1492 Alhambra Decree: Spain’s Jews Forced to Convert or Leave

Ferdinand and Isabella’s 1492 Edict of Expulsion (Alhambra Decree) gave Spain’s Jews a brutal choice: convert to Christianity or leave the kingdom. Tens of thousands fled—to Portugal, North Africa, the Ottoman Empire, the Americas—ending centuries of Sephardic life in Spain. Converts (conversos) faced Inquisition scrutiny. The decree epitomizes the fusion of religious uniformity and state power in early modern Spain.