CEA

CEA, city in northern Spain. The Jewish quarter to the south of the town is first mentioned in 1110 and the "Jewish fortress" in 1166. As a market center, Cea attracted Jewish merchants, but the Jews living there obtained their livelihood from agriculture. In 1093, "Salomon the Jew" is mentioned as a man of wealth and a landowner in Cea. On the death of Alfonso VI in 1109, there was an outbreak of anti-Jewish riots in Cea as a penalty for which the Christians paid a fine until 1127. The Cea community paid an annual tax and services fee of 6,138 maravedis in 1290, but by 1439 it had dwindled to only 780 maravedis. After the edict of expulsion of the Jews from Spain was issued in March 1492, the Jews in Cea complained to the Crown that some of their number in debt to Christians had been arbitrarily imprisoned, although the Christian debtors had been granted a moratorium. On June 29, 1492, the Jews of Cea made a special request to the Crown for protection and defense, fearing that they would be robbed during their evacuation. Nothing is known about the royal attitude toward this request. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Baer, Urkunden, index; Rodríguez, in: Archivos Leoneses, 9 (1955), 5–46; Suárez Fernández, Documentos, index; León Tello, in: Instituto Tello Téllez de Meneses, 25 (1966), 1, 22, 265. (Haim Beinart)