Anti-Jewish Riots in Seville

Anti-Jewish riots erupted in Seville, Spain, on Ash Wednesday (1391). The violence spread rapidly across the Iberian Peninsula, claiming approximately 50,000 victims. A substantial number of Jews survived only by converting, giving rise to the Converso (Marrano) community — estimated at 200,000 in Aragon and Castile — who would produce countless martyrs in Europe and the New World for centuries.