Antisemitic conspiracy theories in the early modern Iberian world : : narratives of fear and hatred / / by Francois Soyer.

• VerfasserIn: Soyer, Franc̦ois,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden ;, Boston : : Brill,, 2019.
• Year of Publication: 2019
• Language: English
• Series: The Iberian Religious World 5.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (331 pages).

In Antisemitic Conspiracy Theories in the Early Modern Iberian World: Narratives of Fear and Hatred , François Soyer offers the first detailed historical analysis of antisemitic conspiracy theories in Spain, Portugal and their overseas colonies between 1450 and 1750. These conspiracy theories accused Jews and conversos , the descendants of medieval Jewish converts to Christianity, of deadly plots and blamed them for a range of social, religious, military and economic problems. Ultimately, many Iberian antisemitic conspiracy theorists aimed to create a ‘moral panic’ about the converso presence in Iberian society, thereby justifying the legitimacy of ethnic discrimination within the Church and society. Moreover, they were also exploited by some churchmen seeking to impose an idealized sense of communal identity upon the lay faithful.

Table of Contents

Front Matter -- Copyright Page / François Soyer -- Introduction 1 / François Soyer -- 1 Conspiracism and Society in Early Modern Europe 17 / François Soyer -- 2 Forged Documents and the Fear of Jewish Infiltration: the Jewish World Plot and the Early Modern Iberian World 54 / François Soyer -- 3 “Seeking to Build a Synagogue within the Church of God”: the Alleged Converso Plot to Infiltrate and Destroy the Catholic Church 93 / François Soyer -- 4 Medical Murder: the Myth of the Jewish Serial-Killer Doctors 138 / François Soyer -- 5 “Traitors Who Dwell amongst Us”: the Conversos as Collaborators and Masterminds of the Muslim and Protestant Onslaught against Spain and Portugal 184 / François Soyer -- 6 “Sponges That Suck Up the Wealth of Spain”: the Jewish Plot, Economic Parasitism and the Fear of Economic Decline 230 / François Soyer -- Conclusion 265 / François Soyer -- Back Matter -- Bibliography / François Soyer -- Index / François Soyer.