Some antisemitic canards date back to the birth of Christianity, in particular an alleged Jewish responsibility for the death of Jesus. In medieval Europe, the scope of antisemitic canards expanded and was even used as a basis for regular persecutions and formal expulsions of Jews in England, France, Germany, Spain and Portugal. In these times it was widely believed that Jews caused epidemics like the Black Death by poisoning wells and ritually consumed the blood of Christians.