Inquisição e Independência, Um Motim No
Fundao-1580
Inquisition and Independence, A Riot in Fundão-1580
Maria Antonieta Garcia, Alma Azul,
Coimbra, 2006, 227pp
This book is about a riot in the 16th century in Fundão (near
Belmonte), the only known public act of resistance against the
unHoly Office of the Inquisition to have occurred in Portugal.
On November 22, 1580, in the town of Fundão, in the Beira
region, not far from Belmonte, Damião Mendes, a bailiff of the
unHoly Office of the Inquisition reported that he was received
at the door of a church by Estêvão Sampaio, the senior alderman
in the town, and armed men who meant to kill him. He said they
confronted him with the intention of impeding the work of the
unHoly Office of the Inquisition. Bailiff Mendes complained of
being pushed and knocked down, that the armed men broke his rod
and took away his sword, that he was left without his hat and
cape, and that he fell to the ground. They cut loose his horses
and roughed up one of his men. He alleged that Sampaio spoke
harshly to him and was rude, that he told him that he would take
his rod and, lhe meteria pelo cu acima, and other such vulgar
words.
As was customary in that period, the bailiff would have arrived
in Fundão secretly, then made an announcement to the population
to attend church on Sunday in honour of some saint. When the
church was full, the doors would be locked by guards and the Old
Christians would be called upon to identify the New Christians
who would be handcuffed and led away to the subterranean jail
cells of the unHoly Office, except this time, the secret was
discovered and the bailiff was in for a surprise.
Esther Muznick, vice-president of the Israeli Community of
Lisbon described the book as a good crime novel at the launch of
the book in Lisbon. There is an excellent bibliography, several
annexes of historical and documents, and twenty pages of the
names of the victims of the Inquisition from Fundão from 1582 to
1754.
Maria Antonieta Garcia, born in Fundão, a retired professor of
Sociology at the the University of Beira Interior where she
founded the Centre for Jewish Studies, is the author of numerous
books on Portuguese Jewish history including the critically
acclaimed, Judaismo no Feminino (1999), an analysis of the
community of Belmonte. Regrettably, none of her books have been
translated to English, something the Friends of Marranos hopes
to change.
Historical Background, and Portugal’s Marrano
King*
In 1578, with the disappearance of King D. Sebastian (unmarried)
at the ill-fated battle of Alcacer Quibir (yet another attempt
to invade Morocco), Cardeal D. Henrique, Inquisidor general,
acceded to the throne. The Cardinal was the only brother of King
John III who brought the Inquisition to Portugal after Marrano
bribes paid to the Pope and Cardinals were no longer effective.
In 1580, with the death of Cardinal Henrique, three
nephews/nieces claimed the throne, D. Catarina de Bragança,
daughter of the Infante (i.e. prince) D. Duarte and D. Isabel of
Bragança, Filipe II of Spain, son of D. Isabel of Portugal and
Emperor Charles V, and D. Antonio, Prior of Crato, son of the
Infante D. Luis, Lord of Covilha, and Violante Gomes, a New
Christian.
The major opposition to Filipe II of Spain was D. Antonio, Prior
of Crato. He was acclaimed King in Santarem (a city north of
Lisbon, the wealthiest Jewish community at the time of the
taking of Lisbon in 1147), in June of 1580. He proceeded to
Lisbon where he was received with great jubilation. However, the
nobles sided with Philip of Spain and Antonio was defeated in
August, in Alcantara. His reign lasted two months, although he
attempted to rule Portugal from the island of Terceira (with
English and French support) until a Spanish fleet defeated him
in 1582. It was during this period of uncertainty and political
crisis that the riot of Fundão occurred. The author flushes out
this historical setting in the book and annexes several
historical documents.
From the Back cover of the book
In July, Fundão, the town where the riot occurred, Estêvão de
Sampaio, captain, was the eldest alderman. New Christians
struggled against the Inquisition, and everyone, New Christians,
and Old Christians, opposed the claim of jurisdiction by
neighbouring Covilha and Guarda. They defended the autonomy of
their municipality. This is the only known episode of resistance
to the Inquisition in Portugal.
Notes
1. Fundão is in the Beira region (near Belmonte). This area, a
refuge for Jews, grew demographically since 1391 after the
progroms in Barcelona, Sevilha, Toledo, Valencia and Cordova
when entire Jewish communities were wiped out. In Sevilha, in
1391, over 4,000 Jews were killed in one day. Following the
Edict of expulsion of 1492, the Jewish population of Portugal,
and especially Beira swelled again. The street name, Rua Nova
(New Street), found in many towns and cities in Portugal is
often associated with expansion of the Judiarias during the 15th
century. Antonieta Garcia accepts that no less than 120,000 Jews
entered Portugal in 1492.
*Marrano, at one time a pejorative term applied to Jews who were
forcibly baptized in Spain in 1391 and in Portugal in 1497, is
in common usage by some academics in Portugal who attribute its
origin to the Aramaic-Hebrew Mar Anus, a forced one, like the
widely used Hebrew term today, Anousim. Converso or New
Christian often replaces the term, but not all Conversos or New
Christians, a term adopted by Christianity, were necessarily
forced. The term Marrano is used because of its acceptance in
Portugal, its association with the forced baptism of 1497 and
the Inquisition, and its growing meaning as a badge of identity
and resistance to the unHoly Office of the Inquisition (which
still exists)
(António, Prior of Crato Anthony
I, King of Portugal (Portuguese:
António, (1531
–
1595),
known by The Prior of Crato and, rarely, as The Determined, The
Fighter or The Independentist), was a grandson of
Manuel
I, claimant of the
Portuguese throne during the 1580 crisis (struggle
for the throne of Portugal) and, according to
some historians,
King
of Portugal and the Algarves (during a short
time in
1580,
in the continent, and from then until
1583,
in the
Azores
Islands).
Antonio was the illegitimate son of Prince
Louis,
Duke of Beja (1506–1555)
by Yolande (Violante) Gomez, a
Jewess,
who is said to have died a nun. This made him the grandson of
King
Manuel
I (1495–1521).
Due to his illegitimate status, his claim to the throne was
considered invalid; furthermore, his father was also Prior of
Crato (that enabled him to marry without a Pope's dispensation).
from
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio,_Prior_of_Crato where a
longer article can also be found)