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HistoryHub

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Portuguese Conversos scourging a crucifix of Christ in Madrid' by Francisco de Rojas Nieto

These forgeries form part of wider antisemitic conspiracy theories that thrive on documents purporting to have been written by Jews but which are in reality forgeries designed to endorse and enhance the credibility of the claims made by anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists

Dr Edward Collins

Series host

Antisemitism, Forgeries, and Conspiracy Theories in Early Modern Iberia

Francois Soyer

Dr. François Soyer is a Senior Lecturer in Late Medieval and Early Modern History at the University of New England (Armidale, NSW, Australia). From January 2012 until early 2016, he was a Partner Investigator with the ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions at the University of Adelaide and then an Associate Professor in Late Medieval and Early Modern History at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom between 2015 and 2018.

He has published a number of books and articles, including The Persecution of the Jews and Muslims of Portugal: King Manuel I and the End of Religious Tolerance (1496-7), published in 2007, Popularizing Anti-Semitism in Early Modern Spain and its Empire. Francisco de Torrejoncillo and the Centinela contra Judíos (1674), published in 2014, and most recently, Antisemitic Conspiracy Theories in the Early Modern Iberian World: Narratives of Fear and Hatred, published in 2019.

He is currently working on the origins, development and impact of the Antisemitic Ritual Murder and Blood Libel legends in Spain, focusing especially on the Blood Libel cases of San Dominguito de Val and the Holy Child of La Guardia.

In episode 20 of History Hub’s podcast series – ‘Kingdom, Empire and Plus Ultra: conversations on the history of Portugal and Spain, 1415-1898′ he discusses antisemitism in medieval and early modern Iberia, specifically some forged documents that purported to be communications between Jews in Spain and Constantinople with series host Dr Edward Collins.

Kingdom, Empire and Plus Ultra

Episode 20 - Francois Soyer

‘Antisemitism, Forgeries, and Conspiracy Theories in Early Modern Iberia’, with Dr. Francois Soyer (University of New England).

Francois Soyer’s conversation with series host Dr. Edward Collins is now available as a podcast on Apple, Spotify, and Soundcloud.

Kingdom, Empire and Plus Ultra

This History Hub podcast series features interviews with experts in the areas of Portuguese and Spanish history, from the beginning of the Portuguese discoveries in 1415 to the end of Spanish dominion in America in 1898. The interviews, conducted by historian Dr. Edward Collins, cover a range of topics on the domestic and overseas histories of both nations, which include, among others: the Portuguese explorations of Africa and Asia, Spanish navigation and settlement in America, the church in Portugal and Spain, monarchy and intermarriage in the Iberian kingdoms, natural science and mapping in America, the role of nautical science, Irish historical relations with Portugal and Spain, and imperial competition in Europe and overseas. The interviewees comprise a number of established and renowned academics, as well as up-and-coming researchers from universities and institutions worldwide.

This History Hub series is funded by UCD Seed Funding and supported by UCD School of History. Series editor is Mike Liffey (Real Smart Media).

How to listen

Download series episodes on iTunes, stream on Spotify, or listen via Soundcloud.

 Explore the series

Image: ‘Portuguese Conversos scourging a crucifix of Christ in Madrid’ by Francisco de Rojas Nieto.

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In this episode, a recording of a paper – ‘”Éire Saor agus Gaelach?”: The Military Service Pensions Collection and the Irish language’ – by Dr Síobhra Aiken from Queen’s University Belfast. The paper was part of UCD School of History’s Mícheál Ó Cléirigh seminar series, in collaboration with the UCD Decade of Centenaries project ‘Everyday Life In The Irish Revolution’ which is run by UCD’s Dr Fionnuala Walsh. Dr Aiken’s talk, which was recorded on November 10 2023, was entitled: ‘”Éire Saor agus Gaelach?”: The Military Service Pensions Collection and the Irish language’.

women and the Irish constitution roundtable at UCD

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Barracks of Ireland website

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Digital Cultures is one of the research themes for the UCD College of Arts and Humanities Research Strategy for 2020-2024. The strategy brings together and supports the combined research excellence from across the College’s Schools, Institutes, Centres and subject disciplines. As part of the Digital Cultures theme of the strategy, Dr Charles Ivar McGrath (UCD) and Dr Suzanne Forbes (Open University) gave a presentation entitled ‘Our shared built military heritage: the online mapping, inventorying and recording of the army barracks of Ireland, 1690-1921’. The presentation took place in January 2024 and focused on their work on the Army Barracks of Ireland project.

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