Memorial às Vítimas do Massacre de 1506 / Memorial to the Victims of the 1506 Massacre

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Excerpt: Inaugurated as part of the 500th anniversary of the event, the Memorial to the Victims of the 1506 Massacre is located on the site where it took place, in the square in front of Igreja de São Domingos (St. Dominic Church), in Lisbon.

It was created in 2008 by Graça Bachmann, on a proposal from the Jewish Community. A piece in stone, a sphere, symbol of the world which, truncated, evokes violence and chaos, where there is an inscription alluding to the massacre, on the Star of David; at the base, on a rectangular block of stone on which the sculpture rests, one can read a phrase from the Book of Job, "Oh earth, do not hide my blood, do not hide my cry".

In the late afternoon of 19 April 1506, Dominican friars instigated the Lisbon population to kill the New-Christians. Between two and four thousand people are said to have died in a barbaric manner,

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, April 20, 2024

2. Memorial to the Victims of the 1506 Massacre Marker - wide view

In the background is the Church of São Domingo, where the massacre was initiated.

incinerated in piles in various parts of the city.

The massacre: The massacre began in the Church of São Domingos on Sunday, 19 April 1506. The faithful were praying for an end to the drought and plague that were sweeping the country when several worshippers claimed they saw a strange light emanating from a crucifix in the Chapel of Jesus. Word of the apparent miracle spread and soon the church was packed with a great crowd that included German and French sailors from trading ships in the harbor.

The crowd became incensed when a New Christian ridiculed the claims of a miracle. A fight broke out in the church and the man was killed along with the other New Christians present. The mob spilled out of the church and began killing any New Christians they came across. They built a pyre on the church square and threw the bodies of their victims into the fire.

Authorities were unable to subdue the mob and more rioters joined, attracted by the opportunities for looting. Violence spread throughout the city. New Christians, regardless of age or sex, were murdered and their homes looted. Even some Old Christians became victims of the mayhem. By Monday evening the violence seemed to be ending but Dominican friars from the Monastery of São Domingos organized a procession and urged the

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, April 20, 2024

3. Inscription on monumement base - Job 16:18

"Oh earth, do not hide my blood, do not hide my cry"

crowd to kill the "heretics" and "extinguish the wicked race." The rampage continued until Thursday, when a religious procession calling for peace marched through the city and restored order.

Reports of the numbers killed vary from fewer than 1,000 to more than 4,000. Most were New Christians but some Old Christians were also murdered. At least one important royal official, João Rodrigues Mascarenhas, was killed. Mascarenhas, a New Christian and a tax collector, was undoubtedly a focus of public hatred.