Recommendations from our site
“It’s a very detailed book, quite an academic book, and it’s built on an enormous amount of research. It takes a very modern approach to looking at this, arguing effectively, that an idea of race began in Spain in the 15th century, with the presence in society of people who were descended from Jews, but were Christians, and so had an ambiguous status. This racialised idea of Jewish converts, it argues, drove a hatred of them and led to the founding of Inquisition. It’s a very modern history. But it also tells a narrative story. If you want a readable book written in the last 20 years that explains why the Inquisition was founded, this would be the one I would choose.” Read more...
