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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.

Latest Podcasts

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Military Communities’ Medical Welfare and Care History Conference Series

The Military Welfare History Network provides a networking and dissemination platform for scholars who are research active in military welfare history.

Thanks to the generous funding of the Wellcome Trust, through the Society for the Social History of Medicine, in 2025-26 the MWHN ran a three-part series of events.

Entitled the ‘The Military Communities’ Medical Welfare and Care History Conference Series’, this series comprised three accessible hybrid network events, which took place in the UK and online (via Zoom) over the course of the twenty-four months of the award. All of which focused on the burgeoning ‘perspective’ of military welfare history; defined as the welfare, care and medical provisions afforded to service personnel, their families and other dependents.

Attendees at the Military Welfare History Conference.

Keynotes from the Military Welfare History Network 2023 Conference

The first in-person meeting of the Military Welfare History Network took place in Sutherland School of Law, University College Dublin on 7 July 2023. The event, which was co-ordinated by Dr Paul Huddie, comprised two keynotes and four panels, totalling 14 speakers.

Conference keynotes by Dr Matthew Neufeld (University of Saskatchewan) and Dr Ke-Chin Hsia (Indiana University Bloomington) were recorded and are now available to podcast.

Military Welfare History Network 2024 Conference

The Military Welfare History Network provides a networking and dissemination platform for scholars who are research active in military welfare history.

In 2024 the Military Welfare History Network (MWHN) hosted its third international conference at the University of Leeds on 20 and 21 June. Led by Prof Jessica Meyer, the organising team hosted a two-day event at Leeds on the theme of ‘Economies of Military Welfare: conversations between past and present’. The conference was generously supported by the University of Leeds and the Economic History Society. Two papers recorded at the conference are now available to podcast.

Tudor and Stuart Ireland Conference Podcasts

Since 2011, researchers from a range of disciplines including History, Irish, English, Archaeology and Art History, have presented papers at Tudor and Stuart Ireland conferences. History Hub, in association with Real Smart Media, has produced more than 320 podcasts from these conferences.

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