This is a masterful and meticulously researched account of a unique and often overlooked minority group in early modern Europe: the descendants of Iberian Jews who were forcibly converted to Christianity – collectively known as New Christians. Drawing from extensive archival materials in multiple countries, Bethencourt reconstructs the history of this community across nearly four centuries, illuminating its remarkable ascent to global commercial prominence and its eventual decline under the weight of religious persecution and political marginalisation. Through its sweeping scope, scholarly depth and nuanced argumentation, Strangers within stands out as a landmark contribution to the historiography of the early modern period, diasporic studies and the socio-political dynamics of marginality and integration.

Bethencourt structures his narrative in four parts – ‘Transition’, ‘Expansion’, ‘Resistance’ and ‘Decline’ – each offering a chronological and thematic progression that mirrors the fluctuating fortunes of the New Christian elite. These sections trace a complex journey: from the violent anti-Jewish riots and forced conversions of the late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, through a period of transnational commercial growth and intellectual innovation, to a determined struggle against inquisitorial persecution, and finally to the community’s erosion as a distinct identity by the late eighteenth century.

The book spans the geographies of the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa, Western and Central Europe, India, the Ottoman Empire and the Americas. This global dimension is a crucial strength of Bethencourt’s work. It allows him to explore the New Christian elite not merely as a local or regional phenomenon, but as a diasporic and trans-imperial network. These families – including the Negro, Mendes and Abravanel clans – operated across borders and developed sophisticated strategies for preserving wealth, influence and communal cohesion despite ongoing legal and religious threats.

At the heart of Bethencourt’s study is the paradox of social marginality and economic power. How did a group consistently targeted by both civil and religious authorities for its Jewish ancestry manage to attain and wield such significant influence in European and global trade networks? Bethencourt’s central thesis is that the New Christians’ very exclusion from mainstream Christian society catalysed their rise. Their liminal status – neither fully included nor entirely excluded – created conditions that encouraged innovation, adaptability and solidarity.

This argument builds on existing historiographical frameworks while pushing them further. Scholars such as Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi and David Sorkin have explored the complexity of Jewish identity and integration in Christian Europe. Bethencourt contributes to this discourse by documenting not only the institutional and social pressures New Christians faced, but also the specific legal, commercial and spiritual responses they developed to navigate these challenges.

One of the most compelling aspects of the book is Bethencourt’s exploration of liminality as both a threat and an opportunity. This concept, often used in anthropological theory, is here given historical specificity. New Christians occupied a space between formal religious categories. Many were suspected of practicing crypto-Judaism; others participated in Catholic mysticism or became sceptical of religious institutions altogether. This ambiguity made them perpetual targets of the Inquisition, but it also enabled forms of spiritual and intellectual exploration that produced lasting contributions to European culture.

Bethencourt provides detailed accounts of how New Christian families leveraged their education, financial acumen and extensive kinship networks to gain economic and political clout. These families often had members stationed in multiple cities, forming transcontinental partnerships that allowed for efficient capital movement, information exchange and risk diversification. Chapters on property (chapter vii) and business (chapter xi) show how investments in land, royal monopolies and strategic marriages helped them climb the social ladder while safeguarding their assets.

New Christians were particularly prominent in banking, tax farming and trade in precious commodities such as spices, silver and slaves. They also played crucial roles in administering imperial revenues and loans. Bethencourt highlights the contradiction at the heart of this success: the same states that depended on New Christian capital and expertise were also the agents of their persecution. The Inquisition, especially in Portugal, followed these families across oceans, working in tandem with state interests to control and punish deviation from the imposed orthodoxy.

At the same time, Bethencourt highlights the agency of New Christians. Far from being mere victims, they were active negotiators who continually adapted to shifting political climates. Their engagement with papal courts, petitions for legal protections and orchestration of general pardons – such as those in the early seventeenth century – demonstrate a group of individuals who understood power and how to contest it, even if their successes were often short-lived.

Another area where New Christians left a profound mark was the intellectual and spiritual culture of early modern Europe. Bethencourt discusses figures such as St Teresa of Ávila, Amatus Lusitanus and Baruch Spinoza, suggesting that the dislocation experienced by New Christians made them especially attuned to questions of identity, faith and moral philosophy. Many were drawn to mystical and heterodox movements, including the Alumbrados, whose anti-institutional spirituality resonated with those sceptical of ecclesiastical authority.

Bethencourt’s treatment of religious identity is notably nuanced. He avoids simplistic binaries of believer and apostate, instead emphasising the fluidity with which New Christians navigated their religious lives. Some secretly maintained Jewish customs; others became devout Catholics; still others embraced rationalist or secular ideologies. Chapter xii (‘Identities’) is especially noteworthy for its focus on artistic and literary expressions, showing how experiences of marginality were internalised, challenged and reimagined through culture.

This fluid religiosity destabilises conventional categories in religious history and reinforces the book’s broader argument: that New Christians forged new cultural and political forms precisely because they were never fully permitted to belong.

While the earlier parts of the book detail the rise of the New Christian elite, the latter sections – especially parts iii and iv – focus on their slow disintegration as a distinct group. Bethencourt attributes this decline to a combination of factors: intensified inquisitorial persecution in the late seventeenth century, the reassertion of national economic interests that marginalised transnational networks, and the eventual social absorption or dispersion of New Christian families.

The reestablishment of the Portuguese Inquisition in 1681, after a brief papal suspension, marked a particularly devastating turning point. Chapter xiii quantifies this persecution: over 6,000 trials in the second half of the seventeenth century alone, with New Christians comprising the vast majority. These prosecutions were often accompanied by property confiscation and social exclusion, which eroded the financial and institutional bases of New Christian power.

By the mid-eighteenth century, Bethencourt argues, the New Christians had ceased to exist as a coherent minority. Their identities had been diluted through assimilation, intermarriage and the collapse of communal institutions. Yet, as he emphasises in his conclusion, the legacy of their resistance, innovation and suffering endures as a significant chapter in the formation of modern Iberian and global societies.

Francisco Bethencourt’s Strangers within is a deeply researched and intellectually rigorous study of the New Christian trading elite – descendants of forcibly converted Jews in Iberia. Its strengths are numerous. First, the book’s empirical depth stands out. Drawing on a wide range of archival sources, Bethencourt reconstructs the complex networks, legal strategies and financial structures of New Christian families, offering readers a detailed view of continuity and change across generations.

Second, the work’s global scope places Iberian history within a broader framework of early modern globalisation. By tracking the movements of New Christians across Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas, Bethencourt demonstrates how this diaspora played a crucial role in shaping global trade and imperial networks. His transnational approach aligns with current trends in global history while maintaining a strong focus on the Iberian context.

Third, Bethencourt achieves analytical balance. He presents New Christians as neither idealised heroes nor passive victims. Instead, he explores their agency, participation in empire and slavery and internal divisions. The result is a rich, multifaceted portrait of a community navigating both opportunity and oppression.

However, the book is not without its limitations. Its emphasis on elite figures overlooks the experiences of poorer New Christians – artisans, labourers and rural converts – whose persecution and resilience remain largely unexamined. This omission narrows the scope of an otherwise expansive and ambitious study.

Certain uncritical phrasings – such as references to Jews ‘controlling’ rents or ‘surrounding’ monarchs – risk perpetuating old stereotypes. While often contextualised, a more explicit critique of these tropes would have strengthened the analysis.

The treatment of assimilation and identity erosion in the book’s later chapters also feels somewhat structural and detached. A deeper engagement with personal narratives could offer more insight into how individuals experienced and negotiated their changing identities.

Lastly, the book’s academic density – with extensive names, dates and legal details – may challenge non-specialist readers, limiting accessibility.

Strangers within is a monumental achievement. It offers powerful insights into how marginalised communities can gain influence and navigate institutionalised discrimination. Bethencourt’s study not only illuminates the history of Iberian New Christians but also provides a valuable lens through which to view other diasporic and persecuted groups.

In sum, Strangers within is deeply researched, thoughtfully argued and profoundly significant. Its few limitations do not diminish its substantial contributions to our understanding of religion, empire, trade and the politics of identity. For scholars of early modern history, Jewish studies, diaspora or religious persecution, this book will remain essential reading for years to come.