On this day, March 31, in 1492

The Alhambra Decree, or 'The Edict of Expulsion', was issued by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain officially expelling all Jews from Spain. The anti-Jewish sentiment that led up to this event was rooted in the Moors conquest of Spain and Portugal about 700 years earlier. The Muslim Moors heavily wiped out Christianity in these conquered territories, but exhibited an open tolerance for Jewish communities, who consequently immigrated to these places in large numbers. Over 500 years later, the Catholic Monarchs began re-conquering Spain and after defeating the Moors, turned their open hostility and violence toward the Jewish populations that still lived there. While this is an oversimplification of a huge event, it emerges from an important point in history, which is often misrepresented or even skimmed over.