As per Raif Melhado's suggestion I'm reposting this here: I always wondered what caused the reaction to expel Sephardic Jews from the French Islands (1683) and the 1st article of the Black Code (1685) considering that the French King, Louis XIV, was a sponsor of Sephardic Jews, Crypto-jews and New Christians or conversos. At its peak (1680), the French Empire was the second largest empire in the world and included many native American territories in North America. It seems that after the publication of The Hope of Israel (1650), the discussion about some clans of native Americans as descendants of the lost 10 tribes made all hell break loose. Spes Israel in Latin (or Mikveh Israel) was translated as Hope of Israel in English (1652), Hebrew and Yiddish and inspired many generations of immigrants to settle in America as "la Tierra de Promisión" or the Promised Land.