In 1290, Edward I expelled the Jews from England. In 1492, the Jews were expelled from Spain. Even though Jews had long been barred from England, anti-Semitism was still alive during Shakespeare's time, a hundred years later. Some ethnic groups were also abused simply because of the color of their skin and their minority status. The following offers brief descriptions of two minority groups — Jews and blacks. It can be noted that these two groups were portrayed in Shakespeare's plays.

Jews

Even after Edward I expelled them from England, a few Jews remained, though they could not publicly practice their faith. Dr. Rodrigo Lopez, the personal physician to Queen Elizabeth, was such a “New Christian.” Yet in 1593 he was condemned to death for treason. Queen Elizabeth did not believe that Lopez was guilty, but she did nothing to prevent the execution. Lopez's trial instigated a new wave of anti-Semitism.

Other great cities, such as Amsterdam and Venice, allowed openly practicing Jews to remain, though they were forced to live in ghettos. Because they were banned from almost all kind of work, and because the Christian churches banned their followers from charging interest on loans, they flourished as moneylenders.

The vagaries of rising capitalism made banning the practice impractical and in Shakepeare's day, charging interest became a common business practice.

Blacks

There were few blacks living in London before Shakespeare's time. Then slave ships passing through London en route to the new colonies of America or the Caribbean islands stopped to take aboard provisions for the long trip across the Atlantic. Many blacks were sold to rich homes in London, to become “exotic” servants, or sold to work in the brothels. Because they were few, they did not arouse prejudice. Rather they were treated as a curiosity. But, because the color black was associated with ugliness, savagery, even sin, they were also portrayed that way as characters in the theater, like Aaron in Titus Andronicus.

In this gore-splashed revenge tragedy, however, Aaron is less brutal than the murderous characters around him. Shakespeare even makes him capable of affection, highlighting the feelings Aaron shows for his infant son.

In Othello, Shakespeare refers to Othello as a Moor, a mysterious Muslim people from Africa who also settled in Spain. Roderigo's description of Othello having “thick lips” points toward that African rather than Arab origin. The word Moor itself comes from the country “Mauritania” but was used by Elizabethans to describe those from North and West Africa, as well as any Muslim. In 1601, after traders from North Africa had begun dealing in England, Queen Elizabeth expelled all Moors from the country.

What is remarkable is that Shakespeare chose to make Othello, a black man, the protagonist of one of his great tragedies. The play treats him sympathetically even when he is goaded by Iago to kill his wife, the love of his life.