March 31, 1492

Alhambra Decree

Ferdinand and Isabella sign the Granada edicts ordering Jews from their crowns

The signature went on the parchment in March. The decree was then kept from formal public promulgation for about a month.

31 March 1492, in Granada

In Granada on 31 March 1492, Ferdinand II and Isabella I signed royal provisions ordering every Jewish man, woman and child in their kingdoms and lordships to depart by the end of July and never return.

'Alhambra Decree' is a convenient singular label. Archival authorities describe two closely related royal provisions governing the territories of the Crowns of Castile and Aragon, not one statute for a modern nation-state.

Beneath the royal signatures, the secretary Juan de Coloma certified that he had caused the Castilian text to be written at the monarchs' command.

What the text ordered

Jews who remained or returned were threatened with death and confiscation without further trial. People sheltering them after the deadline risked losing possessions and privileges.

The edict temporarily placed Jews and their property under royal protection so they could sell what they owned and leave — while prohibiting the export of gold, silver, coined money and other restricted goods.

Its stated reasoning was that contact with practising Jews caused baptised Christians to Judaize, citing twelve years of inquisitorial activity, the residential segregation ordered in 1480 and an earlier expulsion from Andalusian towns as failed remedies. Those were the crown's accusations, not proof.

Nothing public for a month

The signed edict was not promulgated that day. Publication followed in Aragon on 29 April and across Castile on 1 May, after which Jewish households faced a compressed window in which to accept baptism or liquidate property and go.

Published estimates of how many emigrated run from roughly 40,000 to more than 150,000, and remain highly disputed.

The familiar story of Torquemada brandishing a crucifix while Jewish courtiers offered the crown 30,000 ducats is a later legend; Haim Beinart notes there is no evidence that such a petition occurred.

Sources

Researched 23 Aug 2026 9 sources not yet audited

How this was checked

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What the sources leave uncertain

The documentary date is secure: the surviving text closes ‘Given in our city of Granada’ on 31 March 1492 and bears the royal signatures.
The historical date is Julian. Spain and Portugal adopted the Gregorian calendar only in 1582.
‘Alhambra Decree’ is a convenient singular label, but archival authorities describe two royal provisions.
Population, conversion, and emigration totals vary drastically because late-medieval demographic evidence is incomplete. No single precise total should be presented as settled.