Explanation: The King of Portugal, Manuel I, decreed in his reign that Jews were no longer allowed to reside in Portugal, and thus needed to leave the country.
… but as it became apparent that the departure of Jewish professionals was collapsing the urban economy of Portugal, Manuel decreed that Jews were no longer allowed to LEAVE the country either!
Of course, this, rather than a head-popping legal contradiction, was simply a demand for Jews to (formally) convert or die.
And this is how the alheira came into being: looks like a sausage, smells like a sausage but contains bread and poultry - if the King’s sausage police comes round to check if you eat pork like a proper Christian you can point to your fake sausages hanging in the smoke.
King’s sausage police, new band name, called it!
Heh, my wife is Sefardic. Her family came to Amsterdam in 1497 from Portugal. She can, if she wants, get her Portugese nationality returned even after more than 500 years.
