The accentuation of inquisitorial repression after the fall of the Count-Duke of Olivares and the substitution of the General Inquisitor Sotomayor by Arce Reinoso in 1643 forced many Jewish conversos into hiding and exile. A series of letters sent by francisco Fernández Miranda to his brother Simón, an administrator of royal income who resided in Madrid, describes the problems of these forced exiles, the strategies used to hide their escape routes, and the repercussions for their social and family life. The difficulties that these exiles had in settling in their new countries or communities forced some to return to Spain where they tried to pass unnoticed by changing their names and places of residence. This mobility had an important role in the maintenance of communication between Jewish people who were living as Christians in Spain and those living as Jews in other places of Europe, reinforcing the ties and beliefs of the former.

Inquisition Exodus conversos Exile Spain Seventeenth Century

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