Page:Jewish Encyclopedia Volume 2.pdf/521

471 Balance

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

471

BALEARIC

A

ISLES: group of islands in the Mediterranean, belonging to Spain, situated to the east of Valencia, the three principal of which are named Majorca (Spanish, Mallorca), Minorca (Menorca), and Ivica or Iviza (Ibiza). The group first formed the kingdom of Majorca later it became a Spanish province under the domination of Aragon. According to the chroniclers, there were Jewish inhabitants in the Balearic Isles as early as the second century. In the fifth century, at the Early instigation of Bishop Severas, a perHistory. secution of the Jews took place in Mahon (Magona), the capital of Minorca. As a result, a number of Jews, including Theodore, a rich representative Jew who stood high in the estimation of his coreligionists and of Christians alike, underwent baptism. In consequence of the persecutions of the Almohades in Spain (1146), the number of Jews on the islands increased, and in Palma, the capital of Majorca, a large synagogue and two smaller ones were erected. The Jews engaged in trade and agriculture; and estates, both hereditary (rahals) and leasehold (alguerias), were held in Inqua, Petra, and Montuiri by the community (almodayna), as well as by individual Jews. Among the latter were Almo, Zadic, Astruc de Tortosa, and his three brothers (Dameto, "Historia General del Reyno Balearico," pp. 277 et " Coleccion de Documentos Ineditos para la seg. Historia de Espafia," ix. 14, 18, 20, and elsewhere,



Barcelona, 1856). (1213-76) of Aragon, who carried in his Bachiel of Saragossa to act as interpreter, conquered Majorca on the last day of the year 1229, and annexed it to his kingdom. He gave the Jews a quarUnder Aragon ter in the neighborhood of his palace from 1229. for their dwellings, granted protection to all Hebrews who wished to settle on the island, guaranteed them the rights of citizens,

Jaime

train

I.

Don

permitted them to adjudicate their own civil disputes, to kill cattle according to their ritual, and to draw up their wills and marriage contracts in HeChristians and Moors were forbidden, under severe penalties, to insult the Jews or to take earth and stones from their cemeteries and the Jews were ordered to complain directly to the king of any act of injustice toward them on the part of the royal offiThey were allowed to charge 20 per cent cials. interest on loans, but the amount of interest was not

brew.



to exceed the capital. In case a Jew practised usury, the

community was not held responsible. The penalty for lending money on the wages of slaves hired out by their masters was loss of the capital. Jews could buy and hold houses, vineyards, and other property in Majorca as well as in any other part of the kingdom. They could not be compelled to lodge Christians in their homes: in fact, Christians were forbidden to dwell with Jews and Jewish convicts were

given separate cells in the prisons. If the slave of a Jew or Moor adopted Judaism or Mohammedanism, he had to be set free and was required to leave the island.

Jaime II. (1291-1327) confirmed the Jews in all the privileges conferred on them by his predecessor: he

Balearic

synagogue in the new and to own a cemetery. Unlike the Jews of Aragon, the Jews from the Balearic Isles were exempt from the duty of furnishing beds and bread to the royal family or to the govMoreover, they were not forced to pay the ernor. special taxes demanded of the Jews of Catalonia and Aragon. The Jews of Majorca, Minorca, and Ivica always formed one congregation. The Christian propaganda, here as well as elsewhere, grew ever stronger. Endeavors were made to convert Jews, and a similar theological controversy to that which occurred in Aragon took place in 1286 (Pr. Carben, "Plagellum Hebraicum," Venice, 1672). SomeGrowth, what later, priests forced themselves of Intoler- into the Jewish quarter; a tumult ance. arose, representative Jews made complaint (1305), and the clergy were absolutely forbidden to enter the Jewish quarter or the homes of Jews unless accompanied by a bailiff Fearing expulsion, or an official of the governor. the fate of their coreligionists in Prance (1306), the

also allowed

them

" Calle " (Jews'

to build a

quarter),

of Majorca, after the death of the humane I., addressed themselves (1311) to the new king, Sancho I., with a request for protection; and

Jews

Jaime

he confirmed their privileges. Evil times for the Jews in the Balearic Isles began with the Council of Vienne (1312), which prohibited

between Jew and Christian, and urged the clergy to the conversion of PerJews. Unfortunately the Jews of the seditions islands were thoughtless enough to convert to Judaism (1314) two Chrisby the Church, tians from Germany, who had been refused admission to Judaism by a number of Spanish rabbis, even by those of Gerona and Lerida. As soon as Bishop Villanova of Majorca heard of the conversion, he imposed a fine The king, besides, of 150,000 florins on the Jews. confiscated their books and all their personal property and real estate, and converted into a church their beautiful synagogue which had been scarcely comOn payment of 95,000 florins they were pleted. granted immunity from further penalties, and the}r were allowed to build another synagogue in the place In order to raise the enorof that taken from them. mous sum, the heads of the congregation placed (1315) a tax upon everything on wine, meat, bread, whatever was bought and used, on their stock of merchandise, and even on new clothes. The tax was to be levied for ten years, and was sanctioned by a royal statute. At the same time a petition was addressed to the king, praying him to restore to the Jews all their former privileges, and to order that in the future no Jew should be forcibly baptized that a Jew sentenced to death should be hanged, like a' Christian, by the head and not by the feet that the inquisitor should always examine a Jew ia the presence of a bailiff or his representative; and that a Jew should be free to have an advocate. The Jews strained every effort in order to pay the fine, and in

all

intercourse

—





1328 the amount was cleared.

The

avaricious San-

cho in his own interest granted them freedom to trade, and in 1318 gave them the assurance that neither they nor their descendants should be expelled