González, Carvajal, García, and Santa María: A Network of Families from the Extremadura and Portugal
Cite as: Sephardic Ancestry. "García, and Santa María: A Network of Families from the Extremadura and Portugal." Sephardic Ancestry is a non-profit, educational, and research effort guided by Dr. Martínez-Dávila. These materials are shared via Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).https://sephardicancestry.org/gonzalez-carvajal-garcia-and-santa-maria-a-network-of-families-from-the-extremadura-and-portugal
Origins of the Surname
The González family of the 15th century, in fact, was an interconnected network of Spanish Jewish families and conversos (converts to Catholicism). Together, they united the González de Carvajal, the García, the Santa María (or ha-Levi), the Rodríguez de Maluenda, the Gutiérrez, and the Fernández de Cabreros. The González de Carvajal family constitutes one of the two main families of this family confederation; the other family is Santa Maria (ha-Levi). The extensive interconnections of these families are discussed in my book, Creating Conversos: the Carvajal-Santa María Family in Early Modern Spain, published by the University of Notre Dame Press in 2018.
It should be noted that some of these same families would appear in Portugal after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. Especially during the 16th and 17th centuries we see an intense mixing and flow of convert families to and from Spain and Portugal. As a result, by the 16th century it is impossible to discriminate the national origins of families. Indeed, they are Spanish and Portuguese, especially during the unification of the Habsburg kingdoms from 1580 to 1640.
This is not a linear family association, but rather multiple overlapping family relationships beginning in the late 14th century and extending into the 16th century. The broader converso family network that united the González de Carvajal-Santa María families were well established in the Spanish Extremadura during the opening of the 15th century. It was approximately in the year 1400 that the González de Carvajal ceased to be a family of knights and Old Christians when they married into the converted Santa María clan. The family confederation was a strong converso network that would come to dominate royal and ecclesiastical administrative affairs in Spain and broader Spanish affairs in the early 15th century.
Unfortunately, after the mid-15th century, families had to hide their Jewish ancestry. However, the families that bore the name of Santa María were well known and could not hide without the help of families like the González de Carvajal. In fact, it was not until the early 17th century that descendants of St. Mary's family received a special dispensation from Pope Clement VIII (r. 1592–1605) granting them a declaration of ancient Christian lineage.
With the progress of the Spanish Reconquest and under the mandate of King Ferdinand III "The Saint" (ruled 1217-1252), knights from Castile helped to reconquer cities such as Seville, Baeza and Jaén. Among the family clans that helped in the reconquest was the Carvajal family who even served as butlers to the former Queen and Queen Mother Berenguela. The Carvajal family's “Old Christian” status helped other “New Christians” integrate into the resurgent Castilian nobility.
Discussion of Primary and Secondary Source Materials
Between Burgos and Plasencia, Spain
First, consider the well-known Jewish arm of the family, the ha-Levi of Burgos and Plasencia, Spain. The Santa María (or ha-Levi) family of converts, to which the González de Carvajals belonged, were a political and ecclesiastical power that shaped the destiny of the kingdom of Castile. The Santa María family, also known as the Cartagena family due to the prominence of the 15th century Bishop Alonso of Cartagena, is the best-documented converso family in Spain. The family was studied extensively in well-received academic texts: Alvar García de Santa María y su familia de conversos: Historia de la judería de Burgos y de sus conversos más egregios by Francisco Cantera Burgos (Madrid: Instituto Arias Montano, 1952) and Los conversos, d. Pablo de Santa María y d. Alfonso de Cartagena, obispos de Burgos, governantes, diplomáticos y escritores by Luciano Serrano (Madrid: C. Vermejo, Impr., 1942).
Even in the 21st century, they are the cause of controversy due to their role in the history of Sephardic Jews. Why? They are accused of being traitors to Judaism or being exemplary models of Christianity. The most important or influential person who bore the surname Ha-Levi was, as explained previously, Rabbi Solomon ha-Levi. In the year 1390, Rabbi Solomon ha-Levi converted to Catholicism and adopted the name Paul of Saint Mary. The conversion of Samuel ha-Levi / Pablo de Santa María to Christianity caused waves of criticism among his contemporaries and even into modern times. Historian Henry Charles Lea provided an assessment of the reasons for the conversion:
Most prominent among the new Converts was Selemoh ha-Levi, a rabbi who had been a fearless defender of the faith and rights of his race. On the eve of the massacres, which he possibly foresaw, and influenced by a timely vision of the Virgin, in 1390, he professed his conversion, taking the name of Pablo de Santa María, and followed by his two brothers and five children, founding a family with commander influence…. He wrote his Scrutinium Scripturarum against his former coreligionists…. It is much more moderate than what is customary in controversial writings [of the time] and appears to have been composed more as a justification of his decision.
As historian Lea explained, Pablo de Santa María's conversion was a consequence of the extreme political pressure and ideology of the time, a decision that allowed him and his family to survive persecution and extermination. Pablo was in turn a descendant of Samuel ha-Levi, the treasurer of Peter I son of King Alfonso of Castile. Samuel served as treasurer to Pedro I and founded the El Tránsito synagogue in Toledo. The mark of the ha-Levi family of Samuel is embodied in the synagogue under the royal seal of Castilla-León with a castle and lion with the Flor de Liz. (See Figure 1.) Samuel was executed by Pedro which served as a catalyst for the ha-Levis abandoning themselves as supporters of Pedro and subsequently supporting his brother Enrique II of Trastámara claimant and eventual heir to the throne of Castile-León.
Figure 1: Plaque commemorating the founding of the El Tránsito Synagogue (Toledo, Spain). Credit: David Bláquez.
During the first three decades of the 15th century, Paul significantly influenced the court of John II and was presumably related to the king himself. Paul was the king's tutor and became one of his main chancellors. The king appointed Pablo de Santa María as Bishop of Cartagena from 1403 to 14015 and as Bishop of Burgos from 1415 to 1435. Pablo was not the only convert in his family, in fact, several of his brothers and many of his relatives also joined. They converted also taking Christian names, which included Santa María de Burgos, Santa María de Burgos, de García, de Cartagena, Rodríguez de Maluenda, and finally Gutiérrez de la Calleja.
A Last Will in Testament Bridges Generations of Jews and Catholics
Creating an intricate family association as early as 1406, the González de Carvajal and Santa María families shared family relationships through the marriage of the houses of Santa María, García de Ulloa, González de Espadero, Sánchez and González de Carvajal. There is also suggestive evidence that the extended clan, visible in the 1395 testamentary actions of Gonzalo Lorenzo de Espadero, may have been wealthy Jewish merchants who had converted to Christianity. (See Figure 2.) We know that Gonzalo was a merchant since he bequeathed a tare (a merchant's weight for calculating quantities) to a family member. Espadero was one of the main genealogical links that integrated the undocumented Jewish relationships in the González de Carvajal family tree.
Figure 2: Will of Gonzalo Lorenzo de Espadero
Strengthening the family confederacy connection was their 16th-century propensity to seek endogamous marriages over several generations, which was a well-known Jewish practice. Collectively, the families operated as one, defending each other's economic interests, residing together, transferring property between them, and maintaining ecclesiastical positions in the Cathedral of Plasencia for generations.
Two Strong-Willed Women: Leonor and María
Integrated family relations first became public in 1421, when the González de Carvajal clan intervened in a property dispute in Plasencia. A collision of family interests pitted Leonor Sánchez, also known as "the Iron Lady," against her niece, María Gómez de Almaraz, who was the wife of Juan González de Santa María. Interestingly, Leonor also claimed to be a blood relation to Juan González, indicating that González had a blood relationship with the ancient Jewish family of Santa María. (See Figures 3, 4, and 5.) At issue in this conflict was the property known as the Corral del Medio that Leonor Sánchez had donated to the Cathedral of Plasencia. In exchange for this customary donation of land, the cathedral assured her that ten masses a year would be said in her memory. Unfortunately, according to Maria Gómez, the property was not to be given to Leonor; María claimed that her father, Diego Gómez de Almaraz, had left it to her. To determine the ownership of the property, ecclesiastical judge Pedro González summoned the parties to the cathedral and demanded that all attendees:
"defend and abide by his decision or face the penalty of excommunication."
Figure 3: Fusion of Families
Figure 4: María Gómez, wife of Juan González de Santa María. ACP, File 143, doc. 12.
Figure 5: Diego González de Carvajal, and María Gómez, wife of Juan González (de Santa María). ACP, File 143, doc. 12.
Leonor Sánchez argued that her late husband, Alfonso Gómez de Almaraz, had granted her the property. To this statement, María Gómez responded:
“I do not agree that this is the truth and I understand that many witnesses who live in the vicinity of Corral del Medio will confirm that my father gave me this land more than twenty years ago.”
In a decisive moment in the resolution of the dispute, the gentleman Diego González de Carvajal, together with María Gómez's spouse, Juan González de Santa María, testified that, in fact, "more or less thirty years ago," the father of Mary had bequeathed land to her daughter. At this juncture, it is clear that the interests of the Carvajal and Santa María families were confused and that perhaps the clans had extended their relations for several decades. By supporting María's position, Diego González took a deliberate step towards creating the identity of the family confederation. Although it could be argued that he was just telling the truth about the matter, he was doing much more: he was choosing to "walk with" the Santa Marias at the expense of more closely related extended family members. This is the essence of identity: making conscious decisions that not only affect one's own life, but that of one's immediate and extended family. From this moment on, the González de Carvajals began to show increasing loyalty to the house of Santa María that generally only existed between two closely related families.
The Inquisition investigates the González (or Gonçalves) family in Spain and Portugal
The González family of converts was spread across a wide range of trades and in many cases this included, as can be seen, the clergy. However, being part of the clergy also required having a certain purity of blood and sometimes trials were carried out on the same members of the church; Such is the case of the clergyman Andrés González who in 1486 was accused of being a Judaizer by the Toledo Inquisition Court. (See Figure 6 a & b)
Figure 6a: Inquisition Case of Andrés González
Figure 6b: Inquisition Case of of Andrés González
Another example is that of Miguel de Carvajal, a writer from Plasencia during the golden age of Spanish literature, who speaks of his Jewish ancestry. Miguel's story is intertwined within his controversial literary work, Josephine Tragedy, in which he brings Plasencia to the stage on Corpus Christi in 1530. His work was controversial because it allegorized the biblical story of Joseph sold in Egypt by his brothers. as a sample of the suffering of the converts. Miguel was descended on his father's side from Diego González de Carvajal and on his mother's side from Fulana López and Diego Gutiérrez de la Calleja, described as “renowned New Christians.”
Bearers of the surname González de Buytrago have been recognized as converts just as Juan González de Buytrago was (circumcised, Son of Leonor, New Christian). In the case of Juan González de Buytrago, being a judge and canon of the community of Segovia, his mother and aunt were identified as converts. Both were baptized into Christianity during childhood in the year 1411. Juan González de Buytrago, for his part, was identified as circumcised. On the other hand, his relative Alonso de Buytrago was recognized, along with his brothers, as Jewish converts by the Holy Office of the Inquisition of Toledo. His family, also identified as Jewish converts, were from the town of Buitrago de Lozoya.
In Portugal, there are also cases in which the Gómez and González families had problems with the Holy Office of the Inquisition. For example, in 1553, Marqueza Gomes (or Gómez), the wife of João Gonçalves, was accused of practicing Judaism. (See Figure 7.)
Figure 7: Torre do Tombo Archive, Tribunal do Santo Ofício, Inquisição de Lisboa, proc. 12436. “Marqueza Gomes Trial.”
It was indicated that both were new Christians and residents of Lisbon. On September 12, 1553, Marqueza was sent to the Inquisition prison in Lisbon. Two years later, on March 3, 1555, she was condemned as a Judaizer in an auto-da-fe. Her punishment was, after admitting her religious sins, an additional period of imprisonment and penance. Therefore, we see that these families also had Portuguese elements.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Arquivo Torre do Tombo, Portugal (ATT), Tribunal do Santo Ofício, Inquisição de Lisboa, proc. 12436. “Processo de Marqueza Gomes.”
Archivo de la Catedral de Plasencia, España (ACP), Actas capitulares, tomo 1, fols. 46–46v, 99–100v, 105, 116, 161, 313v.
ACP, Legajo 1, doc. 34.
ACP, Legajo 2, doc. 21.
ACP, Legajo 12, doc. 16.
ACP, Legajo 14, doc. 1.
ACP, Legajo 14, doc. 4.
ACP, Legajo 14, doc. 23.
ACP, Legajo 14, doc. 25.
ACP, Legajo 14, doc. 38.
ACP, Legajo 270, doc. 13.
Archivo Historico Nacional-Seccion Nobleza o Archivo de la Nobleza, Toledo (AHNSN), Ovando, Caja 35, doc. 1993, no folio.
AHNSN, Torrejón, Caja 7, doc. 10.
Biblioteca de la Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid (RAH), Colección Floranes, B-16, fols.14 (282),17(287).
RAH, Colección Salazar y Castro, C-20, 211–212v.
Mendoza y Bobadilla, Francisco. El Tizón de la nobleza española, o máculas y sambenitos de sus linajes. Valencia: Universitat de València, 1995.
Secondary Sources
Böttcher, Nikolaus. "Inquisición y Limpieza de Sangre en Nueva España." In El Peso De La Sangre: Limpios, Mestizos Y Nobles En El Mundo Hispánico, edited by Böttcher Nikolaus, Hausberger Bernd, and Torres Max S. Hering, 187-218. México, D.F.: Colegio De Mexico, 2011. doi:10.2307/j.ctv47wf6r.10.
Caro Baroja, Julio. Los Judios en la España moderna y contemporanea, Volumen 1. Madrid: Ediciones AKAL, 1978.
Cantera Burgos, Francisco. Alvar García De Santa María y Su Familia De Conversos: Historia De La Judería De Burgos y De Sus Conversos Más Egregios. Madrid: Instituto Arias Montano, 1952.
Chuecas Saldías, Ignacio. “Resistiendo con las Escrituras. Judeoportugueses y el Antiguo Testamento en procesos inquisitoriales americanos (1580-1640)” Instituto de Historia Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, 2018. 148.
Constable, Olivia Remie. Medieval Iberia: Readings from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish Sources. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997.
García-Arenal, Mercedes, and Felipe Pereda. “A propósito de los alumbrados: Confesionalidad y disidencia religiosa en el mundo ibérico.” La corónica: A Journal of Medieval Hispanic Languages, Literatures, and Cultures 41, no. 1 (2012): 109-148.
Garcia Carraffa, Alberto, and Arturo Garcia Carraffa. Diccionario heráldico y genealógico de apellidos españoles y americanos. 22, 22. Madrid: Nueva Impr. Radio, 1955.
Gerber, Jane S. The Jews of Spain: A History of the Sephardic Experience. New York: Free Press, 1992.
Gitlitz, David. Secrecy and Deceit: The Religion of the Crypto-Jews. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2002.
Gotthell. Richard J. H. "The Jews and the Spanish Inquisition (1622-1721)." The Jewish Quarterly Review 15, no. 2 (1903): 182-250. doi:10.2307/1450433.
Hordes, Stanley M. To the End of the Earth: A History of the Crypto-Jews of New Mexico. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008. <http://site.ebrary.com/id/10183532>.
Ingram, Kevin. Converso Non-conformism in Early Modern Spain: Bad Blood and Faith from Alonso de Cartagena to Diego Velázquez. Springer, 2018.
Lea, Henry Charles. History of the Inquisition of Spain; Vol. 1. [S.l.]: Project Gutenberg, 2013.
Martínez-Dávila, Roger Louis. “Spanish Online Resources for Spanish and Latin American History.” Bulletin for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies, Volume 41, Issue 1 (2016). ISSN: 0739-182X. http://digitalcommons.asphs.net/bsphs/vol41/iss1/6
---. Creating Conversos: The Carvajal-Santa Maria Family in Early Modern Spain. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2018
Netanyahu, Benzion. The Marranos of Spain: From the Late 14th to the Early 16th Century, According to Contemporary Hebrew Sources, Third Edition. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1999.
Nirenberg, David, Communities of Violence: Persecution of Minorities in the Middle Ages. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996.
Pastore, Stefania. Una herejía española: conversos, alumbrados e Inquisición (1449-1559). Marcial Pons Historia, 2010.
Rábade Obradó, María del Pilar. “La elite judeoconversa de la Corte de los Reyes Católicos y el negocio fiscal.” En la España Medieval 37 (2014): 205-222.
Romano dos Santos, Rachel. Religiosadas cruzadas: una mourisca judaizante no Portugal do seculo XVI. Bonecker Editora: São Paulo, 2018.
Rodrigues da Silva Tavim, José Alberto. “Jews in the diaspora with "Sepharad" in the mirror: ruptures, relations, and forms of identity: a theme examined through three cases.” Jewish History, Vol. 25, No. 2, Special issue on Portuguese New Christian Identities, 1516-1700 (2011), pp. 175-205.
Soyer, Francois. Antisemitic Conspiracy Theories in the Early Modern Iberian World: Narratives of Fear and Hatred, Laiden/Boston, Brill, 2019.
Serrano, Luciano. Los conversos, d. Pablo de Santa María y d. Alfonso de Cartagena, obispos de Burgos, governantes, diplomáticos y escritores. Madrid: C. Vermejo, Impr, 1942.