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ZAKHORIUM
PTEN

Date

1536CE

1536–1821

The Portuguese Holy Office, won after a long dispute with Rome, pursued New Christians in the kingdom and in colonial Brazil.

Religious historyPolitical historyAntisemitism and persecution38.7247°N 9.1468°W
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A Jewish Renaissance: each bar is an event of the period; this one is in coral.

Sourced narrative

Each block is a verifiable statement. The number opens the cited page; amber or coral blocks flag tradition or contested interpretation.

6 statements

01Evidence and context

01

On 23 May 1536 a bull of Paul III established the Holy Office tribunal in Portugal.

03

The Portuguese tribunal emerged from a contest between Church and state interests.

04

John III faced prolonged Curia resistance before securing the definitive Inquisition bull.

05

John III reinforced the law barring New Christians from leaving Portugal, even under papal pressure.

06

For New Christians accused of Judaism, the most common sentence was imprisonment and perpetual penitential habit.

02

In Brazil, New Christians accused of Judaism could receive a death sentence at the stake.

Context

03

The Portuguese tribunal emerged from a contest between Church and state interests.

04

John III faced prolonged Curia resistance before securing the definitive Inquisition bull.

05

John III reinforced the law barring New Christians from leaving Portugal, even under papal pressure.

06

For New Christians accused of Judaism, the most common sentence was imprisonment and perpetual penitential habit.

§ 01Geography

Where it happened

Gazetteer coordinates (Pleiades for ancient places; Natural Earth and Wikidata for modern ones) over modern physical geography (Natural Earth). Coastlines and the Dead Sea have changed since antiquity.
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§ 04Network

Connections

    § 05Bibliography

    Further reading

    • Anita Novinsky, "O Tribunal da Inquisição em Portugal", Revista USP 5 (São Paulo, 1987): 91–98 (originally Folhetim, Folha de S. Paulo, 15 May 1987).

      The Portuguese Inquisition and New Christians · recommended in Novinsky, p. 91

    § 06Apparatus

    Sources on this page

    1. 01Novinsky, p. 91inspect
    2. 02Novinsky, p. 92inspect
    3. 03Novinsky, p. 91inspect
    4. 04Novinsky, p. 91inspect
    5. 05Novinsky, p. 96inspect
    6. 06Novinsky, p. 92inspect
    • Documented evidenceAttested by contemporary evidence: texts, inscriptions, coins, papyri or archaeology.
    • Scholarly reconstructionHistorians' inference from indirect evidence.
    • Tradition or narrativeA literary, traditional or religious account; significant in itself, but not independently verified.
    • Contested interpretationScholars explicitly disagree; see the positions in the debate.
    • Illustrative reconstructionA hypothesis or visual scheme to guide reading; not a historical claim.