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You are laboring under the delusion that I've been defending the Expulsion as 'no big deal.' I've merely been arguing that it was not, in fact, as wicked as the Holocaust. I.E. that the motivation for it was not the same, that the precedent for it at the time was common (as I said Spain was one of the last counties to forbid Jewish domicile joining such enlightened counties as England), and that, in the late 15th century travel was not as bad you think. Indeed, not to put to fine a point on it, but ironically it would have been more dangerous with a bunch of Gold in tow.

However, before you start, since non of you seem to be willing to suppose any other motive to me except that of antisemitism and wickedness, I'm not saying that that was the reason. The reason was Spain at the time was still a very poor country. In any case the Jews expelled did not have to go far, there were large Jewish communities in Muslim north Africa, as well as in the Ottoman Empire. Back then the Muslims welcomed them, after all the Jews in Spain had been the backbone of the administration under the moors. Times have changed.

One thing more, you will not be able to understand, and place the event into proper historical context unless you know what were its causes. The irony is, that as much as the Expulsion of the Jews, and Spanish antisemitism is a part of the "Black Legend" now, it was in part a response to the Black Legend of the time. Spaniards were looked down upon by most Europeans precisely because they were considered 'polluted' if you will by Jewish blood. That's why the Inquisition eventually became more concerned with the 'pure blood laws,' and who was a Jew three generations ago than with actually dealing with suspected Judaizers in the present. As Luther quipped "The Spaniards are all Marranos (Jewish pigs)." For most of Spain's history that was the supposed reason the Spanish were cruel and totalitarian; it was because they were actually Jewish. It's only been in the last century that that has been turned around. They can't catch a break, either they are evil because they are antisemitic, or because they are Jews.