Editing Alhambra Decree (section)

===Ferdinand and Isabella===
{{Main|Catholic Monarchs}}
[[File:Expulsión_de_los_judíos.jpg|thumb|250px|Expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 by [[Emilio Sala (painter)|Emilio Sala Francés]]]]
Hostility towards the Jews in Spain was brought to a climax during the reign of the "Catholic Monarchs," [[Ferdinand II of Aragon|Ferdinand]] and [[Isabella I of Castile|Isabella]]. Their marriage in 1469, which formed a [[personal union]] of the crowns of [[Crown of Aragon|Aragon]] and [[Crown of Castile|Castile]], with coordinated policies between their distinct kingdoms, eventually led to the final unification of Spain.

Although their initial policies towards the Jews were protective, Ferdinand and Isabella were disturbed by reports claiming that most Jewish converts to Christianity were insincere in their conversion.<ref name=":1" /> As mentioned above, some claims that [[Converso|''conversos'']] continued to practice Judaism in secret (see [[Crypto-Judaism]]) were true, but the "Old" Christians exaggerated the scale of the phenomenon. It was also claimed that Jews were trying to draw conversos back into the Jewish fold. In 1478, Ferdinand and Isabella made a formal application to [[Holy See|Rome]] to set up an Inquisition in Castile to investigate these and other suspicions. In 1487, King Ferdinand promoted the establishment of the [[Spanish Inquisition]] Tribunals in Castile.<ref name=":1" /> In the Crown of Aragon, it had been first instituted in the 13th century to combat the [[Albigensian heresy]]. However, the focus of this new Inquisition was to find and punish ''conversos'' who were practicing Judaism in secret.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0DoY6VKNSC0C|title=Imperial Spain 1469–1716|last=Huxtable|first=Elliott John|publisher=Penguin|year=2002|isbn=9780141925578|location=London, UK|oclc=759581255|orig-year=1964}}</ref> {{Page needed|date=April 2020}}

These issues came to a head during Ferdinand and Isabella's final conquest of Granada. The independent Islamic [[Emirate of Granada]] had been a [[tributary state]] to Castile since 1238. Jews and conversos played an important role during this campaign because they had the ability to raise money and acquire weapons through their extensive trade networks.<ref name=":1" /> This perceived increase in Jewish influence further infuriated the Old Christians and the hostile elements of the clergy.<ref name=":1" /> Finally, in 1491 in preparation for an imminent transition to Castilian territory, the [[Treaty of Granada (1491)|Treaty of Granada]] was signed by Emir [[Muhammad XII of Granada|Muhammad XII]] and the Queen of Castile, protecting the religious freedom of the Muslims there. By 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella had won the [[Battle of Granada]] and completed the Catholic [[Reconquista]] of the Iberian Peninsula from Islamic [[Al-Andalus|forces]]. However, the Jewish population emerged from the campaign more hated by the populace and less useful to the monarchs.