of the clergy. But, beyond a doubt, also the adoption of more efficacious strategies of protection on the part of the Crypto-Jews: the later inquisitorial trials talk about how religious practices were transferred within families when a child reached the age of adolescence and, very often in the case of the women, when it became clear whom she would marry and what were the husband's religious convictions. In any event, this period was characterized by the reduction of the group by means of the flight of the penitents of the earlier epoch, the unconditional adhesion to Catholicism of the majority of those who remained, and the generalization of the statutes of (literally "purity of blood", most commonly referred to in English by the Spanish language expression ) in the majority of the guild organizations and religious orders. But despite all of this, a small group persevered in their clandestine practices, essentially those who would later be known as the Xuetes, those who, furthermore, maintained and adopted social, familial, and economic strategies of internal cohesion. From 1640, the descendants of the converts began a marked process of economic ascent and increasing commercial influence. Previously, and with some exceptions, they had been artisans, shopkeepers, and retail distributors, but starting from this time, and for reasons not well explained, some began to focus strongly on economic activity: they created complex mercantile companies, participated in foreign trade, coming to control, at the time of the end of the inquisitorial trials, 36% of the total, they dominated the market for insurance and retail commerce of imported products. Otherwise, companies were usually owned by , and they gave part of their profits to works of charity in benefit of the "community", unlike the rest of the population, that used to give its profits as charity donations to the Church. Because of the intense exterior economic activity, the Xuetes resumed their contact with the international communities of Jews, especially of Livorno, of Rome, of Marseille, and of Amsterdam, through whom the converts had access to Jewish literature. It is known that Rafel Valls, known as ("the Rabbi") religious leader of the Majorcan converts, traveled to Alexandria and Smyrna in the era of Sabbatai Zevi, but it is unknown whether he had any contact with him. An internal system of social stratification probably began in that period, although it is also believed to be a remnant of the