Alternatives to the Alhambra decrees (Spain's expulsion of the Jews in 1492)

[raharris1973]

What alternatives might the 'Catholic monarchs' of the Castillian-Aragonese union of crowns have had to the 'management' (or control, domination, subordination) of their non-Christian religious minorities, besides the total expulsion of the non-converted from Spanish territory?

To tighten the parameters of the question, let's still presuppose there is a Spain as we know it, made up of a Aragon-Castille-Navarre union of crowns, and it completes the destruction of Muslim states of the peninsula by conquering Granada by about 1492.

Could the King, Queen and Royalty of Spain satisfy their nobility and Christian public opinion not doing expulsions of Jews (and perhaps Muslims) at all, and being satisfied with imposing high taxes, civil disabilities, and so on?

If not and some sort of public Christian groundswell existed for some 'cleansing' of infidels (from their POV, not time), could it have been more limited, such as geographic restrictions on where Jews (and Muslims) could live, somewhat like the Russian Empire's later 'Pale of Settlement'?

If Spain had a 'Pale of Settlement' system, perhaps the most natural dividing line would have been expulsion of Jews and Muslims from all Castilian lands (especially since Castille's Queen Isabella was the more fervently pious of the royal couple), in Iberia, and the newly discovered America (the so-called Indies), but with them permitted to continue residing in Navarre and Aragonese lands. I think religious minorities were thicker on the ground in Aragon than in Castille anyway (except for newly conquered Granada).

Or perhaps the Spanish monarchs might have wanted to exclude the Jews from most of their realm, but not have them move abroad to strengthen Spain's enemies, it's Muslim enemies in the Mediterranean in particular. Could they have imposed exile to some of Spain's island territories, like one or more of the Balearic Islands, or the Canaries, or Sicily, or Sardinia? Or possibly Asturias/Galicia would be considered safest for security reasons, as it's most distant from Muslim enemies?

Your thoughts?

 

[raharris1973]

Well, what if instead of the OTL policy Fernando and Isabella had this policy:

Demand for conversion of Muslims and Jews like OTL. With the inquisition watching the conversos.

Expulsion of Muslims who won't convert like OTL, to Muslim countries (while forced to leave immobile property)

Unlike OTL - Prohibition on the emigration of Jews who won't convert. - Instead, exile of the Aragonese and Castillian Jews to the Canary Islands, to be guarded by a Spanish garrison and a Dominican mission ready to conduct baptisms and thereafter to judge to 'sincerity' of Jewish individual requests to convert, a prerequisite for them to become eligible to emigrate to other parts of Spain.

What happens with this major funneling of Sephardic Jewry to Canary Islands specifically? What happens with a continued compact Sephardic Jewish community life on the island and minimized emigration elsewhere? Meanwhile, I would imagine that Catholic Spaniards service with Spanish garrisons or Dominicans administering the exile in Canaries and on the way becomes a tremendous robbery and bribe-taking opportunity for "looking the other way" during escapes, emigrations, or acceptances of claimed conversions.