Language:
English
Year of publication:
1990
Titel der Quelle:
Sixteenth Century Journal
Angaben zur Quelle:
21,4 (1990) 645-654
Keywords:
Jews History 1500-1800
;
Crypto-Jews
;
Crypto-Jews
;
Sao Tome and Principe
Abstract:
The island of São Tomé (off the coast of West Africa) was colonized by the Portuguese, from 1493 on, with Jewish children who were forcibly converted and expelled, along with other "socially undesirable" persons. The colony experienced a period of prosperity due to the sugar cane plantations, and there was no discrimination against Conversos. It was only at a time of economic recession, at the beginning of the 17th century, that accusations of Judaizing and Converso descent were used in the struggle for political position and wealth in order to discredit competitors. States that Church officials and Spanish authorities, less tolerant than the Portuguese, set out to extirpate "Judaism" from the island (in 1621) using religious conformity as a political weapon.
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