, in Portugal, Jews were forced to convert, to avoid being humiliated and killed in the public squares. The massacre began at Convent of Saint Dominic, on Sunday, April 19, 1506, when the believers were praying for the end of the drought and plague that ravaged Portugal, and someone assured to have seen the face of Christ lit at the church lord’s table – a phenomenon that was interpreted as a miracle by the present catholics.  A New Christian who also attended the mass tried to explain that this miracle was only the reflection of a light, but the crowd would not listen to him and beat him to death. As from there onwards, the Jews who were already viewed with suspicion became the scapegoat of drought, hunger and plague. The massacre lasted three days, during which the crowd, including sailors from Holland, Zealand, Germany and other places, was encouraged by the Dominican priests who promised absolution of sins for those who would kill the “heretics”. The royal court was in Abrantes – to escape the plague. When the massacre began, D. Manuel I was on his way to Beja, to visit his mother . Having been informed of the events, he ordered the magistrates to try to put an end to the bloodshed. In Lisbon, the few officials present were forced to flee. As a consequence, men, women and children were tortured, massacred and burned in Rossio, more exactly in Santo Domingo’s square and also along the Tagus river.