Recovering legacies: Property and heritage conflicts with returning Jews to Castilla between 1492 and 1525

Abstract

The consequences of the Expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 in relationship to their properties is an open topic for research. This master thesis focuses on some cases related to property claims started by the following generation of Jews who returned to Castile after converting to Christianity. The research question for this master thesis is: How had the right of second-generation Jews to claim their antecessors’ properties evolved at the Chancillería of Valladolid from 1492 to 1525? To answer this question, this master thesis analyzes three pleitos and several executive writs through a classic empirical-critical method, exposing and discussing the contents of those documents in the process. This master thesis is split into three analysis chapters, each one related to a different period based on the regent monarch at the time. As this master thesis shows, the passage of time has been an important factor in the development of those lawsuits, as later lawsuits met more difficulties for the plaintiffs to get a favorable sentence.