What decree did King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella make against the Jews in 1492?
In 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella decreed that every Jew in Spain had to leave the country, convert to Catholicism, or be put to death by a set date. This forced a great exodus of Jews from Spain. The choice was expulsion, conversion, or death.
Les teaches that Spain is one of the best examples of an empire turning on the Jewish people. He notes that Spain was riding the crest of national power and empire, and then in 1492, before the great explorers, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella made the decree that every Jew would either be out of Spain, convert to Catholicism, or be dead by such and such a day. The result was a great exodus of Jews out of Spain. Les explains that within about a hundred years, Spain was nothing, just a blip on history, showing that empires which turn on the Jew go down. This connects to the covenant promise that God will bless those who bless the nation of Israel and curse those who curse them, while the promise through Abraham that all nations would be blessed came through their Messiah, Christ, whose work on the cross became a blessing for the whole human race.