necessary funds due him, in order to carry on his trade with the
colonies, which was increasing in dimensions every year. The road
to the audience-chamber of the King was not always clear to even so
influential a personage as Abraham Gradis. On one occasion, being
hard pressed for money to fill a large order received from the West
Indies, he presented his claim to Minister Berryer--well known for
his harsh and imperious demeanor. The latter, hesitating to comply,
Gradis assured him that unless his demands were soon satisfied he
would be prevented from accomplishing his duties. Whereupon the
stern minister cuttingly replied: "_That will not be such a great
misfortune; you merchants are accustomed to such things; in fact you
become rich through them!_" Abraham Gradis straightened himself up at
this insult, and looking steadily at the great man, said: "The name of
Gradis, better known in four quarters of the globe than that of the
Minister of France, is free from dishonor. No taint of any kind covers
its escutcheon!" With this he urged the minister with even greater
persistence to render him satisfaction by appealing to the King in his
behalf. Berryer, unused to such show of courage and firmness, could not
but comply with his request, and Gradis' claims were duly honored.
It was no conceit that prompted his reply to the haughty
representative of King Louis XV. His sovereign gave frequent sign of
his favor and gratitude for the diplomatic skill and rare tact as
well as noble devotion with which Gradis managed the business affairs
of the empire in these revolutionary days. The minister once wrote
in the following strain to Gradis & Co.: "I considered it my duty to
remind his Majesty that your conduct was both unselfish and zealous for
the welfare and services of the state on all occasions and under all
circumstances. His Majesty commissions me to express to you his utmost
satisfaction and recognition."
As a reward for his untiring interest in behalf of the French nation,
exceptional privileges were granted to him (Abraham Gradis), and his
family in the colonies. The right of owning real estate and civil
equality in common with the other citizens of France on the Island of
Martinique, were accorded to him in 1779. It is interesting to note
that he was associated with the Superior of the Jesuit Missionaries
in Martinique--the famous _pater Lavalette_, who had charge of the
largest and most influential congregation there, and who conducted
an immense business with foreign countries. Gradis once advanced him
400,000 francs. He often received him in his own home socially, and was
charmed by the personal merits of the enterprising Jesuit. This did not
prevent Gradis--a shrewd and careful merchant who knew just how much
to risk--from severing all connections with him, for he rather early
suspected the utter collapse of Lavalette's colossal undertakings, and
thus avoided the bankruptcy which would inevitably have resulted, had
he, like other careless firms, allowed himself to be drawn into the
vortex of speculation. Similar causes of self-preservation prompted
him to withdraw from further commercial relations with the State, as
another financial crisis warned him of the outbreak of the Revolution.
Much more of interest might be told of Abraham Gradis and other
members of the same stock. Thus for instance of his acts of kindness
during the famine in the French Colonies, at which time he sent
seventeen ships laden with nourishment and merchandise for the relief
of the suffering--a fact used by the Abbé Gregoire as a plea and an
argument in favor of the emancipation of the Jews.
A rebellion in St. Domingo and in Martinique where the Gradis family
(among them David II, Benjamin, Moses Gradis, etc.), owned extensive
territory, together with the losses in the mother country during
the French Revolution, caused the downfall of this princely house.
Their possessions in St. Domingo, valued at three million francs,
were utterly ruined. The slaves in their employ were (unknown to
them) misused by their representative, hence the "habitation," as
his property was called, began to yield but sad results. The younger
brother, Moses, saved at least a meagre portion of the vast wealth
once commanded by the house of Gradis, by visiting the island and
caring for the negroes, who, in gratitude for his kind treatment of
them--eulogized by the abolitionist Schoelcher--strove to make good
their former losses. The family of Gradis is immortalized in the
history of the commerce of two continents. "Their works are their
monuments."
VIII.
THE CIVIL AND MILITARY STATUS OF THE JEWS IN JAMAICA.
In the West Indies, the Jews, though debarred from public office
until late, contributed much to the public good. Their constancy and
restless activity in behalf of the Government under which they served
are chronicled by many historians. It were useless to give an elaborate
account of their influence for good in the islands. It would lead
us much too far to recount them, and in fact many things have been
recorded of this nature by the present writer elsewhere.[112] If we
mention the case of _Daniel Cordoso_, who was killed while defending
Curaçao, from an attack of the English in 1805,[113] it is because his
is the only one referred to by name in the history of that island.
No doubt other researches will be made by the active members of the
_American Jewish Historical Society_, in this direction, which will
silence all calumny against our patriotism. As a fitting epilogue to
these pages, we subjoin a "List of Jews appointed to civil and military
offices in Jamaica, since the act of 1831," extracted from the official
gazettes of the island, and presented by Sir F. H. Goldsmid, in his
_Arguments advanced against the enfranchisement of the Jews, considered
in a series of letters_, Second Edition, London 1833, pp. 39-40 (First
Ed., London, 1831), arranged in the following chronological order:
1831.
October 15th MYER BENJAMIN, Gent., to be a Quartermaster.
October 24th MOSES GOMES SILVA, ESQ., to be a Provost
Marshal-General.[114]
October 27th ALEXANDER BRAVO, Esq., to be a Magistrate
and Assistant Judge of the Court of Common
Pleas for the Parish of Clarendon.
November 2nd PHILIP LUCAS, Esq., to be a Magistrate and
Assistant Judge of the Court of Common
Pleas for the Parish of Kingston.
December 13th AARON GOMES DACOSTA, Gent., to be an
Ensign.
December 31st DANIEL JACOBS, Gent., to be an Ensign.
1832.
January 19th ALEXANDER JOSEPH LINDO, Gent., to be a
Quartermaster.
March 8th JACOB DE PASS, Esq., to be a Magistrate and
Assistant Judge of the Court of Common
Pleas for the Parish Port Royal.
March 9th SAMUEL DELISSER, Gent., to be an Ensign.
April 27th ISAAC GOMES DACOSTA, Gent., to be a Quartermaster.
May 1st GEORGE ISAACS, Gent., to be a Quartermaster.
May 5th BARNET ISAACS, Gent., to be an Ensign.
July 6th DAVID LOPEZ, Gent., to be a Lieutenant of
Artillery.
July 26th ABRAHAM ISAACS, Esq., to be a Magistrate
and Assistant Judge of the Court of Common
Pleas for the Parish of St. Ann.
August 4th MOSES Q. HENRIQUES, Gent., to be an
Ensign.[115]
It is evident from this brief and insufficient summary of our subject,
that the Jews on American soil, north and south, east and west, were
loyal, law-abiding citizens, noble philanthropists and exemplary
patriots.
FOOTNOTES:
[105] For completeness' sake we reproduce this chapter from a recent
sketch in the _Menorah Monthly_ (Vol. XIX), for September, 1895, pp.
145-148, entitled: _A 16th Century document written by David Ebron, a
Jewish financier in America_. This newly discovered letter is perhaps
the most important evidence yet furnished of the services rendered by
the Jews in the discovery and financial improvement of America, and
deserves to be incorporated in this work. The book containing a copy of
this document was lately published in Madrid (1891), under the title:
_Documentos Escogidos del Archivo de la Casa di Alba_. See for other
particulars the above quoted article in _Menorah_, note. We intend
publishing Ebron's letter soon in the original.
[106] On the Marranos in Hispañiola and South America, Dr. Kayserling
has published some interesting data in the _P. A. J. H. S._, No. 2; see
also his _Christopher Columbus and the Participation of the Jews in the
Discovery of America_ (New York, 1894).
[107] The writer of these pages, in another paper, treats of the
sufferings of the _Marranos_ or New Christians in Mexico, Peru and
Brazil from 1570 to 1750. See his article on "The Jewish Martyrs of the
Inquisition in South America," in _P. A. J. H. S._, No. 4, (1895). Dr.
Cyrus Adler furnishes in the same _Publications_, No. 4, a valuable
sketch on the "Trial of Jorge de Almeida by the Inquisition in Mexico,"
1590-1609, which sets forth the social condition of the secret Jews in
that country at the end of the sixteenth century.
[108] The sources whence the materials contained in this chapter
are taken, being for the most part accessible, and, as in a
forthcoming essay on the _Jews of Martinique_, all the references
will be incorporated in full, the writer merely quotes the following
authorities: _Notice sur la famille Gradis et sur la maison Gradis ét
fils de Bordeaux, par Henri Gradis_ (1875), _apud_ Graetz, "Die Familie
Gradis," in his _Monatsschrift_, etc., Vol. XXIV (1875), pp. 447-459;
XXV (1876), pp. 78-85; his _Geschichte der Juden_, Vol. XI (Leipzig,
1870), pp. 190, 200, 202, 223; see also Ad. Thierry: _Dissertation sur
cette quest, est-il des moyens de rendre les juifs plus heureux et plus
utile en France--(ouvrage couronné)_ Paris, 1788; and several books on
the history of the Jews in Bordeaux. In our narrative of the career of
the Gradis family we follow Prof. Graetz, in his _Monatsschrift_, _l.
c._
[109] Cf. also Dr. Graetz, in _Monatsschrift_, Vol. XXIV, p. 557.
[110] This important fact is thus recorded by Prof. Graetz:
(_Geschichte der Juden_, vol. XI, p. 190) "Gradis aus einer reichen und
angesehenen Familie in Bordeaux, die grosse Bank- und ueber-seeische
Geschaefte fuer die franzoesischen Colonien betrieb, eigene Schiffe
ausruestete und dem franzoesischen Staate in den entfernten Besitzungen
_durch Ausloesung franzoesischer Gefangener aus den Haenden der
Englaender Dienste geleistet hatte_." See also the following note,
which is still more explicit.
[111] Cf. Graetz, in _Monatsschrift_, vol. XXIV., p. 452: "...
_Abraham Gradis gab einem Geschaeftsfreunde in London den Auftrag,
den gefangenen franzoesischen Capitaenen und Commandanten auf seine
Rechnung Alles zu verabreichen, was sie noethig haben sollten, um ihre
Lage zu erleichtern_."
[112] Cf. G. A. Kohut's article on _Jews in St. Thomas, Jamaica and
Barbados_, in the _P. A. J. H. S._, No. 4.
[113] See Koenen's _Geschiedenis_, etc., p. 307-8: "... Toen in
1805 de Engelschen een vruchteloozen aanval op dit eiland deden, de
Joden, aldaar woonachtig, hun plicht ter verdediging van hetzelve
moedig betracht hebben, zoodat een van hen, zijnde _Daniel Cardoso_,
geboortig van Amsterdam, bij die gelegenheid gesneuveld is." Cf. also
Van Hamelsveld, _Geschiedenis der Joden_, p. 363.
[114] This is analogous to the English office of Sheriff.
[115] This list was already published by the writer in an article on
_The Civil and Military Status of American Jews_, in _Menorah Monthly_,
Vol. XVIII, No. 4, pp. 256-7.
JEWS IN THE ARMIES OF EUROPE.
The purpose of the present volume, as its title indicates, is a review
of the record and the status as patriot, soldier and citizen of the
_American_ Jew. But the Jew is co-extensive with civilization, not only
historically but geographically as well, and wherever civilization
makes its way, there the Jew will be found exerting a positive
influence in furthering its progress. He will be found at the nucleus
and core of conservatism and order wherever order is akin to right, but
he has never been wanting at the front of Revolution when wrong could
no longer otherwise be righted.
Avoiding more than a passing advertence to Jewish military achievements
in the beginning of Israel's history, in the later struggles against
the Greeks and subsequently against the Romans; stopping but a moment
to remember Joshua, and Gideon, and Deborah, the successive Maccabæan
heroes, and the last desperate struggle for freedom that was led by
Bar Cochba against Hadrian; passing down through all the martyrdoms
of the Dark Ages to the present "nineteenth century," we come face to
face with the fact that Jews have been present in European armies since
the time of the Napoleonic wars. They were to be found in the ranks of
all the combatants during that bloody prelude to the great political
regeneration that is yet going on before us, and they have risen as
far above the ranks as the prejudices of the Christianity-professing
majority would admit.
In the successive Polish uprisings, in all the great political
upheavals of 1848, and especially in the Hungarian revolution of that
time, the Jews of their respective nationalities took a vigorous and
aggressive part.[116] Their position in this regard was so positive
and unmistakable that when those great socio-political disturbances
had been quieted through the partial concession of popular rights
by the monarchies of Europe, the Jews of Germany and Austria had
reached a position where they could logically demand their political
enfranchisement and the abolition of the mediæval restrictions which
remained imposed on them. That they did not obtain a full measure of
citizenship until after the establishment of the German Empire in
1871, is indeed true, and even yet the spirit of the Dark Ages is so
far prevalent in Germany and in Austria (leaving Slavic Europe out of
consideration as not yet modernized) as to preclude the advancement
of Jews to the higher posts of the army. In France, however, since
the French Revolution, and in Italy since the consolidation of the
Kingdom, Jews have been advanced to the highest military commands.
In both countries and especially in France, several Jewish soldiers
at present hold the rank of General of Division, and quite a number,
proportionately, that of Brigade and Regimental Commander.[117]
FOOTNOTES:
[116] ... "It is a gratifying proof of progress that the President of
the Magyars (Kossuth) has promised freedom to those who equally with
himself are struggling for the independence of their country, since it
is said that there are no less than 35,000 Israelites in the Hungarian
army." _Extract from a French newspaper reprinted in "The Occident,"
August, 1849. Phila.; Edited by Isaac Leeser._
... "It cannot be denied that already at that time the majority of
the Magyar Jews were patriotically inclined towards the country which
they called their home. As by magic, they felt themselves drawn
towards the man who preached liberty and equality, and at whose hands
they were expecting redemption from the Ghetto and from civil and
political degradation. As a matter of fact, thousands of Jews, among
them a general, fought in the Magyar army.... The contribution which
the notorious Haynau levied upon the Jewish congregations was but a
consequence of the loyalty to the man of the New Era, attributed to the
Jews." _Dr. Adolph Kohut on "The Relations of Kossuth to the Jews," in
the American Hebrew, N. Y., March, 1894._
* * * * *
To the above may be added the following testimony of General Julius
Stahel, one of the active participants in the Hungarian Revolution, and
who subsequently made a distinguished military record in our civil war.
NEW YORK, MAY 22d, 1895,
_Hon. Simon Wolf, Washington, D. C._,
DEAR SIR:
I know from personal knowledge that many Jews fought in the battles
for the independence of Hungary in 1848, with as much bravery and
gallantry as the American Jew fought here during the late strife
between the North and the South, and I also know that the late
humane and illustrious apostle of liberty, Louis Kossuth, always
fully appreciated the patriotism, loyalty and devotion of the Jews
to the cause of Hungary during that great struggle for freedom.
Patriotism and bravery are not the birthright of one nation or
race, but of all mankind.
Very sincerely yours, J. STAHEL.
[117] Referring to a newspaper item regarding the rumors of
a duel between Capt. Cremieux Foa, a French cavalry officer, and a
certain anti-Semite editor of a Paris newspaper, General Franz Sigel
wrote as follows:
played by the Jews of Europe in all the various avenues of progress
need not detain us here. The recurrent ebullitions of unreasoning
prejudice against them which become manifest from time to time, are
ultimately traceable as but distorted expressions of the unrest which
the European social organism is suffering under its abnormal political
and economic conditions. What there is left of this spirit on American
soil is but a reflex of that of Europe, but there, as here, the record
made by the Jewish people in politics and in war, in commerce and in
industry, in science, art and literature, has placed beyond question
their position as patriots, soldiers and citizens.
_New York, May_ 31st, 1892.
_Hon. Simon Wolf, Washington, D. C_.,
DEAR SIR:
Not knowing whether you have seen or will see the inclosed item, I
send it to you. It shows at least that there are no less than 300
Jewish officers serving in the French army, probably the highest
number in any of the great European armies, which speaks well for
France and her republican government.
Hoping that you are well, I am,
Truly yours, FRANZ SIGEL.
THE JEWISH PEOPLE BEFORE THE WORLD.
As already noted by the author in the introduction to this work, it was
in December, 1891, that another of the numberless public vilifications
of the Jewish people which have appeared from time to time had demanded
a no less public refutation of its falsities. It has furthermore been
noted that this refutation was dictated not by anything specially
remarkable in the nature of the slander itself, nor of its source,
inasmuch as the former was commonplace and the latter obscure, but that
the reply had been called forth wholly by reason of the extraordinary
condition of the public mind with regard to the subject at that
particular juncture. It was the time and the occasion that gave the
slander prominence, rather than any peculiarity of its own.
It has been so for a long time past. From the time, nearly 1900 years
ago, when Philo of Alexandria appeared before Caligula in defence
of his people, down along the centuries to the date of Menasseh ben
Israel's appeal to Cromwell in 1656, there were repeated occasions
for such defenses and appeals, and there have been many since. These
contingencies have repeatedly arisen in the course of the slow process
of popular enlightenment which makes up the history of Man, and as that
process is yet far from accomplishment it is not at all unlikely that
they may be repeated in the future.
It is, however, more than passingly remarkable that in the closing
decade of the 19th Century, when "the thoughts of men have widened
with the process of the suns," an occasion of this nature should have
arisen. That such exigencies occur but rarely in the midst of our
Western civilization, and that rare as they are, their occurrence is
always traceable to foreign impulses, only renders more apparent the
liberalizing influences of our free American institutions, while on the
other hand further emphasizing the lessons taught us by the spectacle
of Monarchic Europe. There the remnants of the mediæval system,
political, ecclesiastic and social, that remained as historic _debris_
after the cataclysm of the French Revolution, still clog the advance of
true enlightenment. In Germany and in Austria a considerable portion of
the populace is still affected by a taint of monkish fanaticism, and in
Russia only a comparatively few individuals appear to be free from it.
Schools are numerous in Austria and universities flourish in Germany,
but the prejudices which form the obverse side of folly find still some
teachers in the schools and preachers in the pulpit.
"Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers,"
and the dictates of reason, the teachings of political and economic
science, the lessons of history, will have to be yet more than
once repeated before that umbra of the Dark Ages, the so-called
"anti-Semitism" of Slavic and Teutonic Europe, and its penumbra in
America, will have been lost in historic space.
These lessons have been learned and these teachings taught by the
foremost minds of every epoch and latterly of every generation. From
the time of Reuchlin's defense of the Talmud and Jewish literature
generally against the fanatics of his day, a defense which caused
a religious and political agitation that became the prelude to the
Reformation, down to our present time, there have not been wanting
Christian men of learning and of understanding who strove successfully
in the defense of Jewish polity against the prejudices of ignorance.
The great Renaissance of German letters in the latter half of the
18th century afforded numerous instances of men of this character,
among whom need but be cited Lessing, Herder, Schiller, and Goethe.
These writers and thinkers carried on their polemics in the domain
of idealism, in poetry and philosophy, and their thoughts were
soon re-echoed in the out-givings of the succeeding generation of
scientists, students and statesmen. We will not attempt here to adduce
all the great array of leading minds who have been impelled to express
themselves on this theme, but will limit our citations to a few of
the most authoritative thinkers and a quotation of the most positive
utterances on the subject.
In marked contrast with the accusation of the passing school of
anti-Semitic writers against Judaism as materialistic in its
tendencies, there may be cited an expression by the great German and
cosmopolitan philosopher, ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT. In a letter to a
Jewish friend regarding the natural idealism expressed in Hebrew
literature, he refers him to the following passage in his _Cosmos_
(_Vol. III, p. 44_), and closes his letter as below.
"It is a characteristic sign of the natural poetry of the Hebrews,
that, as a reflex of Monotheism, it always comprises the whole
of the universe in its unity, both life on earth and the bright
realms on high. It seldom dwells upon single phenomena, but
rejoices in the contemplation of great masses. Nature is not
described as self-existent, or glorified by a beauty of her own;
to the Hebrew singer she always appears in connection with an
over-ruling spiritual power. Nature to him is ever a thing created
and ordained, the living utterance of God's Omnipresence in the
works of the world of matter. Therefore, the lyrical poetry of
the Hebrews, by reason of its subject, is grand and grave in its
solemnity."
"Stand fast by your brethren who have accomplished so remarkable
a course of martyrdom through centuries and now stand on the
threshold of their liberation; devote all the energies of your
intellect to the spiritual labor wherewith your millennial history
is instinct; success cannot, will not fail you and the rich results
that you, my young friend, will obtain from the mines of science,
will calm and comfort you in many a sad experience in the dull and
cloudy present, that is but the precursor of the bright dawn of the
day of liberty."
* * * * *
Another world-famous scientist, ALPHONSE L. P. PYRAME DE CANDOLLE, in
his _Histoire des sciences et des savants depuis deux siécles_, Geneva,
1873, makes the following very remarkable observations:
"If Europe had been peopled by Jews only we might have witnessed
a curious spectacle. There would no longer be any wars; hence
the moral sensibility would be violated much less and millions
of people would not be torn away from useful occupations. Public
debts and taxes would decrease. The cultivation of science, of
literature, of fine arts, especially music, for which the Jews have
a great predilection, would be furthered to the highest extent.
Industry and commerce would flourish. Few crimes of personal
violence would be committed, and those against property would but
seldom be accompanied by violence. The wealth of the community as
a whole and of individuals would largely increase by the effect of
intelligent and regular labor, combined with economy. This wealth
would have a beneficent effect. The clergy would not come in
collision with the State. Perhaps there would be less corruption
among the officials and greater firmness."
The above passage is approvingly quoted by another great leader in
the world of science, Professor Carl Vogt, in an article published
in _Westerman's Monatshefte_, wherein the writer, treating of the
habits and qualities acquired by European peoples through hereditary
transmission, speaks of the Jewish people as having attained the
highest civilization notwithstanding their having lived for ages under
oppression.
* * * * *