The historian/ the novelist

Mirror, Mirror on the wall
how could we hear them all

11-14 years old
Transnational groups

eTwinning 2020/21

the Historian

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
(George Santayana)

In this book you'll learn about several shameful ethnic conflicts that were witnessed by our ancestors, on long forgotten past times or in more recent painfully remembered days. On recovering them from the trunk of human memory we aim to remember the past, so that we may grow wiser enough to escape our sentence... We firmly believe we're able to learn, we surely want to learn and do better!!
Let us all be like the magic mirror from the carnival, reflecting the exact opposite of what comes to its view.
Let us show respect and admiration for all human beings who walk on earth, enjoy the differences and be thankful for all we may learn with each other. After all, we are all different but we're all the same: Humans.

(Your teachers)

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Agrupamento de EScolas de Lousada High School, Lousada, Portugal

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The Jews' persecution in Portugal (XV-XVII)

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In 1492, the kings Isabel and Fernando of Castela decreed the expulsion from Spain of Jews who did not convert to Christianity. Jews who refused to convert fled to Portugal.

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King João II allowed these refugees to come to Portugal, indicating the places where they could enter: Olivença, Arronches, Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, Bragança and Melgaço. At the border, Jews paid a fee in exchange for a safe pass. Most of these people went to the big cities like Lisbon, Porto and Évora, while others stayed close to the border, with the hope of one day returning to Spain. João II's authorization to stay here intended to last for a period of 8 months, however, the Jews ended up by staying in Portugal for a much longer time.

When King João II died, in 1495, the Portuguese crown was inherited by Manuel. In the early years of King Manuel's reign, the Jewish community lived in peace, with the king choosing a Jew as his private physician. King Manuel married Isabel, the kings of Castela’s daughter. They agreed to the marriage, but Manuel would have to expel the Jews from the country. After the wedding, King Manuel decreed the order to expel the Jews, forcing them to leave the country. If they did not, they would be condemned to death and all their property would be confiscated by the crown. However, as the Jews possessed wealth and when they depart, they would leave the country poorer, Manuel allowed them to stay, but on the condition that they convert to Christianity. They decided that all the Jews would be baptized on the Easter of 1497.

There were applied tragic measures for Jews who refused the conversion. Jews under the age of 14 were taken out of their families and handed over to Christian families, to be raised as Christians. The consequences were terrible, and many parents killed their own children. Other Jews were baptized by force while others, who managed to escape, committed suicide.

In the year of 1506, the city of Lisbon was the stage for the most dramatic and bloody anti-Judaic episode of all those that are known in our territory:
During three days, 19, 20 and the 21st of April, these events, that started next to St. Domenic's Convent (presently St. Domenic's square), resulted in about two thousand Lisbonites being barbarously assassinated and burned, in two enormous fires in Rossio and Ribeira, for mere suspicion of professing Judaism.

Some who stayed in Portugal as slaves to the king and did not convert, proposed the conversion to the king in exchange for the restitution of their children, with the guarantee that their religious practices would not be questioned. Thus, inquiries of recent converts to Christianity were prohibited. The King also decreed that New Christians should not be treated any differently than the rest, since they were converted to the Holly Faith. Even so, many decided to leave the country taking their goods with them, that is, a part of the country's wealth ran away.

Evoking this hidious crime which constituted the massacre of 1506, considered as a crime of intolerance that, according to Antero de Quental, contributed to the decadence of the Peninsular people, the city of Lisbon decided to install a Memorial to the Victims of Intolerance, evocative of the Jewish massacre of Lisbon of 1506 and all victims who suffered discrimination and personal villainy because of their origin, conviction or ideas. The memorial was placed in the St. Dominic's square.
The inauguration of the memorial took place on the 19th April 2008, in a ceremony promoted by the City Council of Lisbon, to which were invited all ethnic and religious communities of the city.