What 1492 edict ordered unconverted Jews to leave Castile and Aragon?

The 1492 edict was the Alhambra Decree, which ordered unconverted Jews to leave the Crowns of Castile and Aragon.

Issued on 31 March 1492 by Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, the decree required Jews either to convert to Christianity or leave their kingdoms and territories. The deadline for departure was 31 July. It followed the Christian conquest of Granada and reflected the monarchs’ drive for religious uniformity across their newly consolidated realms.

The decree’s official target was unconverted Jews, not all people of Jewish ancestry. Jews who converted became New Christians, or conversos, although the Inquisition later investigated many converts suspected of secretly practicing Judaism. Those who left helped form the Sephardic diaspora across North Africa, the Ottoman Empire, Italy, Portugal, and other parts of Europe.

The name “Alhambra Decree” comes from the Alhambra palace complex in Granada, where the Catholic Monarchs were staying when it was issued. It is also called the Edict of Expulsion or the Edict of Granada. The Treaty of Granada is a common distractor because it concerned the surrender of the Muslim kingdom of Granada, not the expulsion of Jews.