Conversos and the Spanish Inquisition

For centuries, Jews functioned as courtiers, government officials, merchants and moneylenders in Christian Spain. The Jewish community was useful to the ruling classes, and to an extent, protected by them. The middle years of the Reconquista coincided with a phase of economic expansion, in which both Jews and Christians contributed to the general prosperity and […]

WHO WAS THE REAL JOHN BLACKTHORNE IN SHOGUN?

The recent hit TV series, Shogun, is based on the eponymous novel by James Clavell. Its main character is a British explorer called John Blackthorne. Was there really such a man? In fact, yes. Shogun’s Blackthorne is based on the real-life navigator William Adams, the first Englishman to ever set foot in Japan. Adams was […]