Marranos

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Marranos (from Span., ‘swine’). Baptized Jews of Spain and Portugal, i.e. anusim, or forced converts. Jews in Spain were forced to convert to Christianity in 1391 and in Portugal in 1497. These ‘new Christians’ were always suspected of harbouring their original faith and were renowned for their reluctance to eat pork. Particularly after the introduction of the Inquisition into Spain in 1481 and into Portugal in 1536, many Marranos fled abroad. Marranos lived undisturbed in many Protestant states. In Roman Catholic countries, their situation was far more precarious, and in most places they had to maintain the semblance of Catholicism.

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