Edict of Expulsion
Encyclopedia
In 1290, King Edward I
issued an edict expelling all Jews from England
. Lasting for the rest of the Middle Ages, it would be over 350 years until it was formally overturned in 1656. The edict was not an isolated incident, but the culmination of over 200 years of conflict on the matters of usury
.
granting Jews the right to remain in England. Jews did not enjoy any of the guarantees of Magna Carta
of 1215.
Economically, Jews played a key role in the country. The church at the time strictly forbade usury
, or the lending of money for profit. This created a vacuum in the economy of Europe that only Jews were able to fill (canon law
was not considered to apply to Jews, and Judaism permits loans with interest
between Jews and non-Jews). As a consequence, some Jews made large amounts of money. Although not all legally, in 1279, 280 Jews were hung for coin clipping
. Taking advantage of their unique status as his direct subjects, the King could expropriate Jewish assets in the form of taxation. He levied heavy taxes on Jews at will without having to summon Parliament
. The Jewish community acted as a kind of giant monetary filter: Jews collected interest on money lent to the people which the King could take at his pleasure.
Jews acquired a reputation as extortionate moneylenders which made them extremely unpopular with both the church and the general public. While an anti-Jewish attitude was widespread in Europe, medieval England was particularly anti-Jewish. An image of the Jew as a diabolical figure who hated Christ started to become widespread, and antisemitic myths such as the Wandering Jew
and ritual murders originated and spread throughout England, as well as Scotland and Wales. In frequent cases of blood libel
, Jews were said to hunt for children to murder before Passover
so they could use their blood to make matzah. An anti-Jewish attitude on a number of occasions sparked riots where many Jews were murdered, most famously in 1190 when over a hundred Jews were massacred in the city of York.
. Taxation grew increasingly intense. Between 1219 and 1272, 49 levies were imposed on Jews for a total of 200,000 marks, a vast sum of money. The first major step towards expulsion took place in 1275, with the Statute of Jewry. The statute outlawed all usury and gave Jews fifteen years to readjust. However, guilds as well as popular prejudice made Jewish movement into mercantile or agricultural pursuits almost impossible.
While in his duchy of Gascony
in 1287, Edward ordered the local Jews expelled. All their property was seized by the crown and all outstanding debts payable to Jews were transferred to the King’s name. Whatever his personal feelings, by the time he returned to England in 1289 Edward was deeply in debt. The next summer he summoned his knights to impose a steep tax. To make the tax more palatable, Edward in exchange essentially offered to expel all Jews. The heavy tax was passed, and three days later, on July 18, the Edict of Expulsion was issued. One official reason for the expulsion was that Jews had neglected to follow the Statute of Jewry. The edict of expulsion was widely popular and met with little resistance, and the expulsion was quickly carried out.
The Jewish population in England at the time was relatively small. While population estimates vary, probably less than 1% of England was Jewish; perhaps 3,000 people. The expulsion process went fairly smoothly, although there were a few horrific stories. One story told of a captain taking a ship full of Jews to the Thames while the tide was going out and convincing them to go out for a walk with him. He then lost them and made it back to his ship before the tide came back in, leaving them all to drown.
Many Jews emigrated to countries such as Poland
, which at that time protected them (see Statute of Kalisz
).
in 1655, there is no official trace of Jews as such on English soil except in connection with the Domus Conversorum
, which kept a number of them within its precincts up to 1551 and even later. An attempt was made to obtain a revocation of the edict of expulsion as early as 1310, but in vain. Notwithstanding, a certain number of them appear to have come back; for complaints were made to the king in 1376 that some of those trading as Lombards
were Jews ("Rot. Parl." ii. 332a).
Occasionally permits were given to individuals to visit England, as in the case of Dr. Elyas Sabot in 1410, but it was not until the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 and Portugal in 1497 that any considerable number of Sephardic Jews found refuge in England. One of these as early as 1493 attempted to recover no less a sum than 428,000 maravedis which the refugees from Spain had entrusted to Diego de Soria. In 1542 many were arrested on the suspicion of being Jews, and throughout the sixteenth century a number of persons named Lopez, possibly all of the same family, took refuge in England, the best known of them being Rodrigo Lopez
, physician to Queen Elizabeth
, and who is said to have been the origin of Shylock
. Besides certain distinguished converts like Immanuel Tremellius
and Philip Ferdinand
, the most remarkable visitor was Joachim Gaunse
, who introduced new methods of mining into England. Occasional visitors, like Alonzo de Herrera and Simon Palache in 1614, are recorded. The writings of John Weemes
provided a positive view in favour of the resettlement of the Jews in England.
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
issued an edict expelling all Jews from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Lasting for the rest of the Middle Ages, it would be over 350 years until it was formally overturned in 1656. The edict was not an isolated incident, but the culmination of over 200 years of conflict on the matters of usury
Usury
Usury Originally, when the charging of interest was still banned by Christian churches, usury simply meant the charging of interest at any rate . In countries where the charging of interest became acceptable, the term came to be used for interest above the rate allowed by law...
.
Buildup to expulsion
The first Jewish communities of significant size came to England with William the Conqueror in 1066. On the conquest of England, William instituted a feudal system in the country, whereby all estates formally belonged to the Crown; the king then appointed lords over these vast estates, but they were subject to duties and obligations (financial and military) to the king. Under the lords were further subjects such as serfs, who were bound and obliged to their lords, and their lord's obligations. Merchants had a special status in the system as did Jews. Jews were declared to be direct subjects of the King, unlike the rest of the population. This had advantages for Jews, in that they were not tied to any particular lord, but were subject to the whims of the king. Every successive King formally reviewed a royal charterCharter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
granting Jews the right to remain in England. Jews did not enjoy any of the guarantees of Magna Carta
Magna Carta
Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...
of 1215.
Economically, Jews played a key role in the country. The church at the time strictly forbade usury
Usury
Usury Originally, when the charging of interest was still banned by Christian churches, usury simply meant the charging of interest at any rate . In countries where the charging of interest became acceptable, the term came to be used for interest above the rate allowed by law...
, or the lending of money for profit. This created a vacuum in the economy of Europe that only Jews were able to fill (canon law
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
was not considered to apply to Jews, and Judaism permits loans with interest
Loans and interest in Judaism
The combination of loans and interest, in Judaism, is a complicated and detailed subject. The biblical Hebrew terms for interest are neshekh , literally meaning a bite, and marbit/tarbit , which specifically refers to the gain by the creditor; neshekh referred to interest that was charged by...
between Jews and non-Jews). As a consequence, some Jews made large amounts of money. Although not all legally, in 1279, 280 Jews were hung for coin clipping
Coin clipping
Coin debasement is the act of decreasing the amount of precious metal in a coin, while continuing to circulate it at face value. This was frequently done by governments in order to inflate the amount of currency in circulation; typically, some of the precious metal was replaced by a cheaper metal...
. Taking advantage of their unique status as his direct subjects, the King could expropriate Jewish assets in the form of taxation. He levied heavy taxes on Jews at will without having to summon Parliament
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
. The Jewish community acted as a kind of giant monetary filter: Jews collected interest on money lent to the people which the King could take at his pleasure.
Jews acquired a reputation as extortionate moneylenders which made them extremely unpopular with both the church and the general public. While an anti-Jewish attitude was widespread in Europe, medieval England was particularly anti-Jewish. An image of the Jew as a diabolical figure who hated Christ started to become widespread, and antisemitic myths such as the Wandering Jew
Wandering Jew
The Wandering Jew is a figure from medieval Christian folklore whose legend began to spread in Europe in the 13th century. The original legend concerns a Jew who taunted Jesus on the way to the Crucifixion and was then cursed to walk the earth until the Second Coming...
and ritual murders originated and spread throughout England, as well as Scotland and Wales. In frequent cases of blood libel
Blood libel
Blood libel is a false accusation or claim that religious minorities, usually Jews, murder children to use their blood in certain aspects of their religious rituals and holidays...
, Jews were said to hunt for children to murder before Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
so they could use their blood to make matzah. An anti-Jewish attitude on a number of occasions sparked riots where many Jews were murdered, most famously in 1190 when over a hundred Jews were massacred in the city of York.
Expulsion
The situation only got worse for Jews as the 13th century progressed. In 1218, England became the first European nation to require Jews to wear a marking badgeYellow badge
The yellow badge , also referred to as a Jewish badge, was a cloth patch that Jews were ordered to sew on their outer garments in order to mark them as Jews in public. It is intended to be a badge of shame associated with antisemitism...
. Taxation grew increasingly intense. Between 1219 and 1272, 49 levies were imposed on Jews for a total of 200,000 marks, a vast sum of money. The first major step towards expulsion took place in 1275, with the Statute of Jewry. The statute outlawed all usury and gave Jews fifteen years to readjust. However, guilds as well as popular prejudice made Jewish movement into mercantile or agricultural pursuits almost impossible.
While in his duchy of Gascony
Gascony
Gascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a...
in 1287, Edward ordered the local Jews expelled. All their property was seized by the crown and all outstanding debts payable to Jews were transferred to the King’s name. Whatever his personal feelings, by the time he returned to England in 1289 Edward was deeply in debt. The next summer he summoned his knights to impose a steep tax. To make the tax more palatable, Edward in exchange essentially offered to expel all Jews. The heavy tax was passed, and three days later, on July 18, the Edict of Expulsion was issued. One official reason for the expulsion was that Jews had neglected to follow the Statute of Jewry. The edict of expulsion was widely popular and met with little resistance, and the expulsion was quickly carried out.
The Jewish population in England at the time was relatively small. While population estimates vary, probably less than 1% of England was Jewish; perhaps 3,000 people. The expulsion process went fairly smoothly, although there were a few horrific stories. One story told of a captain taking a ship full of Jews to the Thames while the tide was going out and convincing them to go out for a walk with him. He then lost them and made it back to his ship before the tide came back in, leaving them all to drown.
Many Jews emigrated to countries such as Poland
History of the Jews in Poland
The history of the Jews in Poland dates back over a millennium. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jewish community in the world. Poland was the centre of Jewish culture thanks to a long period of statutory religious tolerance and social autonomy. This ended with the...
, which at that time protected them (see Statute of Kalisz
Statute of Kalisz
The General Charter of Jewish Liberties known as the Statute of Kalisz was issued by the Duke of Greater Poland Boleslaus the Pious on September 8, 1264 in Kalisz...
).
Intermediate period
Between the expulsion of Jews in 1290 and their formal returnResettlement of the Jews in England
The resettlement of the Jews in England was a historic commercial policy dealing with Jews in England in the 17th century, and forms a prominent part of the history of the Jews in England.-Background:...
in 1655, there is no official trace of Jews as such on English soil except in connection with the Domus Conversorum
Domus Conversorum
The Domus Conversorum was a building and institution in London for Jews who had converted to Christianity. It provided a communal home and low wages. It was needed because all Jews who converted to Christianity forfeited all their possessions.It was established in 1253 by Henry III...
, which kept a number of them within its precincts up to 1551 and even later. An attempt was made to obtain a revocation of the edict of expulsion as early as 1310, but in vain. Notwithstanding, a certain number of them appear to have come back; for complaints were made to the king in 1376 that some of those trading as Lombards
Lombard banking
Lombard banking refers to the historical use of the term 'Lombard' for a pawn shop in the Middle Ages, a type of banking that originated with the prosperous northern Italian region of Lombardy. The term was sometimes used in a derogatory sense and some were accused of usury.-History:A Christian...
were Jews ("Rot. Parl." ii. 332a).
Occasionally permits were given to individuals to visit England, as in the case of Dr. Elyas Sabot in 1410, but it was not until the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 and Portugal in 1497 that any considerable number of Sephardic Jews found refuge in England. One of these as early as 1493 attempted to recover no less a sum than 428,000 maravedis which the refugees from Spain had entrusted to Diego de Soria. In 1542 many were arrested on the suspicion of being Jews, and throughout the sixteenth century a number of persons named Lopez, possibly all of the same family, took refuge in England, the best known of them being Rodrigo Lopez
Rodrigo Lopez (physician)
Rodrigo Lopez was physician to Queen Elizabeth, and may have been an inspiration for Shakespeare's Shylock in The Merchant of Venice.He was born in Crato, Portugal and raised as a New Christian...
, physician to Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
, and who is said to have been the origin of Shylock
Shylock
Shylock is a fictional character in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.-In the play:In The Merchant of Venice, Shylock is a Jewish moneylender who lends money to his Christian rival, Antonio, setting the security at a pound of Antonio's flesh...
. Besides certain distinguished converts like Immanuel Tremellius
Immanuel Tremellius
Immanuel Tremellius was an Italian Jewish convert to Christianity. He was known as a leading Hebraist and Bible translator.- Life :He was born at Ferrara, and educated at the University of Padua...
and Philip Ferdinand
Philip Ferdinand
Philip Ferdinand was an English Hebraist.Born in Poland to Polish Jewish parents, he converted first to Roman Catholicism and then to Protestantism. He was a poor student at Oxford University, where he taught Hebrew. He matriculated at Cambridge University in 1596. He became professor of Hebrew...
, the most remarkable visitor was Joachim Gaunse
Joachim Gaunse
Joachim Gans was a Bohemian mining expert and renowned for being the first recorded Jew to live in North America.-Early life:...
, who introduced new methods of mining into England. Occasional visitors, like Alonzo de Herrera and Simon Palache in 1614, are recorded. The writings of John Weemes
John Weemes
John Weemes was a Church of Scotland minister, Hebrew scholar and exegete.John Weemes was born at Lathocker, East Fife, and educated at the University of St Andrews. In 1608, he was appointed minister of Hutton, Berwickshire, and in 1613 he was translated to Duns...
provided a positive view in favour of the resettlement of the Jews in England.
See also
- History of the Jews in EnglandHistory of the Jews in EnglandThe history of the Jews in England goes back to the reign of William I. The first written record of Jewish settlement in England dates from 1070, although Jews may have lived there since Roman times...
- History of the Jews in England (1066-1200)History of the Jews in England (1066-1200)-William I to Henry I: 1066–1135:There is no record of Jews in England before the Norman Conquest in 1066. The few references to Jews in the Anglo-Saxon laws of the Roman Catholic Church either relate to Jewish practices about Easter or apply to passing visitors, such as Gallo-Roman Jews,...
- History of the Marranos in EnglandHistory of the Marranos in EnglandThe History of Marranos in England consists of the Marranos' contribution and achievement in England.-Arrival of Marranos:Toward the middle of the 17th century a considerable number of Marrano merchants settled in London and formed there a secret congregation, at the head of which was Antonio...
- Resettlement of the Jews in EnglandResettlement of the Jews in EnglandThe resettlement of the Jews in England was a historic commercial policy dealing with Jews in England in the 17th century, and forms a prominent part of the history of the Jews in England.-Background:...
- Menasseh Ben IsraelMenasseh Ben IsraelManoel Dias Soeiro , better known by his Hebrew name Menasseh Ben Israel , was a Portuguese rabbi, kabbalist, scholar, writer, diplomat, printer and publisher, founder of the first Hebrew printing press in Amsterdam in...
(1604–1657)
- Menasseh Ben Israel
- Jewish Naturalization Act 1753
- Influences on the standing of the Jews in EnglandInfluences on the standing of the Jews in England-Improvement of Jewish relations:One reason for an improvement in the public image of the Jews at the end of the Eighteenth century and beginning of the 19th can be found in positive attitudes towards Jewish pugilists...
- Emancipation of the Jews in EnglandEmancipation of the Jews in EnglandThe Emancipation of the Jews in England was the culmination of efforts in the 19th century over several hundred years to loosen the legal restrictions set in place on England's Jewish population...
- Early English Jewish literatureEarly English Jewish literatureEnglish Jewish Literature:-Effects of restrictions:The increasing degradation of the political status of the Jews in the thirteenth century is paralleled by the scantiness of their literary output as compared with that of the twelfth...
- History of the Jews in ScotlandHistory of the Jews in ScotlandThe earliest date at which Jews arrived in Scotland is not known. It is possible that some arrived, or at least visited, as a result of the Roman Empire's conquest of southern Great Britain, but there is no direct evidence for this...
- History of the Jews in WalesHistory of the Jews in WalesThe history of the Jews in Wales starts with the establishment of Jewish communities in South Wales in the eighteenth century CE. In the thirteenth century, shortly after Wales was conquered by Edward I of England, he issued the 1290 Edict of Expulsion expelling the Jews from England, and executed...
- Alhambra DecreeAlhambra decreeThe Alhambra Decree was an edict issued on 31 March 1492 by the joint Catholic Monarchs of Spain ordering the expulsion of Jews from the Kingdom of Spain and its territories and possessions by 31 July of that year.The edict was formally revoked on 16 December 1968, following the Second...
- Expulsion of the MoriscosExpulsion of the MoriscosOn April 9, 1609, King Philip III of Spain decreed the Expulsion of the Moriscos . The Moriscos were the descendants of the Muslim population that converted to Christianity under threat of exile from Ferdinand and Isabella in 1502...
- Edict of FontainebleauEdict of FontainebleauThe Edict of Fontainebleau was an edict issued by Louis XIV of France, also known as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Edict of Nantes of 1598, had granted the Huguenots the right to practice their religion without persecution from the state...
- 1731 Expulsion of Protestants from Salzburg