What are Sephardic Jews?

My dad is from Tunisia, North Africa. He would always tell me we are Sephardic Jews because we are from North Africa, however I never understood what being Sephardic means and where this ethnic division came from.

There are two main divisions of Judaism, Ashkenazi and Sephardic. These two divisions define some of the traditions that you follow during the year. 1492 is commonly known for Christopher Columbus sailing the ocean blue where he then found the land in what is now known as America. However, in that same year a historic event that happened that changed the course for the Jewish people. The Spanish Inquisition is when King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella expelled the Jews from Spain, making them settle in Amsterdam, North Africa, and the Middle East. Like many other countries, in Spain, Romans characterized Judaism's cultural distinctiveness as “corrupting influence.” When Christianity arrived in Spain, Judaism's legal authorities worried about cultural and religious assimilation and maintaining their Jewish identity.

But Spain was not always against the Jews. In a time known as the Golden Age of Spain, Sephardim flourished throughout the countries. During this period Jews from around the country rose to positions of power, and were successful. But as we see, history continues to repeat itself and eventually the Jews were exiled from their homes. Now Sephardic Jews are commonly found in the Iberian Peninsula, which now consists of modern day Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Syria, and across North Africa. As generations pass the Sephardic community will flourish once again, this time all over the world.