Marrano (Paperback)

Marranos or secret Jews (also known as Anusim) were Sephardic Jews (Jews resident in the Iberian peninsula) who were forced to adopt Christianity under threat of expulsion but who continued to practice Judaism secretly, thus preserving their Jewish identity. The term in Spanish meant pigs; it stemmed from the ritual prohibition against eating pork, a prohibition practiced by both Jews and Muslims. In Spanish, the term marrano acquired the meaning of "swine" or "filthy." In contemporary Spanish it is no longer associated with Jews. In Portuguese, the word refers only to crypto-Jews, since pig or "swine" is marro or varro. Not all conversos were immediately accused of being marranos. Those suspicions arose during times of social tension, when resentment targeted conversos who began to rise in position and influence. People who were jealous found it convenient to accuse them of secretly continuing Judaism as a way of attacking them in a society of state religion