CHILDREN OF THE INQUISITION

#101 In Part I of CHILDREN OF THE INQUISITION we re-examine the long-hidden history of the families who were forced to convert or flee during the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions. A diverse cast of storytellers descended from the victims of the Inquisition and expert historians trace the arrival of Jewish traders to Iberia hundreds of years before Christ, the Muslim conquest of Iberia in the 700s, the centuries of reconquest by Christian kingdoms; and the Golden Age of Spain, the Convivencia when Muslims, Christians and Jews lived in relative harmony.

Part 1 ends in August 1492 when Columbus’ ships, seeking the riches of the East, set sail at the same time and same place as the Jews, seeking a safe haven from the fires of the inquisition. Part II reveals how their migrations literally changed the world.



#102 Part II of CHILDREN OF THE INQUISITION takes us from 1492 to present day. Jews fleeing the 1492 Expulsion migrated all over the world looking for safe havens. Some traveled to more tolerant areas of Italy and from there headed to Austria and then Eastern Europe. Some took on new identities while others retained their Jewish identity. The Ottoman Sultan Beyazid II welcomed them to live, work and worship in his ever-growing empire. They flourished until WWII when the Nazis murdered over 50,000, whose families had thrived under Muslim rule for 500 years.

As converts, many settled the New World, often losing their religion but keeping their traditional customs. When the Inquisition came to Mexico, many fled up the Rio Grande to what is now the American Southwest. A boat of Jews fleeing the Inquisition in Brazil founded the first Jewish community in New York City. By the end we learn how interrelated we all really are.