SETTLEMENT OF JEWS IN HOLLAND.--FEEBLE ATTEMPTS AT ENFRANCHISEMENT.
Revival of Catholicism--Decay in European Culture--
Ill-treatment of Jews in Berlin--Emperor Rudolph II of
Austria--Diminution in the Numbers of Italian Jews--Pope
Gregory XIII--Confiscation of Copies of the Talmud--Vigorous
Attempts at the Conversion of Jews--Pope Sixtus V--The Jewish
Physician, David de Pomis--Renewal of Persecution by Clement
VIII--Expulsion from Various Italian States--The Censors
and the Talmud--The Jews of Ferrara--Settlement of Jews in
Holland--Samuel Pallache--Jacob Tirado and the Marranos in
Amsterdam--Tolerant Treatment--The Poet, David Jesurun--Moses
Uri--Hebrew Printing in Amsterdam.
1593-1618 C.E.
The free spirit of the nations of Europe, which at the beginning of
the century had taken so bold a flight, had broken the ancient bonds
in which the church had long held minds captive, and cast the blight
of doubt on the hitherto sacred authority of the wearer of the Roman
purple--this spirit, which promised to bring the regeneration of
civilized humanity and political freedom, seemed in the second half
of the century to be utterly cast down. The papacy, or Catholicism,
had recovered from its first feeling of terror, and collected itself.
Extraordinarily strengthened by the council of Trent, it forged new
chains to which the nations that had remained faithful, willingly
submitted. The order of the Jesuits, restless and indefatigable
champions, who not only disarmed their opponents, but even drew them
over to their own ranks, had already reconquered much lost ground
by their widespread plots, and had conceived new measures in order
to win back with double interest what they had lost. Italy, a great
part of southern Germany and the Austrian provinces, France--after
long civil wars and convulsions, after the blood-stained eve of St.
Bartholomew, and the murder of two kings--as also to a great extent
Poland and Lithuania, had once more become Catholic, as fanatically
Catholic, too, as Spain and Portugal, the blazing hells of the
Inquisition. In Lutheran and reformed Germany another papacy had
gained the mastery, a papacy of dry formulas of belief, and slavery
to the letter of the law. The Byzantine quarrel about shadowy dogmas
and meaningless words divided the evangelical communities into as many
sects and subsidiary sects as there were points of discussion, and had
a harmful influence upon political development. Classical philology, at
first liberalizing and suggestive, was neglected, owing to excessive
belief in the Bible by the one party and the sway of authority
over the other, and had degenerated into fanciful dilettanteism or
learned lumber. The study of the Hebrew language, which for a time
had kindled great enthusiasm, was similarly debased, or only carried
on superficially for the purposes of ecclesiastical wrangling. The
knowledge of Hebrew had always been considered, at any rate was now
thought, in orthodox Catholic society, to be actual heresy. And the
same was still truer of rabbinical literature. The learned Spanish
theologian, Arias Montano, published the first complete polyglot Bible
in Antwerp, at the expense of Philip II. He also compiled grammars and
dictionaries of the Hebrew and cognate languages, in which regard was
had to the older Jewish expositors. He, the favorite of Philip II, who
had himself drawn up a list of heretical books, was accused by the
Jesuits and the Inquisition of favoring heresy, suspected of secret
conversion to Judaism, and stigmatized as a rabbi. Thus, Europe seemed
to be actually making a retrograde movement, only with this distinction
--what had formerly been cheery, naïve credulity now became sinister,
aggressive fanaticism.
Refined ecclesiasticism, resulting in the tension which subsequently
relieved itself in the general destructiveness of the Thirty Years'
War, made the sojourn of Jews, both in Catholic and Protestant
countries, a continual torture. Luther's followers in Germany forgot
what Luther had so earnestly uttered in their favor, only remembering
the hateful things of which, in his bitterness, he had accused them.
The Jews of Berlin and the province of Brandenburg, for instance, had
the sad alternative put before them of being baptized or expelled. A
Jewish financier, the physician Lippold, favorite of Elector Joachim
II, and his right hand in his corrupt, financial schemes, examined and
tortured on the rack by Joachim's successor, John George, admitted,
though afterwards recanting, that he had poisoned his benefactor. The
Jews were driven also out of Brunswick by Duke Henry Julius. Catholic
nations and princes had no cause to reproach their Protestant opponents
with toleration or humanity in regard to Jews.
It was, in some respects, fortunate for the Jews of Germany and
Austria, that the reigning emperor, Rudolph II, although a pupil of
the Jesuits, educated in a country where the fires of the stake were
always smoking, and a deadly enemy of the Protestants, was not greatly
prejudiced against Jews. Weak and vacillating, he was not able to
check the persecutions directed against them, but at least he did not
encourage them. He issued an edict to one bishop (of Würzburg) that the
Jews should not be deprived of their privileges, and to another (of
Passau) that they should not be tortured on the rack. But, in order not
to be decried by his contemporaries or by posterity as a benefactor of
Jews, he not only maintained the heavy taxation of Jews in his crown
land, Bohemia, but from time to time increased it. He also ordered the
Jews to be expelled from the archduchy of Austria within six months.
In this position, robbed by Catholics and Lutherans alike, trampled
down or driven into misery, barely protected by the emperor, but
taxed under the pretense of enjoying this protection, the ruin and
degradation of German Jews reached ever lower depths. They were so
sorely troubled by the cares of the moment, that they neglected the
study of the Talmud, once their spiritual food.
The Jews of Italy fared even worse at this time, and they, too, sank
into misery and decay. Italy was the principal seat of the malicious
and inexorable, ecclesiastical reaction, animated with the thought to
annihilate the opponents of Catholicism from the face of the earth. The
torch of civil war was hurled from the Vatican into Germany, France,
and the Netherlands. And as the Jews, from the time of Paul IV and Pius
V, had been upon the list of heretics, or foes of the church, their
lot was not to be envied. With the loss of their independence, their
numbers also decreased. There were no Jews living in southern Italy.
In northern Italy, the largest communities, those of Venice and Rome,
numbered only between 1,000 and 2,000 souls; the community in Mantua
had only 1,844; and in the whole of the district of Cremona, Lodi,
Pavia, Alessandria, and Casalmaggiore, there dwelt only 889 Jews. Pius
V, by nature a sinister ecclesiastic delighting in persecution, who
treated Jews as the cursed children of Ham, was succeeded by Gregory
XIII (1572-1585), who had been skillfully trained to fanaticism by
the Jesuits and the Theatine monks. As regards Jews, Gregory was a
most consistent follower of the cruelty of his predecessor. In spite
of repeated warnings, there were still many Christians in Italy, who,
in their blindness, preferred Jewish physicians of proved excellence,
such as David de Pomis, or Elias Montalto, to Christian charlatans.
Gregory was desirous of prohibiting their employment. He renewed the
old canonical law that Christian patients were not to be treated
by Jewish physicians; not only visiting Christians who transgressed
this command with severe penalties, but also punishing the Jewish
physicians if they ventured to prolong the life of a Christian patient,
or even alleviate his sufferings. His severity succeeded. Another of
Gregory's edicts referred not to one profession, but to the Jewish race
in general. He placed them under the Argus eye of the Inquisition.
If any of them maintained or taught what was heretical, _i.e._,
obnoxious to the church; if he held intercourse with a heretic or an
apostate, helped him or showed him sympathy, he was to be summoned by
the Inquisition, and according to its verdict was to be condemned to
confiscation of his property, the punishment of the galleys, or even
sentenced to death. If, then, a refugee Marrano from Spain or Portugal
was caught in Italy, and it was proved that a brother Jew had given him
food or shelter, both might expect to be seized by the inexorable arm
of the Inquisition of Italy. The anger of Pope Gregory XIII was poured
forth also against the Talmud. The Jews were once more admonished to
deliver up the Talmud and other works suspected of being hostile to the
church. The Inquisitors and other spiritual authorities were appointed
to institute search for these books everywhere. Anyone subsequently
found in possession of them, even after declaring that the offending
passages had been expunged, was rendered liable to severe punishment.
Pope Gregory XIII's most zealous effort was directed to the conversion
of Jews. This pope, who most heartily encouraged the Jesuits and their
proselytizing school of thought, endowed a propagandist seminary of all
nations--the curriculum included twenty-five languages--called the
"Collegium Germanicum," issued a decree that on Sabbaths and holy days
Christian preachers should deliver discourses upon Christian doctrine
in the synagogues, if possible in Hebrew, and that Jews of both
sexes, over twelve years of age, at least a third of the community,
must attend these sermons. The Catholic princes were exhorted to
support this vigorous attempt at conversion. Thus an ordinance of
a half-mad, schismatic pope, Benedict XIII, issued in a moment of
passionate excitement, was sanctioned, and even exaggerated in cold
blood by the head of the united Catholic church, thereby exercising
religious compulsion not very different from the act of Antiochus
Epiphanes in dedicating the Temple of the one true God to Jupiter. It
is characteristic of the views then prevailing, that the Jews were to
provide salaries for the preachers, in return for the violence done
their consciences! Like his predecessor, Pius V, Gregory spared no
means to win over the Jews. Many allowed themselves to be converted
either from fear or for their advantage; for Gregory's edicts did not
remain a dead letter, but were carried out with all strictness and
severity. The consequence was that many Jews left Rome.
The condition of the Jews in Rome was apparently altered under
Gregory's successor, Sixtus V (1585-1590), who rose from the position
of a swine-herd to the office of the shepherd of Catholic Christendom,
and whose dauntless energy in the government of the Papal States
stamped him as an original type of character. He allowed Jews to be
around him, and harbored Lopez, a Jewish refugee from Portugal, who
made various suggestions as to the improvement of the finances. He went
still further; he issued a bull (October 22d, 1586), which did away
with almost all the restrictions made by his predecessors. Sixtus not
merely granted Jews permission to dwell in all the cities of the Papal
States, but also allowed them to have intercourse with Christians and
employ them as assistants in business. He protected their religious
freedom by special provisions, and extended to them an amnesty for
past offenses, _i.e._, for condemnations on account of the possession
of religious books. Moreover, he forbade the Knights of Malta to make
slaves of Jews traveling by sea from Europe to the Levant, or _vice
versâ_, a practice to which these consecrated champions of God had
hitherto been addicted. Pope Sixtus knew how to secure obedience to
his command when it became law, and the Jews previously expelled now
returned to the papal dominions. Under him the Jewish community at
Rome numbered two hundred members. Finally he removed the prohibition
which prevented Jewish physicians from attending Christian patients.
The compulsory services instituted by his predecessor were the only
ordinances that Sixtus V allowed to remain.
The permission, so important at that time, for Jewish physicians to
have access to Christian patients, was probably gained for himself
and his colleagues, by the then celebrated physician, David de Pomis
(born 1525, died 1588). With medical knowledge he combined linguistic
acquirements, and familiarity with Hebrew and classical literature,
writing both Hebrew and Latin with elegance. In the course of his
life he felt keenly the changes in the papal policy. He lost all his
property through the hostile decrees of Paul IV, was kindly treated by
Pius IV, and allowed by way of exception to practice among Christians
in consequence of a splendid Latin discourse delivered before the pope
and the college of cardinals. But he was again subjected to irritating
restrictions by Pius V, and had to employ his skill in the service
of petty, capricious nobles. To dispel the unconquerable prejudices
against Jews, particularly against Jewish physicians, De Pomis wrote a
Latin work, entitled "The Hebrew Physician," which affords favorable
testimony to his noble mind and extensive culture. With considerable
eloquence De Pomis maintained that the Jew was bound by his religion
to love the Christian as his brother, and that a Jewish physician, far
from wishing to do harm to his Christian patient, was wont to treat
him with the utmost care and solicitude. He enumerated various Hebrew
physicians who had attended princes of the church, cardinals and popes,
had restored them to health, and had received distinctions from them
and from cities. In conclusion, De Pomis adduced some proverbs from
the Talmud in a Latin translation, to show that this much-calumniated
book was not so harmful and corrupt as enemies of the Jews asserted.
This apology for Judaism and Jewish physicians, dedicated to Prince
Francesco Maria of Urbino, the elegant Latin style of which was highly
praised by an experienced critic of the time, appears to have made an
impression upon Pope Sixtus. De Pomis must certainly have been intimate
with him, as he was allowed to dedicate to him his second important
literary work, a dictionary of the Talmud in three languages.
The pope severely punished a Christian Shylock, because he claimed
a pound of flesh from a Roman Jew as the result of a wager. This
Christian, named Seche, had wagered with a Jew, named Ceneda, that
St. Domingo would be conquered, and on winning his bet he claimed
the penalty. On hearing of this, Sixtus condemned him to death, but
afterwards mitigated the punishment to banishment, and allotted
the same fate to Ceneda for wagering his body, the property of his
sovereign.
The favorable attitude of Sixtus towards Jews encouraged them in the
hope--to them a matter of conscience, of life itself--that the
prohibition directed against the Talmud and the Hebrew Scriptures would
be removed forever. Under the last two popes no copies of the Talmud
had been allowed to appear without causing the possessor to incur the
dangers of the watchful Inquisition. Nor was the possession of other
perfectly harmless Hebrew works without risk, for as the Inquisitors
and clerical authorities did not in the least understand them, they
condemned all without exception as inimical to the church, a category
which afforded ample room for denunciation. Whether the possessor of
a Hebrew book should be condemned to lose his property, or be sent
to the galleys, depended, in the last instance, upon the decision of
baptized Jews acquainted with rabbinical literature. To escape these
annoyances the communities of Mantua, Ferrara, and Milan addressed a
request to Sixtus V to allow the Jews to possess copies of the Talmud
and other books, provided these works were previously expurgated of the
passages objectionable to Christianity. They referred to the decision
of Pope Pius IV that the Talmud could not be entirely condemned, but
that it contained passages worthy of censure, which were to be struck
out by the censor's marks. A Jewish delegate, Bezalel Masserano, had
gone to Rome, provided with 2,000 scudi, in order to lay the request
of the Jews at the feet of his Holiness. It was granted in the bull
of October 22d, 1586. Sixtus allowed the reprinting of the Talmud and
other writings, though only after censorship. For this purpose two
commissions were appointed, in which baptized Jews were naturally
included as experts. The Italian Jews began to rejoice at being allowed
to possess even a mutilated Talmud. But scarcely had the commission
arranged the conditions of the censorship (August 7th, 1590), when the
wise pope died, and the undertaking, just begun, of reprinting the
mutilated Talmud was at once discontinued.
The regard paid Jews by Sixtus V arose not from any sentiment of
justice, but from his passionate desire to amass treasure. "This pope
bled Christians from the throat," says his biographer, "but he drew
the blood of Jews from all their limbs." They often found themselves
compelled to pay immense sums into the papal treasury.
With Clement VIII, however (1592-1605), the system of intolerance,
practiced by Paul IV, Pius V, and Gregory XIII, once more came into
vogue. He repeated the edict of expulsion against the Jews in the Papal
States (February 25th, 1593), and allowed them to dwell only in Rome,
Ancona, and Avignon. If a Jew were caught in any other papal city, he
was to expiate his offense by the loss of his property and the penalty
of the galleys. Clement re-imposed the old restrictions upon the Jews
in the three cities mentioned, forbidding them either to read or
possess the Talmud and other rabbinical writings. The Jews, expelled
from the Papal States, seem to have been received by Ferdinand, Duke of
Tuscany, who assigned Pisa to them as a dwelling-place (July, 1593).
He allowed them to possess books of every kind and of all languages,
including the Talmud, but the copies first had to be expurgated
according to the regulations of the commission instituted by Sixtus V.
So great was the fanaticism of the apostolic throne that even noble
princes, like Ferdinand de Medici, of Tuscany, and Vicenzo Gonzago,
of Mantua, did not venture to relax it. Even in places where, as a
favor, the Jews were allowed to possess expurgated books, they were
exposed to all kinds of annoyances and extortions. They had to pay the
censors, mostly baptized Jews, for the mutilation of these writings,
nor were they assured that even then their books would not again be
confiscated, and the owners punished, merely because some obnoxious
word or other had remained unobliterated. Woe to those who rubbed out
one of the censors' marks! To avoid being exposed to vexation, Jews
themselves laid hands upon their sacred literature, and expunged not
only everything that referred to idolatry, but also everything that
glorified the Jewish race, or made mention of the Messiah and his
future advent. As Italy, at that time, was the chief market for printed
Hebrew works, the Jews in other countries received only mutilated
copies, from which open or covert protests against Rome were completely
obliterated.
Expulsion of the Jews from all Italian cities was the order of the day
in the reign of this pope. Thus the Jews were expelled (in the spring
of 1597) from the Milan district, _i.e._, from the cities of Cremona,
Pavia, Lodi, and others, to the number of about a thousand. They were
forced to beg for shelter in Mantua, Modena, Reggio, Verona, and Padua.
During their migrations, they were robbed by heartless Christians.
The sword of the church hovered for a time also over the Jews in
Ferrara, a town that had always been a safe refuge for them, and even
for the new-Christians from Spain. The ducal race of De Este, whose
representatives vied with the Medici in magnanimity and culture, had
died out. The Jews of Ferrara felt themselves so identified with the
fortunes of this princely house, that they offered public prayers in
the synagogue on the occasion of the severe illness of the thoughtful
Princess Leonore, whom two great poets have immortalized by placing her
in the glorified heaven of poetry. She herself was a benefactress of
Jews, and frequently protected them. But now the last representative
of the race, Alfonso II, had died without heirs (1597), and, in
opposition to his last wishes, Ferrara was incorporated into the Papal
States by Clement VIII. The Jewish community, consisting chiefly of
Marrano refugees, was prepared to endure banishment, as it could expect
no mercy from this pope. They only asked Aldobrandini, the pope's
relative, who had taken possession of Ferrara, to grant them a respite
that they might make preparations for departure. As Aldobrandini saw
that a great portion of the trade of the town was in the hands of
Jews, he had sufficient consideration not to injure it, granted them
permission to remain for five years, and had this decree carried out in
spite of the fanatical wishes of Clement VIII, who had hoped to banish
them. No fugitive new-Christian, however, could now stop in Ferrara
without falling into the clutches of the bloody Inquisition. Thus the
last refuge in Italy for this class of Jews was destroyed, and there
was no longer any place of safety for them in all Christendom.
It seems providential that the Jewish race, which, at the end of the
sixteenth century, had no longer a footing, properly speaking, in
Europe or Asia, under Christianity or Islam, should have taken firm
root in the empire of their obstinate foe, Philip II, of Spain, and
should have been able from that vantage ground to gain a position
of equality. Indeed, in the chain of causation it was the bloody
Inquisition itself which helped gain them freedom. Holland, a land
wrung from the sea, became for the hunted victims of a horrible,
refined fanaticism, a resting-place where they could settle down,
and develop their national characteristics. But what changes and
vicissitudes they had to undergo before this almost undreamed of
possibility could become reality! The northwest corner of Europe had
hitherto been inhabited by only a few Jews. They suffered, as did
their brethren, under the extravagances of excited fanaticism, were
hunted down, and massacred at the time of the crusades and the Black
Death, bearing all in silent obscurity and patience. When the country,
under the name of the Netherlands, beneath the far-reaching scepter of
Charles V, was united to Spain, the Spanish principle of hostility to
Jews was transferred to it. The emperor issued command after command
that the Jews in the cities of the Netherlands, small though their
numbers were, should be expelled. Every citizen was required to make
known to the royal officers the presence of Jews contrary to law. In
consequence of the introduction of the Inquisition into Portugal,
several Jewish families had betaken themselves, with all their wealth,
industry, and skill, to the flourishing cities of the Netherlands,
Brussels, Antwerp, and Ghent, in order to lead a religious life secure
from danger. The severe edict of Charles V, and his repeated command
not to allow their presence, extended to them. The magistrates duly
fulfilled the commands of their ruler in this matter, because they
feared that the presence of new-Christians would cause the Inquisition
to be introduced--an evil which seemed to their anxious hearts to
forebode great danger for themselves.
The people of the Netherlands could not escape the Inquisition.
Although an appendage of Spain, were they not surrounded by Lutheran
heretics, and did not these dwell in their very midst? So this
institution was to be introduced among them also. This was one
of the main causes of the revolt of the Netherlands, and of that
long-continued war, so small in its beginnings, and so great in its
results, that rendered powerless the might of Spain, and raised the
tiny land of Holland to a power of almost the first rank. It seemed as
if from every head that Alva struck off in the Netherlands, hundreds
of others sprang, as from the Hydra of old. It was a matter of course
that in this sanguinary struggle which transformed the whole land into
an arena of battle, there was no place for Jews. Upon the advice of
Arnheim and Zütphen, Alva had issued an edict that if Jews were found
there, they were to be kept in custody until such time as he should
pass judgment upon them. It was well known what this meant from his
mouth.
The Portuguese Marranos, or new-Christians, who, even in the third
generation, could not forget, and would not repudiate, their Jewish
descent, turned their eyes towards the Netherlands, now wrestling for
freedom, the more as the Inquisition was raging more furiously than
ever, and dragging them to the dungeon or the stake. Since the first
symptom of the decline of Spain's fortunes, since the collapse of the
invincible Armada, by means of which Philip II had thought to carry
the chains of actual and spiritual bondage not only to England, but,
if possible, to the ends of the earth, there had arisen in the hearts
of the pseudo-Christians, under the iron rule of this tyrant, an eager
desire for freedom. As Italy was closed to them by the persecuting
policy of the reactionary popes, their only hope of refuge was in the
Netherlands.
An eminent Jew, Samuel Pallache, sent by the king of Morocco as
consul to the Netherlands (about 1591), proposed to the magistrate
of Middelburg, in the province of Zealand, to receive the Portuguese
Marranos, and allow them religious freedom. In return, they would
develop the city into a flourishing, commercial center by means of
their wealth. The wise city fathers would willingly have agreed to
this plan, but the war for religion and freedom, so passionately waged
against the two-fold despotism of Spain, had made even the reformed
preachers fanatical and intolerant. They were opposed to the admission
of Jews into Zealand.
But the Portuguese new-Christians did not abandon the idea of seeking
security in the provinces of the Netherlands already freed from the
Spanish yoke. They felt themselves drawn towards this republic by
mighty bonds; they shared its fierce hatred against Spain with its
thirst for human sacrifices, and against its fanatical king, Philip II.
The great Protector, William of Orange, the soul of the struggle for
independence, had uttered the idea of mutual toleration and friendly
intercourse between different religious parties, creeds, and sects.
Although this first germ of genuine humanity at first fell to the
ground, the Marranos clung to it as affording hope of release from
their daily torments. A courageous Marrano woman, Mayor Rodrigues,
appears to have formed the plan of seeking a refuge for her family
in Holland. She, her husband, Gaspar Lopes Homem, her two sons and
two daughters, and several other members of this rich and respected
family, were devotedly attached to Judaism, and weary of the pretense
of following Christian customs, a pretense, after all, powerless to
protect them from the horrors of the Inquisition. When a ship sailed
from Portugal with a load of fugitive Marranos, under the leadership
of one Jacob Tirado, Mayor Rodrigues intrusted to this vessel her
charming and beautiful daughter, Maria Nuñes, and also her son. The
mother appears to have relied upon the magic of her daughter's charms;
the extraordinary beauty of Maria Nuñes was to serve as an ægis to
these wanderers, surrounded by dangers on all sides, and secure to
them a place of refuge. As a matter of fact, her beauty was successful
in averting the first danger that threatened the party of refugees,
consisting of ten persons, men, women and children. They were captured
by an English ship making raids upon vessels sailing under the
Spanish-Portuguese flag, and were taken to England. Maria Nuñes so
bewitched the captain, an English duke, that he offered her his hand,
thinking that she belonged to the rank of the Portuguese grandees;
but she refused this honorable offer, because she wished to live as
a Jewess. The beauty of the fair Portuguese prisoner made so great a
sensation in London, that the virgin queen, Elizabeth, was curious to
make the acquaintance of this celebrated beauty, inaccessible even to
the love of a duke. She invited her to an audience, and drove with her
in an open carriage through the streets of the capital. Probably owing
to the mediation of Maria Nuñes, the fugitive Jews were allowed to
leave England unharmed, and set sail for Holland. After enduring a most
stormy voyage, they were able to make for the harbor of Emden, where,
as in the rest of East Friesland, some few German Jews lived.
As soon as the Marranos became aware, by Hebrew letters and other
signs, of the presence of brethren in this city, Jacob Tirado, the most
eminent among them repaired to Moses Uri Halevi, who had the reputation
of being a learned man, and on whose house Hebrew characters had been
noticed. He discovered to him his own and his companions' intention to
give up pseudo-Christianity, and to be received fully and, if possible,
immediately into Judaism. But Moses Uri had scruples about taking such
a decisive course, the apparent conversion of Christians to Judaism, in
a small town, where nothing could long remain hidden. He, therefore,
advised the fugitives to betake themselves to Amsterdam, where greater
toleration was enjoyed, and promised to come to them with his whole
family, to remain with them, and instruct them in Jewish doctrines.
Accordingly, the Marranos, led by Tirado, arrived at Amsterdam (April
22d, 1593), sought an abode which would allow of their remaining
together, and were received back into Judaism as soon as Moses Uri and
his family came to them.
Moses Uri and his son arranged a house of prayer for the Marranos, and
officiated as conductors of the services. Great zeal was shown, not
only by Jacob Tirado, but also by Samuel Pallache, the consul, and a
Marrano poet, Jacob Israel Belmonte, come thither from Madeira, who
depicted the tortures of the Inquisition in verse, giving his poem the
appropriate title of "Job." The youthful community was strengthened in
numbers and in standing by fresh arrivals. An English fleet, which,
under the Earl of Essex, surprised the fortress of Cadiz, and inflicted
serious injuries upon the Spaniards (in the summer of 1596), conveyed
several Marranos to Holland, amongst them a man of great originality,
not without importance for posterity. Alonso de Herrera was descended
from Jewish and ancient Spanish families. His ancestor was the great
Gonsalvo de Cordova, the conqueror of Naples for Spain. He himself was
the Spanish resident in Cadiz, and on the capture of this city was
taken prisoner by the English. On being liberated he went to Amsterdam,
became a Jew, and adopted the name of Abraham de Herrera (wrongly
called Irira).
The Marranos in Amsterdam did not find the practice of their religion
altogether easy. When this first Portuguese community was secretly
celebrating its fourth Fast of Atonement (October, 1596), their
Christian neighbors were surprised at the secret meeting of disguised
figures in one house; they suspected treacherous assemblies of Catholic
conspirators, and denounced them to the magistrates. Whilst the Jews
were engaged in prayer, armed men suddenly rushed into the house,
and spread terror amongst the assembled worshipers. As most of them,
mindful of the cruelties of the Inquisition, and fearing a similar
fate in Amsterdam, tried to save themselves by flight, the suspicions
of the Amsterdam officials were increased. The latter searched for
crucifixes and wafers, and led Moses Uri and his son, the leaders of
the service, to prison. However, Jacob Tirado, who was able to make
himself understood in the Latin language, succeeded in convincing the
authorities that the assembly was not one of papists, but of Jews who
had fled from the Moloch of the Inquisition. Moreover, that they had
brought much wealth with them, and finally that they would induce many
co-religionists to come from Spain and Portugal with their riches, and
thus give an impulse to the trade of Amsterdam. Tirado's speech made
a great impression. The prisoners were released, and the terrified
Portuguese Jews were able to conclude the service of the Fast of
Atonement. Now that their religion was made known, they ventured
upon the step of petitioning the magistrate to allow them to build
a synagogue in which to hold their religious services. After much
consideration the request was granted. Jacob Tirado bought a site,
and in 1598 built the first Jewish temple in the north of Europe,
called the "House of Jacob" (Beth Jacob). It was consecrated amid the
enthusiasm of the little community.
The favorable news about the Marrano colonists, carried secretly to
Spain and Portugal, afforded additional inducement to emigration.
Mayor Rodrigues Homem, the first promoter of this course, also found
an opportunity of escaping from Portugal and joining her beautiful
daughter, Maria Nuñes (about 1598). She brought her younger son and
daughter with her; her husband had probably died before this time.
Simultaneously, barely escaping the Inquisition, another eminent family
arrived from Portugal, that of Franco Mendes, including the parents
and two sons, Francisco Mendes Medeïros, a cultured literary man, who
took the Hebrew name of Isaac, and Christoval Mendes Franco, rich and
benevolent, who called himself Mordecai. Both played important parts in
the Amsterdam community, but subsequently caused a division.
Philip II lived to see the two races whom he had most savagely hated
and persecuted, the Netherlanders and the Jews, in a measure join
hands to destroy what he had created, for Holland derived advantage
from the Jewish settlers from Portugal. Previously it had been one of
the poorest states, and the bitter, destructive wars had made the land
still poorer. The capital brought by the Marranos to Amsterdam was very
acceptable, and benefited the whole country. The Dutch were now enabled
to lay the foundations of their prosperity by taking the Indian trade
out of the hands of the Portuguese, who had been connected with Spain
in an unprofitable alliance. The capital of the fugitive Jews made
it possible to found great transmarine companies and fit out trading
expeditions, in which they participated. The connections, too, of the
Portuguese Jews with their secret co-religionists in the Portuguese
possessions in the Indies assisted the undertakings of Dutch merchants.
Philip II died in September, 1598, a terrible warning to obstinate,
unscrupulous despots. His body was covered with abscesses and
vermin, which made him such an object of horror that his trembling
servants approached him only with disgust. The great empire which he
bequeathed to his feeble son, Philip III, was likewise diseased. It
was succumbing to its infirmities, and no longer possessed influence
in the councils of Europe. The reins of government were loosened, and
thus the new-Christians found it still easier to escape the clutches of
the Inquisition. They now had a goal to which to direct their steps.
An extraordinary occurrence in Lisbon had excited the most lukewarm
apostate Jews to return to Judaism. A Franciscan monk, Diogo de la
Asumção, of an ancient Christian family, had become convinced of
the truth of Judaism and the falsity of Christianity by reading the
Bible--Bible reading has its dangers--and had openly expressed
his convictions to the other monks of his order. For what purpose had
the Inquisition been instituted, if it were to let such crimes go
unpunished? Diogo was thrown into a dungeon; but it was not necessary
to extort confession, for he openly and without reservation admitted
his offense, love for Judaism. The tribunal needed to put him to
the rack only to induce him to denounce his accomplices, he having
asserted that several of his fellow-monks shared his convictions.
Certain learned theologians were charged to dissuade the apostate
Franciscan from his belief, and remove so dark a stain from the order
and Christendom in general; but in vain. Diogo remained true to his
belief in the truth of Judaism. After he had spent about two years in
the dungeons of the Inquisition, he was finally burnt alive at a solemn
auto-da-fé in Lisbon, in the presence of the regent (August, 1603).
The fact that a Christian by birth, a monk to boot, had suffered for
the sake of Judaism, and had died steadfast in faith, made a powerful
impression upon apostate Portuguese Jews, and impelled them to return
publicly to the faith of their fathers. The Inquisition lost its
terrors for them. They reverted to Judaism, without heeding whether
or not they were rushing upon death. David Jesurun, a young poet, a
favorite of the Muses since his childhood, on this account called
"the little poet" by his acquaintances, celebrated the burning of the
martyr, Diogo de la Asumção, in a fiery Portuguese sonnet:
"Thou wast the gold, buried in the dark vaults of the tribunal
of blood;
And even as gold is purified from dross by flames,
So, too, by flames would'st thou be purified.
Thou wast as the phœnix, renewing his life,
Disdaining to remain the slave of death.
Thou wast consumed in the fire.
Only to rise again from thine ashes,
A burnt-offering
Brought to God in the flames.
In heaven dost thou laugh at those who tortured thee;
And no more art called Brother Diogo,
But Golden Phœnix, Angel, Sacrifice."
This eager young poet was fortunate enough to escape the Inquisition,
and hastened to Amsterdam. He composed a powerful poem in Spanish on
seeing this city, which seemed to him a new Jerusalem. Another young
Marrano poet also reverted to Judaism through the tragic death of
Diogo, the Franciscan. Paul de Pina, a man of some poetic talent, was
inclined to religious enthusiasm, and was on the point of becoming
a monk. This step caused great sorrow to his relative, Diego Gomez
Lobato, at heart faithful to Judaism, and he wished to hinder him
from apostasy. When he was about to make a journey to Italy, Diego,
therefore, gave him a letter, addressed to the celebrated Jewish
physician, Elias Montalto, known as Felix Montalto when professing
Christianity. The letter was as follows: "Our cousin, Paul de Pina,
is going to Rome to become a monk. Your Grace will do me the favor to
dissuade him."
If this letter had fallen into the hands of the Roman or Portuguese
Inquisition, it would have cost both the writer and his correspondent
their lives. Elias Montalto endeavored to dissuade young De Pina from
his purpose and win him back to the religion of his fathers. He seems
to have succeeded only in so far that De Pina abandoned his journey to
Rome, went off to Brazil, and then returned to Lisbon. The martyrdom
of Diogo de la Asumção appears to have finally decided him against
Christianity. He hastened to Amsterdam with the sad news (1604),
became an eager convert to Judaism, and adopted the Hebrew name of
Rohel Jesurun. He became a most enthusiastic Jew, an ornament to the
Amsterdam community.
The loyalty to Judaism manifested by the Portuguese Marranos regardless
of consequences naturally swelled the numbers of the victims of the
Inquisition. Not long afterwards, one hundred and fifty of them were
thrown into gloomy dungeons, tortured, and forced to confess. Even
the regent of Portugal hesitated to burn so large a number. Moreover,
the new-Christian capitalists had a certain amount of power over the
Spanish court, to which, since the union of the two kingdoms, Portugal
now belonged. The court owed them large sums which it could not pay in
consequence of the increasing poverty of both countries. The Marranos
offered to release Philip III from this debt, and give in addition a
present of 1,200,000 crusados (£120,000), if the imprisoned Jews were
pardoned. They also spent 150,000 crusados to persuade the councilors
to make the king grant this favor. Hence the court manifested an
inclination to mercy, and applied to Pope Clement VIII to empower the
Inquisition to deal mildly with the sinners on this occasion. The
pope remembered, or was reminded, that his predecessors, Clement VII
and Paul III, had granted absolution to Portuguese Marranos. He did
the same, and issued a bull pardoning the imprisoned Jews (August
23d, 1604). The Inquisition contented itself with the hypocritical
repentance of its prisoners. Several hundred of them, clad in the garb
of penitents, were led to the auto-da-fé at Lisbon (January 10th,
1605), not, however, to mount the stake, but to make public confession
of their guilt, and be condemned to deprivation of all civic rights.
All, or a large proportion, of those set free, repaired to their new
place of refuge. Among them was Joseph ben Israel, who had thrice
suffered torture, and escaped with shattered health and the loss of his
property. He took with him his son Manasseh--or whatever his name may
have been as a pseudo-Christian--then a child, subsequently destined
to fill a distinguished rôle in Jewish history.
Moses Uri (born 1544, died 1620) at different times received into
the Hebrew faith two hundred and forty-eight men, so greatly did the
numbers of the community at Amsterdam increase. They sent to Salonica
for a rabbi of Sephardic descent, by name Joseph Pardo, who well
understood the character of the semi-Catholic members of the community.
He put into their hands a book written in Spanish, Christian rather
than Jewish in tone. The synagogue Beth Jacob, built by Tirado, no
longer sufficed for the accommodation of its worshipers, and a new one
had to be built in 1608, called "Neve Shalom." It was founded by Isaac
Francisco Mendes Medeïros and his relatives. As the discoverers of a
new country regard every step they take in it, every new path into
which they strike out, and every person prominent in the enterprise, as
important and worthy of remembrance, so the young Amsterdam community
joyfully recorded everything that occurred in their midst at the
commencement of their career.
The arrival of Isaac Uziel (died in 1620) was a piece of good fortune
for this unique community. Apparently of a family of refugees, this
rabbi could thoroughly sympathize with his companions in misfortune at
Amsterdam. He was a poet, grammarian, and mathematician, but, above
all, a preacher of rare power and influence, the first who dared
arouse, with his mighty voice, the consciences of his hearers, lulled
to sleep by the practice of Catholic customs, and warn them not to
believe that they had purchased indulgence or remission for their sins,
follies, and vices, by religious observances thoughtlessly practiced.
Isaac Uziel did not spare even the most respected and powerful in the
community, although he thereby drew upon himself their hatred, which
went so far as to cause a split; on the other hand, he gained devoted
followers, who celebrated him in spirited verse.
In this manner religious union was encouraged and faith strengthened
among the Portuguese fugitives, who had so degenerated in religious
matters. But as yet no arrangements had been made for the proper burial
of their dead. They were compelled to bury them far away from the city,
at Groede, in northern Holland. By the endeavors of the leading members
of the community, they succeeded in obtaining a burial-ground, not too
far from Amsterdam, in Ouderkerk, near Muiderberg (in April, 1614), at
which they rejoiced greatly. The first person buried there was Manuel
Pimentel, or, by his Jewish name, Isaac Abenacar, called "king of
players" by the French king, Henry IV, who was in the habit of playing
with him. Two years later, the body of an eminent and noble man,
Elias Felice Montalto, was brought from far off to be buried in this
peaceful spot. He had formerly professed Christianity, but afterwards
became a faithful Jew, was a clever physician and elegant author, and
lived in Livorno, Venice, and finally in Paris as private physician to
Queen Maria de Medici. He died in Tours while on a journey with the
French court, on February 16th, 1616. The queen caused his body to be
embalmed, and taken to the cemetery at Ouderkerk, accompanied by his
son, his uncle, and his disciple, Saul Morteira.
The Jews of Amsterdam were long compelled to pay a tax, for every
corpse, to the churches past which the body was carried. On the whole,
they were at first not tolerated officially, their presence was only
connived at. They were distrusted as Catholic spies in the service of
Spain, plotting treason disguised as Jews. Even when the authorities
and the population in general had become convinced of their genuine
hatred of Spain and Portugal, they were still far from being recognized
and tolerated as an independent, religious body. For a short time
the synagogues were closed, and public worship prohibited. Jewish
refugees from the Spanish peninsula, on arriving in Havre, were thrown
into prison. This intolerance in the country destined to be the first
where religious freedom was to raise its temple, was chiefly caused
by the passionate conflict between two parties of Reformers--the
Remonstrants and Contra-Remonstrants. The former were more gentle in
their exposition and practical application of Christianity than their
opponents, the gloomy Calvinists, Dutch Independents. In Amsterdam the
latter party predominated and persecuted their opponents, considered
secret, treacherous adherents of Spain. Although the Remonstrants had
cause to try to effect toleration for all sects, it was they who came
forward as the accusers of the Jews. They complained to the chief
magistrate of Amsterdam that all kinds of sects, even Jews, were
tolerated in the capital of Holland, they being the sole exception.
The governor, Prince Maurice of Orange, was certainly favorable to
Jews, but he could do nothing against the spirit of intolerance, and
the independence of the cities and states. Consequently, even in
Holland the Jewish question came up for discussion, and a commission
was appointed for its settlement. Finally it was decided (March 17th,
1615) that every city, as in the case of Amsterdam, could issue a
special regulation about Jews, either to tolerate them, or to expel
them; but in those cities where they were admitted, they were not
to be forced to wear a badge. Upon the repeated complaints of the
Remonstrants, the burgomaster, Reinier Pauw, laid before the council
(October 15th, 1619) the question as to what was to be done in the case
of the numerous fugitive Portuguese Jews who had intermarried with the
daughters of the land, thereby causing great scandal and annoyance.
Hereupon it was decided (November 8th), that intercourse between Jews
and Christian women, even prostitutes, was to be strictly forbidden. On
the other hand, permission was granted to Jews freely to acknowledge
their religion.
As Amsterdam was not so wealthy as it afterwards became, it could not
do without Jews, who had transferred to it their riches and their
knowledge of affairs. The old-established prejudices against them
disappeared more and more upon closer acquaintance. The Jews from
Portugal betrayed neither by their cultured language, their demeanor,
nor their manners, that they belonged to a despised caste; on the
contrary, their carriage was that of people of rank, with whom it was
an honor for many a Christian burgher to be acquainted. They were,
therefore, treated with a certain amount of consideration. Their number
soon increased to four hundred families, with three hundred houses
in the city, and before long, a Hebrew printing press was set up in
Amsterdam, without fear of the Argus eye of the censor.
The prosperity of Amsterdam, caused by the influx of Portuguese Jews,
excited the envy of many Christian princes, and they invited the Jews
into their dominions. Christian IV, king of Denmark, addressed a letter
to the Jewish Council of Amsterdam (November 25th, 1622), asking them
to encourage some of their members to settle in his state. He promised
them freedom of worship, and other favorable privileges. The Duke of
Savoy invited Portuguese Jews to come to Nice, and the Duke of Modena
offered them the right of residence in Reggio, both granting them
extensive privileges. Thus, in the midst of the gloomy persecution
of Christendom, whose two religious factions were drawing the sword
against each other in the Thirty Years' War, the Jews found pleasant
little oases, as it were, from which they could recover their lost
liberty, and gradually raise themselves from their heavy bondage.