Jewish Presences in Portugal: Between History and Memory

Abstract

The history of the Jews in Portugal is often divided into three distinct periods: what I call the “time of the Jews”, the “time of the Inquisition” and the “time of return”. In this article, I will argue that the particular role played by the personal and collective multiple memories in each of these historical periods (by analyzing an array of primary and secondary sources, including medieval chronicles, inquisitorial sources and historiographical works), paradoxically blurs their chronological contours (namely, before 1497, between 1536 and 1821 and afterwards), and transforms the Jewish presence in Portugal into a challenging issue, from both a Jewish and a non-Jewish perspective, with far reaching biopolitical implications.