B2515thand16th

Ferdinand and Isabella Reconquesta__** In 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain were able to conclude to centuries-long Reconquista, which united Spain and expelled Muslims and Jews. This was due to the growing popularity of anti-Semitism in Spain, which was caused by the Jews’ high economic positions and the peoples’ search for a scapegoat during the Black Death. Before this, Jews had often held high positions, such as governments positions, in society. The Reconquista involved ant-Semitic pogroms, as they swept across the towns of Valencia, Barcelona, Burgos, Madrid, and Segovia. Overall, about 40 percent of the Jewish population in Spain was forced to convert into “New Christians” or be killed. Some of these News Christians were then tried supposedly because they did not stay true to the Christian faith. King Ferdinand allowed this, as he sided with the popular beliefs to gain popular support.
 * __Changing definitions of and attitudes toward social groups, classes, races, and ethnicities within and outside Europe.

McKay, John P. History of Western society. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003.