VILA REAL

VILA REAL
VILA REAL, town in N. central Portugal, in the province of Tras-os-Montes. Founded in the 13th century, it contains ancient architecture which exhibits Moorish influence. Vila Real became a Crypto-Jewish center after the forced conversions of 1497 (see portugal ). The marranos there maintained their separate identity for four centuries, surviving the inquisition . Their survival was due in part to the character of the region – grapes for Porto's port wines are still grown there – which contributed to an independence of spirit and secretiveness. The Marranos narrowly won a contest of time against the Inquisition. For by 1718, when the Marranos had been effectively purged from the accessible coastal cities, the inquisitors began a systematic campaign into the hill country along the Spanish border. Concentrating on individual towns in the Tras-os-Montes, Beira and Alentejo provinces, the campaign extirpated the Crypto-Jewish center in upper Alentejo and prosperous industries collapsed as a result of the sudden decimation of the Marrano population. For 30 years the Marranos in a dozen towns throughout rural Portugal were sought out by the Inquisition, including Lamego (15 mi. south of Vila Real) and Braganza (to the north). By the 1750s, when Pombal suppressed the Inquisition, it had not yet reached Vila Real. In 1928 the ex-marrano arturo carlos de barros basto visited Vila Real in an attempt to rouse the surviving Marranos to return to Judaism. Although he found that they feared to make a public declaration of their Jewish affiliation, he remained in touch with a nucleus of the Vila Real group. In 1930 he returned to found a Jewish congregation, under the presidency of Eugenio Cardoso. The Marranos in Vila Real then numbered a few hundred, out of a total population of 6,700. Its neo-Jewish community subsequently had but occasional contact with the Jewish world. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Roth, Marranos, 273, 345, 368; Portuguese Marrano Committee, Report for the Year 1928 (1929); idem, Marranos in Portugal (1938). (Aaron Lichtenstein)

Encyclopedia Judaica. 1971.

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  • Vila Real — Bandera …   Wikipedia Español

  • Vila Real — Pour les autres villes portant ce nom, voir Villarreal et Vila Real de Santo António. Vila Real …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Vila Real — Infobox Municipality pt official name = Vila Real image coat of arms = Vila Real bras%C3%A3o.gif Region = Norte Subregion = Douro District = Vila Real Mayor name = Manuel Martins Mayor party = PSD area total = 378.8 population total = 50,499… …   Wikipedia

  • Vila-real — Dieser Artikel behandelt die spanische Stadt. Die Schreibweise der gleichnamigen Stadtgemeinde auf den Philippinen lautet Villareal. Außerdem gibt es in Portugal die Stadt Vila Real und den Distrikt Vila Real Gemeinde Villarreal Wappen Karte von… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Vila-Real — Villarreal Pour les articles homonymes, voir Villarreal (homonymie).  Pour la ville de Portugal, voir Vila Real. Villarrea …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Vila-real — Villarreal Pour les articles homonymes, voir Villarreal (homonymie).  Pour la ville de Portugal, voir Vila Real. Villarrea …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Vila Real — Original name in latin Vila Real Name in other language Bila Real, Bila Rial, VRL, Vila Real, Vila Realas, Vila Real, lei a er cheng, wyla ryal, Вила Реал State code PT Continent/City Europe/Lisbon longitude 41.30062 latitude 7.74413 altitude 462 …   Cities with a population over 1000 database

  • Vila-real — Original name in latin Vila real Name in other language Vila Real, Vila real, Villareal, Вила Реал State code ES Continent/City Europe/Madrid longitude 39.93333 latitude 0.1 altitude 40 Population 51205 Date 2012 04 29 …   Cities with a population over 1000 database

  • Vila Real — 1 Admin ASC 1 Code Orig. name Vila Real Country and Admin Code PT.21 PT 2 Admin ASC 2 Code Orig. name Vila Real Country and Admin Code PT.21.1714 PT …   World countries Adminstrative division ASC I-II

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