The expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290

"The expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290" by Barnett Lionel Abrahams is a historical account written in the late 19th century. It examines how political finance, urban privilege, baronial indebtedness, popular prejudice, and ecclesiastical pressure converged under Edward I to end centuries of Jewish residence in England. The opening of the work traces the Jews’ arrival after the Norman Conquest, their role as royal-protected moneylenders, and the deep social separation that fed fear and hostility, intensified by the Crusades and blood‑libel tales. It recounts the coronation riots of 1189 and the widespread massacres of 1190, then outlines Richard I’s system of close royal oversight (charters, archae chests, special justices) that turned Jewish finance into a reliable crown revenue source—albeit under harsh exactions. Abrahams then follows three mounting conflicts: towns excluding Jews to defend municipal autonomy, the lower baronage protesting debts and seizing bonds during civil war, and the Church’s growing moral campaign against usury. With Edward I, policy hardens: Jews are barred from landholding incidents and then, in 1275, from usury altogether, while being told to live by trade or labor—something thwarted by gild restrictions, alien-merchant rules, dangers on the roads and at fairs, and exclusion from crafts and citizenship. Economic desperation spurs covert lending and coin‑clipping; a sweeping crackdown in 1278 leads to mass executions, after which Edward cautiously permits limited, registered interest to restore order.

The expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290, by Barnett Lionel Abrahams. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #78599.