The Jewish Conspiracy is a chapter in a book entitled "In the Wake of the Plague", written by Norman F. Cantor, that puts a spin on the normal history in the sense that it makes it exciting. The chapter begins with a tale of a confession from a man who claims to have poisoned a few wells where common people get their water.
The case where Agimet puts poison in the wells from which people drink seems to be fairly well documented. The plan was "to poison the people who use the water...wells and (they) will have been poisoned by you (Agimet)" (Cantor, 148). The Jews were saying that they did this, because they were already facing persecution and they thought this might be the solution. If the Jews poison people, maybe they will be left alone. Of course, the general population reacted in a different manner than was expected.
Once this happened and people found out about it, the Jews were exiled sent off to live in sectors by themselves.
Because the Jews were living in sectored parts of the city by themselves, they almost seemed to be immune when the plague started (Cantor 152-153). This made it seem like the Jews were responsible for the plague, when of course they weren't. Violence was directed at the Jews (Cantor 154). The violence being directed at the Jews helped the political leaders explain where the plague was coming from when other explanations failed. It was a plausible explanation that the people believed at least in part.
The Jews lost all security until the twentieth century when they ventured into America and Canada (Cantor 157). The Jewish Conspiracy was a plan that went wrong, and the Jews have paid dearly for it.
Works Cited
Cantor, Norman. In the...
Intriguing
Thank you for an interesting essay on historical events which I have not previously known about, and I'm a student of history. I liked your summary of the book's chapter on "The Jewish Conspiracy." I agree with you that the story puts an exciting spin on history. I will be looking into where I can pick up a copy of Norman Cantor's book, "In the Wake of the Plague," as your essay has piqued my curiosity enough that I want to read more. Fine work!
6 out of 6 people found this comment useful.