Torquemada and the two versions of the 1492 expulsion decree

Torquemada and the two versions of the expulsion decree

On March 31, 1492, in Granada, a decree that had been in the works for weeks was promulgated. Its basis was a draft written by Inquisitor General Tomás de Torquemada, dated March 20 in Santa Fe and endorsed, according to surviving documentation, by the will of the Reyes Católicos (Catholic Monarchs). From that text emerged two final versions: one signed by both monarchs and applicable to the Crown of Castile, and another signed only by Ferdinand and destined for the Crown of Aragon. Between the draft and the two definitive documents, and between these themselves, there exist what historian Joseph Pérez called "significant variants." This is not a minor nuance: in those differences one can read how the narrative justifying the expulsion was constructed.

The Aragonese version is the most explicit. It acknowledges the role of the Inquisition —"Persuading us the venerable father prior of Santa Cruz, inquisitor general of the said heretical depravity..."— and adds a crime that does not appear with the same force in the other texts: usury. "We find the said Jews, through very great and unbearable usuries, devouring and absorbing the estates and substance of Christians," the document states. It is the classic economic accusation, the one that turns a religious minority into a patrimonial threat for the whole.

What exactly did the Aragonese version say?

The text directed at Aragon is not limited to usury. It reaffirms that only the Crown can decide the fate of the Jews, because they are the kings' property —"they are ours," it says— and accumulates insulting expressions: they are accused of mocking Christian laws and considering the faithful idolaters, "abominable circumcisions and Jewish perfidy" are mentioned, Judaism is described as leprosy, and it is recalled that Jews "by their own fault are subject to perpetual servitude, to be servants and captives."

The difference between the two versions is not theological nuance. It is legal architecture. In Castile, the decree relies on the joint authority of Isabella and Ferdinand; in Aragon, only on Ferdinand's, because the institutional structure of the kingdom required it. And in Torquemada's draft, the weight of the Inquisition as the driver of the decision was even more visible than in the final Castilian text.

Usury as a political weapon

The accusation of usury was not new. For centuries it had functioned as an argument against Jewish communities throughout Europe. What is relevant in this case is that it is incorporated into an expulsion decree as an explicit foundation, alongside the religious argument. The message transmitted is twofold: Jews are a problem of faith and an economic problem. That combination is what made the text particularly effective as a mobilization tool.

The debate on the real scope of that accusation remains open. Some argue that usury was widespread among Jewish lenders because Christian norms forbade it to the faithful, leaving them an almost obligatory economic niche. Other analyses stress that the majority of the Jewish population did not engage in lending, and that the generalization of the accusation served precisely to justify a measure affecting entire communities.

Torquemada's converso origin: what is known and what is repeated

One of the points that has fueled later discussion most is Torquemada's ancestry. The claim that he had Jewish origins has been repeated for centuries, but there are no conclusive documentary proofs backing it up. Joseph Pérez himself, cited in this context, does not consider it established. What is documented is that several prominent inquisitors of the period —Alonso de Cartagena, Diego de Deza, Alonso de Espina— had converso ancestry, and that the militant anti-Judaism of some conversos has been explained as a way to distinguish themselves from false Christians.

Confusion between converso origin and Jewish origin is frequent. They are not the same. A converso is someone who converted to Christianity, often generations earlier. A Jew is someone who practices Judaism. The decree's usury accusation targets Jews as a religious collective, not conversos.

What peine afterwards to the Jewish communities?

The 1492 expulsion affected an estimated population of about 400,000 Jews settled in the Peninsula, according to historiographical calculations. Most emigrated to Portugal, France, Holland, and England. Those who stayed and converted were persecuted by the Inquisition for generations, accused of secretly Judaizing. The policy of limpieza de sangre (purity of blood) became a mechanism of social exclusion that operated for centuries.

The demographic outcome is disputed. Some analyses argue that the genetic footprint of Jewish origin in today's Spanish population is smaller than in other European countries, precisely due to the effect of expulsion and persecution. Other older studies have been questioned by their own authors for questionable methodologies. The discussion remains unresolved.

The contemporary echo of a 1492 decree

Re-reading these documents is not an archaeological exercise. Economic accusations against minorities —usury, hoarding, disloyalty— continue to appear in contemporary public debates, with different protagonists and contexts. Understanding how the 1492 narrative was built helps recognize the mechanisms when they repeat.

The data that disorients is not in the decree, but in its posterity: a text drafted to solve a problem of faith in the 15th century has become a central piece in discussions about identity, economy, and power almost six centuries later. Usury was the argument. Expulsion, the consequence. What came after, history.