Jews came to Portugal looking for a safe area to live when they were in bad situations in their home countries. Jews did not have easy lives in the places they lived before Portugal. The Jews that came to Portugal from Spain in 1492 immigrated because they were being forced to convert or be killed at the stake. The Jews in Spain did not have a place to practice their religion or feel safe until some immigrated to Portugal. If the places that the Jews were living in were not safe then they thought of Portugal as a country free from danger. Jewish people saw Portugal as a safe place to be who they are and support their families. Jews in the 12th to 14th centuries had already immigrated into Portugal and lived separately in quarters." Every
