Philip IV expels the Jews of France
July 1306
On a single morning, royal bailiffs knocked at every synagogue door. Around a hundred thousand Jews were arrested, their debts transferred to the crown, their houses and books auctioned. Philip needed cash for his Flemish wars. The expulsion, the second in a century after his grandfather's in 1182, showed how useful a scapegoat could be to royal finance.
In context
Also in 1306 (3 other events on record)
- Robert Bruce stabs Comyn before the altar · Europe · Politics
- Wenceslaus III of Bohemia assassinated at Olomouc · Europe · Politics
- Giotto begins Bardi Chapel frescoes · Europe · Culture
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in Politics
Era
Late Middle Ages (1301–1500), one of 874 events from that era on Saeculum.