New genetics study reveals Spain's forced conversions in 15th and 16th centuries
An international team of scientists has uncovered striking evidence that mass conversions to Catholicism by Sephardic Jews and Muslims took place in the 15th and 16th centuries in Spain and Portugal.The discovery shines new light on one of the bitterest episodes in the history of the Iberian Peninsula when the region entered a period of terrible religious oppression. The Moors, who at first adopted a policy of religious tolerance when they conquered Spain, later introduced laws that forced Christians and Jews to convert to Islam. Then, after Christians had achieved key victories over the Moors, they expelled all Jews and Muslims who would not convert to their religion.In the past, it was assumed these two acts triggered two separate, massive waves of expulsions. The discovery controversially challenges this belief. The new study, reported in the American Journal of Human Genetics last week, indicates that large numbers of people, particularly Spanish...
Read the whole article on The Guardian - Science
More from The Guardian - Science
Related
- Past religious diversity and intolerance have profound impact on genetics of Iberian peopleThu, 4 Dec 2008, 12:42:18 EST
- The role of inbreeding in the extinction of the Spanish Habsburg dynastyTue, 14 Apr 2009, 20:42:17 EDT
- The last European hadrosaurs lived in the Iberian PeninsulaThu, 5 Nov 2009, 10:23:24 EST
- Expert on terrorism warns about the implantation of radical Islamism in Spain since 11-MWed, 11 Nov 2009, 11:25:59 EST
- The first men and women from the Canary Islands were BerbersWed, 21 Oct 2009, 14:01:35 EDT