The Jerusalem Post's feature "This day in history" reports on November 17, 1278, when 269 Jews are hanged in England on the order of King Edward I:

1278: Edward I of England arrests 680 Jews for alleged coin clipping and counterfeiting, and puts them on trial. Many Christians are charged with a similar crime. But the judges are given prior instructions that bias them against the Jewish suspects. Some 269 Jews are eventually hanged. Edward receives 16,500 pounds from the property of the executed Jews as well as the fines of those charged -- a some consisting of 10 percent of the national income even though Jews only comprised one percent of the population.

Eventually this racist King also expelled 16,000 Jews from England in 1290. I copy below an article with more info.

http://www.us-israel.org/
jsource/vjw/England.html
Rule of Henry III and the Barons Wars (1217-1290)

In 1217, the English Jews were forced to wear yellow badges in the form of two stone tablets identifying them as Jews. From the start of Henry III’s reign in 1232, life went downhill for the Jews. He extorted massive amounts of money from the Jews and, in 1232, confiscated a newly built London synagogue. In 1253, a decree was issued forbidding the Jews to live in towns that did not yet have an established Jewish community. In 1255, the Jews were accused of another blood libel. This time a Christian boy, Hugh of Lincoln, was chasing a ball when he fell and drowned in a Jewish cesspool. His body was found 26 days later, when a large Jewish congregation was gathered in Lincoln for a prominent rabbis wedding. Some Christians speculated that the boy was killed as part of a ritual ceremony and 100 Jews were executed.

During the Barons Wars of 1263, the Jews were seen as instruments of royal oppression and between 1263 and 1266, one Jewish community after another was ransacked and many of its inhabitants killed. In 1265, the Crown started dealing with Italian bankers, minimizing their dependence on the Jews for financial services. In 1269, the Crown further restricted Jewish rights. Jews were not allowed to hold land and Jewish children could not inherit their parents money. When a Jew died, his money reverted to the government. In 1275, Queen Eleanor deported Cambridge’s Jews to nearby Norwich. Also in 1275, Edward I issued the Jewish Affairs Bill, forbidding the Jews of England to loan money on interest. They were allowed to earn a living as tradesmen or farmers, but were ineligible for membership in tradesmen guilds or tenure as a farmer. The Jews became poor and the king could no longer collect taxes from them. In 1278, many were arrested and hanged for secretly continuing their money lending.

Expulsion of 1290

On July 18, 1290, Edward I expelled the Jews from England, making England the first European country to do so. Some Jews managed to remain in England by hiding their identity and religion, but thousands of Jews sources disagree over the number — either 4,000 or 16,000) were forced to leave England. Many settled in France and Germany. This was the start of 350 years of Jewish exile from England.

Posted by David Melle
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