Not only were they accorded privileges regarding military service and the Sabbath but they were also permitted to build a synagogue and open a cemetery as soon as their numbers reached 50, and to print Hebrew books. In 1604 they were granted a charter in Alkmaar, and in 1605 in Haarlem and Rotterdam. Religious liberty was not yet granted in Amsterdam and therefore the Marranos who had returned to Judaism, along with newly arrived Jews from Portugal, Italy, and Turkey, tried to obtain a foothold somewhere else. Joseph ha-Levi, who had come from Emden the previous year, was arrested. It was discovered in 1603 and the Ashkenazi rabbi Moses Uri b. The Beth Jaäcob community was founded around 1600. Around 1590 the first indications of a Marrano community are to be found in Amsterdam, but its members did not openly declare themselves as Jews. Without doubt there were many Marranos among the 20,000 merchants, industrialists, and scholars who left Antwerp in 1585 for the Republic of the United Provinces. It is known of one of them, Marcus Perez, became a Calvinist and played an important role in the Netherlands' revolt against Spain. Also Jews found their way to the Republic.Īmong the Portuguese merchants in the Netherlands in the 17 th century many were Marranos. Many job-seeking Germans, Huguenot Frenchmen, and dissenting scholars tried their luck in this strange country where, instead of a sovereign, the bourgeoisie were the rulers. The independent Dutch Republic was a popular emigration destination because of its economic prosperity and relative tolerance. The flourishing Jewish trade in Antwerp ended, however, when The Netherlands were divided during the reign of king Philip ii and many Jews took refuge in the Northern Netherlands, especially in *Amsterdam. After his death in 1536 it was run by his wife Gracia *Nasi. Francisco Mendes, born into a distinguished family of bankers, opened a branch in Antwerp that was one of the largest banks in Europe. Jewish bankers usually settled there using a Christian pseudonym. This also turned it into a refuge for a number of Marranos who had been expelled from Spain and Portugal after 1492.
In the 16 th century the city of Antwerp came to be a very important location for Jewish tradesmen and moneylenders because of its flourishing economy. Nonetheless, Jews continued to choose the large cities in the Southern Netherlands as for their home base. In this way, Nijmegen became an important financial marketplace where a great many of Jewish families came to settle. Their most important occupation was moneylending, making them dependent on the economies of the cities. In addition to these drastic measures, traces can also be found of abusing and insulting Jews, e.g., in the cities of Zutphen, Deventer, and Utrecht, for allegedly desecrating the Host.įrom the 15 th century, Jews also resided in the Northern Netherlands. Thus, in May 1370, six Jews were burned at the stake in Brussels because they were accused of theft and of desecrating the Holy Sacrament.
For this reason local Jewish communities were often murdered in part or entirely or exiled. This accusation was added to the other traditional accusations against the Jews, such as piercing the Host used for communion and using Christian children as an offering during Passover. 1403) of Tongeren, who wrote about how the Jews were murdered in the Brabant region and in the city of Zwolle because they were accused of spreading the Black Death. Various medieval chronicles mention this, e.g., those of Radalphus de Rivo (c.
The Jews were held responsible for the epidemic and for the way it was rapidly spreading, because presumably they were the ones who had poisoned the water of the springs used by the Christians. Sources from the 14 th century also mention Jewish residents in the cities of Antwerp and Mechelen and in the northern region of Geldern.īetween 13, the entire area covering Europe was hit by the plague or Black Death and this led to a new theme in medieval antisemitic rhetoric. However, as of the 13 th century, there are sources which indicate that Jews were living in the areas of Brabant and Limburg, mainly in cities such as Brussels, Leuven, Tienen, and Maastricht. It is not certain whether the Jews were residents in the area or whether they were just passing through. As early as the 11 th century one can find some indications of Jewish settlers in what was then called the Lowlands, an area which included the Southern Netherlands.Įarly sources from the 11 th and 12 th centuries mention official debates or Disputationes between Christians and Jews, in which attempts were made to convince the Jews of the truth of Christianity and to try to convert them. It is not known when exactly the Jews settled in the area which is now called The Netherlands. NETHERLANDS, THE ( Holland ), kingdom in N.W.
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