Venetian pragmatism and Jewish subjects (fifteenth and sixteenth centuries)

Abstract

The term ‘pragmatism’ has been used to describe Venetian policies regarding Jews residing in the Republic's eastern Mediterranean territories.1 My intention is to show that there was not a distinct pragmatism directed to Jewish affairs, but a uniform system of governance affecting all subjects, regardless of their ethnic or religious affiliation. It is an approach that requires a point of origin, in which the emphasis is given to political and not social aspects. The first issue to be examined is the system of governance, and the ways in which it affected the Jews. In sequence, a view on the Jewish legal status and economic activities is needed. Finally, attention will be drawn to the correlation between the restructuring of the state during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and the state of Jewish subjects.

Keywords:

• Venice
• Jews
• pragmatism
• citizenship
• legal status
• protection

Notes

 1. Jacoby, ‘Venetian Jews’, 30.

 2. The local precedents, according to Jacoby, were a decisive factor behind the Venetian policies, see ‘Venetian Jews’, 30.

 3. Ravid, ‘Legal Status’, 169–202.

 4. Jacoby, ‘From Byzantium’, 27–32.

 5. The colonizers did not comprise Venetian citizens exclusively, but Italians as well, see McKee, Uncommon Dominion, 34–6.

 6. Gasparis, ‘Έλληνες φεουδάρχες’, 195.

 7. For the definition of colonialism and the different types of colonies, see Reinhard, Storia del colonialismo, 4–6.

 8. Karapidakis, ‘Σχέσεις διοικούντα και διοικούμενου’, 185.

 9. ‘Edizione commentata’, 21.

10. Ravid, ‘Legal Status’, 189.

11. Mueller, ‘Banchi ebraici’, 112–3.

12. Different popes at the end of the fifteenth and the first half of the sixteenth century favoured Jewish settlement in central Italy, and issued decrees to protect them, see Ravid, ‘Tale of Three Cities’, 140–4.

13. Mueller, Cittadinanza, 18–32.

14. For the 1631 case, see Malkiel, ‘Tenuous Thread’, 223–50.

15. David Malkiel has suggested that the 1631 reaction was related to an increasing concern with asserting its own prerogatives against the backdrop of its conflicts with the papacy, culminating in the crisis of the Interdict in 1608. See Malkiel, A Separate Republic, 58–9, referred to in Ravid, ‘Translators of Hebrew Documents’, 202.

16. Jacoby, ‘Les Juifs à Venise’, 168.

17. Gasparri, ‘Venezia fra l'Italia bizantina’, 78.

18. Jacoby, ‘Venetian Jews’, 41.

19. Bowman, Jews of Byzantium, 10–1 and 30.

20. For the different policies of the Byzantine emperors, see Bowman, Jews of Byzantium, 9–10.

21. Baroutsos, ‘Privileges’, 301–4.

22. In the Hellenic territories, the special tax was imposed from the fourteenth century (Jacoby, ‘Venetian Jews’, 40), while in Venice the practice was employed in the sixteenth century and in 1591 was extended to Jews of the Terraferma (Pullan, Rich and Poor, 565).

23. Gerland, Das Archiv des Herzogs von Kandia, 93–5.

24. Karapidakis, Administration, 205–8.

25. Pullan, Rich and Poor, 560–3.

26. The final regulation was made by a Venetian decree in 1622. Baron, ‘Jewish immigration’, 171–2.

27. The demand was submitted to the Collegio. Ploumidis, Αιτήματα, 41.

28. The petition was initially made by the brothers Isacco and Abramo Coen, inhabitants of Corfu, who asked to resume the position their father held. The case was referred to the Savi del consiglio, who turned for information to the local authorities (provveditore e capitano di Corfù) and the Cinque savi alla mercanzia, see Archivio di Stato di Venezia (henceforth ASV), Avogaria di comun, Miscellanea civile, busta 64, quaderno 3, 20/6/1661.

29. Jacoby, ‘Venetian Jews’, 35.

30. See Arbel, ‘Jews and Christians’, 285.

31. Thiriet, Délibérations, 62, n. CL.

32. Thiriet, Régestes des Délibérations, 106, n. 409. Unfortunately, very little is known regarding taxes for the first three centuries of Venetian presence in the Hellenic territories.

33. In 1590 the Sephardic population in the town of Candia numbered 800 individuals and in Canea 300. Israel, Diasporas, 59.

34. Mueller, Immigrazione, 13.

35. Mueller, Immigrazione, 25.

36. Mueller, ‘Status’, 87.

37. Mueller, ‘Status’, 67.

38. Abulafia, ‘Servitude of Jews’.

39. Jews served as treasury officials in Aragona and as ministeriali in Germany, because they were no longer simply Jews, but royal Jews (Abulafia, ‘King and the Jews’, 49). In the same sense, Jews of Corfu could be local citizens through the legitimization of the Angevin king or the Doge.

40. Mueller, ‘Status’, 68.

41. Thiriet, Délibérations, 119, n. 1130.

42. Thiriet, Délibérations, 100, n. 1042.

43. Thiriet, Délibérations, 134–5, n. 1199.

44. Meir Mavrogonato had his privileges renewed by the Senate in 1532. Jacoby, ‘Un agent Juif’, 79–80.

45. Arbel, Trading Nations, 189–90.

46. According to a 1584 report of the Cinque savi di mercanzia, the picture was quite different: 38,000 ducats were collected as customs dues from Jewish merchants coming from the Levant, which constituted 9.5% of the entire duty revenues. In 1625, though, the relevant amount reached 100,000 ducats. See Arbel, ‘Jews in International Trade’, 93–4.

47. ‘Le grane che vengono in questa nostra città di Levante quasi tute sono condutte da hebrei…’. ASV, Cinque savi alla mercanzia, Nuova serie, b. 62, filza 165, parte 1, 17 September 1557.

48. Ravid, ‘Moneylending’, 259–61.

49. In the vivid debate between editor and contributor, Benjamin Arbel has expressed his disagreement regarding the status of the Corfiot Jews. His views and doubts will not be overlooked in my future research.

50. For the sixteenth century, see Baroutsos, ‘Privileges’, 309–10, 322–30. See also Pagratis' article in this volume.

51. For a full list of the known professions, see Arbel, ‘Jews and Christians’, 290–1, and Tsiknakis, ‘Εβραίοι του Χάνδακα’, 227–8. On Jews as tax-farmers, see Baroutsos, ‘Ενοικιαστές και ενοικιάσεις φόρων’.

52. Baroutsos, ‘Privileges’, 307–8, 322–4. For example, hebreo Mosse Spagnolo, called Bazzo, borrowed from Zuan Sfachioti (ASV, Duca di Candia [henceforth DC], b. 42quinquies, quad. 60, f. 20r, 30 May 1587), Baldissera Miganzini lent to rebbi David Russo (ASV, DC, b. 42quinquies, quad. 60, f. 49v, 7 June 1587).

53. In 1560 there were seven exchange offices in the town of Candia (ASV, DC, b. 35bis, quad. 26(1), f. 21r–v, 15 March 1560).

54. Papadia-Lala, Monte di Pietà, 39, 42.

55. Starr, ‘Jewish Life’, 83–6.

56. ASV, Avogaria di comun, Miscellanea civile, b. 175, fasc. 15.

57. Thiriet, Délibérations, 155, n. 1293. The fine amounted to almost half of the contribution the entire Jewish community of Crete paid every year (3,000 hyperpyra or 1,000 ducats approximately).

58. Between 1271 and 1302, Jewish lenders were few and they gave out insignificant sums. See, Gallina, ‘Finanza, credito e commercio’, 39–40, 44, 48. Mario Gallina based his conclusions on the registers of three notaries.

59. Gallina, ‘Navigazione di cabotaggio’, 56–8. In all, Jews constituted 14% of the creditors appearing in the registers of the notary Antonio Brixiano (1366–8), 10.5% of the creditors in the books of the notary Giorgio Aymo (1369–72), and 42% of the creditors using the services of the notary Giorgio Pazo (1383–6). No Jew did business with the notary Angelo Bocontolo (1345–50).

60. Mueller, ‘Status’, 75.

61. Gallina, ‘Finanza, credito e commercio’, 8–11. Most of the Christian moneylenders were not Cretan Greeks, but originated from several Italian towns. They dominated the maritime loan sector, artisan market, and so on.

62. Gallina, ‘Navigazione di cabotaggio’, 56–8.

63. Noiret, Documents inedits, 71. The Senate's assertion is not to be taken for granted.

64. Mueller, ‘Banchi ebraici’, 112–4.

65. Starr, ‘Jewish Life’, 83.

66. Noiret, Documents inédits, 131–3.

67. In 1425 the decision was amended, and Jews of the stato da mar were allowed to own houses in their Judaicas; see Mueller, ‘Status’, 89.

68. Baroutsos, ‘Privileges, 310–2.

69. Viroli, From Politics to Reason of State, 2.

70. Glete, War and the State, 1–5.

71. Tenenti, ‘Sovranità’, 104–6.

72. Karapidakis, ‘Rapporti fra governanti e governati’.

73. Ravid, ‘Venice, Rome’, 168–9. In 1588 Venice intervened to the Venetian and Roman Inquisition in favor of Jacob Nemias and his son.

74. Cozzi, Il doge, 10–48. The giovani faction was, among other things, interested in the protection of the rights of all subjects. The vecchi did not fully share this view.

75. Baroutsos, ‘Privileges’, 294.

76. For the anti-Jewish conduct of the town council in Corfu regarding futures trade, see Baroutsos, ‘Privileges’, 305–8.