Where to run to, now that the king of Portugal had barred the way and made emigration illegal for the Christians he still called Jews? Step by step, little by little, always looking over their shoulders, they could find their way to the protection of the sultan in the east. The rumour that the Turk was actually welcoming Jews might even be true. Excerpted from Belonging: The Story of the Jews 1492-1900. Published by Allen Lane, an imprint of Penguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited.

Source: National Post October 18, 2017 16:41 UTC