Proposal for the study of Jewish converts to Christianity in the city of Barcelona (1391-1550)

Abstract

The role that the Jews who converted to Christianity in the wake of the 1391 riot played in the economic, political and cultural aspects of society in Barcelona has not yet been studied in depth. The matter has begun to receive some attention again in certain studies since 1992, but not enough. The issue in question is clearly highly complex. The best sources of information regarding the status of such converts in the city of Barcelona’s society between the end of the 14th century and halfway through the 16th century are undoubtedly notarial documents, as far as the economic, social and cultural aspects are concerned, and they are scattered throughout different archives, although the Historical Archive of Protocols of Barcelona stands out in that respect; and the documents of the Consell de Cent (Council of One Hundred), in relation to the political and regulatory aspect, which are found in the Historical Archive of the City of Barcelona. There is a pressing need to systematically gather data from the aforementioned archives with a view to identifying converts individually and analysing their personal cursus and their family and working relations in order to evaluate their level of integration into the society of born Christians. Initial conclusions that can be drawn on the basis of the investigative work carried out are that the converts continued to engage in the professions of their Jewish ancestors and virtually monopolized some of those professions (silk merchant, coral merchant), that they excelled as merchants and merchandise brokers, that the group was endogamous, and that the practice of mixed marriage between born Christians and converts from Barcelona only emerged slowly. The introduction of the Spanish Inquisition (1487) was a serious setback for the integration process that had been taking place until then.