The German-speaking lands in the early modern period were a mosaic of small states and principalities, each with its own Jewry law. Altogether there were about 1,800 independent “states,” including 51 free imperial cities and 63 ecclesiastical principalities. Because of this political fragmentation, there was great inconsistency in the terms of settlement from one place […]
Jews settled in eastern Europe in the Middle Ages. During the first centuries of Jewish settlement in Poland, the legal and economic conditions resembled those of Jewish communities in western Europe, where Jews were mostly urban dwellers, engaged in trade and banking, and relied on royal power for privileges and protection. The famous privilege granted […]
In the early modern period, Italian Jewry comprised of three major groups- the Italianate, the Ashkenazic, and the Sephardic Jews. These Jews lived in several major cities, including Rome, Venice, Padua, Mantua, Florence, and somewhat later in Livorno (Leghorn). The Italianate community dated its origins as far back as during the Roman Empire. In the […]
In the sixteenth century, Portugal overwhelmingly dominated European trade with sub-Saharan Africa and the East Indies. West Africa, because of its proximity to Brazil, had particular commercial importance. Slaves, needed for sugar production in Brazil, were shipped from the west coast of Africa in large numbers, though they were also captured and sent to the […]
Overview Overview- Sub-Saharan Africa and the East Indies Secondary sources DaSilva, José Gentil. “Portugal and Overseas Expansion from Xvith-Xviiith Centuries.” Journal of European Economic History 8, no. 3 (1979)- 681-688. Mark, Peter, and José da Silva Horta. “Two Early Seventeenth-Century Sephardic Communities on Senegal’s Petite Cote.” History in Africa 31 (2004)- 231-256.
The Expulsion of the Jews from Spain occurred precisely at the moment when Spain was poised to extend its dominion to new territories across the Atlantic. Openly practicing Jews were thus prevented from entering Spanish America from the very start. Conversos, however, became an important presence in the Iberian overseas territories, both east and west. […]
Overview Overview- The Americas Secondary sources Alberro, Solange. “Crypto-Jews and the Mexican Holy Office in the Seventeenth Century,” in P. Bernardini and N. Fiering, eds., The Jews and the Expanion of Europe to the West, 1450-1800, New York and Oxford 2001, 203-212. ‘Esposito, Francesco. “Portuguese Settlers in Santo Domingo in the Sixteenth Century (1492-1580).” Journal […]
From the mid-sixteenth century, the Sephardic diaspora began to change shape dramatically, as the steady stream of refugees from the Peninsula was largely diverted from its earlier Mediterranean destinations. This shift was primarily a response to economic and political developments in northern Europe. By this time, the ports of the Atlantic coast had begun their […]
North Africa at the time of the Expulsion was less than an ideal region for Jewish settlement. Political and military struggles between the Berbers, Turks, Portuguese and Spanish made it an area of great unrest and disorder. Nevertheless, North Africa figures prominently in contemporary accounts that discuss the destinations of Jewish exiles from Spain. A […]
REDIRECT R. Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel, EJ 2-103-109.