convertidas

Convertidas is a Spanish term that denotes women who have undergone a religious conversion, with the masculine and neutral forms being convertidos or conversion. The plural convertidas is used primarily in religious and historical texts.

In historical Iberian contexts, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods, many Jewish and Muslim communities converted to Christianity in the Crown of Castile, the Crown of Aragon, and later in Spanish and Portuguese colonies. In historiography and in inquisitorial archives, female converts are often referred to as convertidas or, more commonly in other sources, as conversas (the feminine form). The category included women who publicly professed Catholicism after a forced or voluntary conversion, sometimes facing suspicion of still maintaining Jewish or Muslim practices, which could lead to scrutiny by ecclesiastical or civil authorities.

In broader usage, convertidas can refer to any women who join a religion different from their birth faith, including in missionary contexts or church histories. The term today is mostly encountered in historical texts rather than in contemporary demographic language; modern discussions tend to use more neutral terms like women who converted or simply converted individuals.

Notable topics associated with convertidas include the phenomenon of conversos in Iberian history, crypto-Judaism, and the role of women in religious transitions in colonial societies.