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On 5 December 1496, King Manuel I of Portugal (1495-1521) ordered all the Jews and Muslims residing in his realm to leave before the end of the following October. Despite the decree of expulsion, the Portuguese Jews, as is now well known, were practically all forced to convert to Christianity. The historical significance of this event cannot be underestimated. At one stroke, Portugal became the first Christian kingdom since the Visigothic period (AD 507-711) to forcibly convert its Jewish population en masse and, at the same time, also became the first Christian kingdom to ever expel its Muslim population en bloc. |
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