La plebe y los judíos. La construcción de un mito histórico en la España del siglo XIX

Abstract

After the abolition of the Spanish Inquisition there was a revival of the interest in the history of the deep cultural and social mark left by the Jews in Spain. Adolfo de Castro developed a new focus on the subject avoiding the relationship of Jews with masons and liberals as fashioned and diffused by conservative propaganda. He stressed the positive role played by the Jews in the history of Spain. He considered that the progressive decline of Spain happened as a result of a combination of the processes of oppression and eventual expulsion of the Jews. According to Castro; the idealization of the Jews was then conceived as standing opposite to popular prejudices and intolerance.