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69-443: While Cromwell himself was in favour of Jewish resettlement , the participants ultimately broke down into three groups. The London merchants opposed resettlement due to fears of economic competition, while the clergymen were not in favour on religious grounds. The second group, consisting mainly of Cromwell's officials and military figures, backed readmission with certain precautions built in. They were in favour of giving Jews

138-570: A few years previously had already started admitting Jews escaping from the Portuguese reconquest of Dutch Brazil ), where he explored the possibility of Jews setting in Jamaica . There they would be offered full civil rights and even land grants. There is some difference of opinion as to Oliver Cromwell’s opinions regarding the readmission of the Jews. It has been pointed out that he held many of

207-646: A further attempt was made by the Earl of Berkshire and Paul Ricaut to bring about the expulsion of the Jews, but the King-in-Council assured the latter of the continuance of former favour. Similar appeals to prejudice were made in 1673, when Jews, for meeting in Duke's Place for a religious service, were indicted on a charge of rioting, and in 1685, when thirty-seven were arrested on the Royal Exchange; but

276-472: A large degree, encouraged the radical political groups which emerged when the usual social controls broke down during the civil war. It had also unwittingly established a new political force when it set up the New Model Army. Not surprisingly, all these groups had their own hopes for the new Commonwealth. Led by John Lilburne , Levellers drew their main support from London and the New Model Army. In

345-563: A probationary period during which they could be expelled if they misbehaved. They were expected not to blaspheme Christ or attempt to convert Christians . The third group consisted of the Millenarians and Sabbatarians , both of whom broke down into radical and more conservative wings. The conservative wing of this faction supported readmission with clauses built in that would make it possible for Jews to be thrown out if things did not go as planned. The radical wing argued that it

414-559: A rabbi of the Jewish nation, well respected for his learning and good affection to the State, to come from Amsterdam to these parts." Fearing local anti-English opinion so soon after war, ben Israel turned down the invitation. But by the middle of the decade, Cromwell was taking advice from Marrano trader Simon de Caceres . At de Caceres' suggestion, Cromwell dispatched Marrano physician Abraham de Mercado and his son Raphael to Barbados (which

483-525: A search for union of believers, rather than toleration of differing beliefs, and religious persecution was the largest obstacle to this union. However, liberty of conscience extended only to "God's peculiar" and not heretics (such as Quakers , Socinians , and Ranters ). There was a great increase of religious freedom and the ecclesiastical diversity in Cromwellian England. This marked a revolutionary change and led to increasing toleration in

552-523: A view to converting them in the 1630s. So, by the 1640s, the imminent conversion of the Jews was a widespread belief among Puritans. Indeed during that decade the Christians who were most liberal towards Jews are also those who were most committed to their conversion. A number of these ‘admissionists’ were close to Cromwell, including John Sadler , John Dury , and Hugh Peter . Other notable readmissionists include exiled Royalist cleric Thomas Barlow and

621-471: Is generally seen as a part of a current of religious and intellectual thought moving towards liberty of conscience , encompassing philosemitic millenarianism and Hebraicism , as well as political and trade interests favouring Jewish presence in England. The schools of thought that led to the resettlement of the Jews in England is the most heavily studied subject of Anglo-Jewish history in the period before

690-433: Is reckoned that there were about 20 New Christian families living in the city.) As a consequence, a national conference was summoned at Whitehall in the early part of December, which included some of the most eminent lawyers, clergymen, and merchants in the country. The lawyers declared no opposition to the Jews' residing in England, but both the clergymen and merchants were opposed to readmission, leading Cromwell to stop

759-591: The Commons in 1745 and 1746, but failed to pass the Lords in 1747; it was ultimately dropped. Meanwhile, during the Jacobite rising of 1745 the Jews had shown particular loyalty to the government. Their chief financier, Samson Gideon , had strengthened the stock market, and several of the younger members had volunteered in the corps raised to defend London. The meeting between Menasseh Ben Israel and Oliver Cromwell

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828-761: The Council of State , while legislative functions were carried out by the Rump Parliament . In 1653, the Grandees, with Oliver Cromwell leading these reformists, dismissed the Rump Parliament, replacing it with a Nominated Assembly (nicknamed the Parliament of Saints or Barebone's Parliament ). This Barebone's Parliament was composed of 140 nominees, 129 from England and Wales, five from Scotland and six from Ireland. It proved to be as difficult for

897-600: The Royal Exchange as a duly licensed broker of the City of London, without taking the usual oath involving a statement of faith in Christianity (when he was finally sworn in in 1668, the oath was changed for him). Carvajal had previously been granted letters of denization for himself and his son, which guaranteed certain rights of citizenship. During the years 1655–56 the question of the return of Jews to England

966-402: The Rump Parliament repealed the recusancy laws in 1650). This was partly due to the impossibility of stopping religious free expression, but it also became a part of the cause of the new model army . The doctrinal policies of the protectorate were largely conservative. However, this Puritan train of thought could also point towards liberty of conscience. For Congregationalists , truth lay in

1035-810: The Spanish Main from the Netherlands to England. The mission of Oliver St John to Amsterdam, though failing to establish a coalition between English and Dutch commercial interests as an alternative to the Navigation Act, had negotiated with Menasseh Ben Israel and the Amsterdam community. A pass was granted to Menasseh to enter England, but he was unable to use it because of the First Anglo-Dutch War , which lasted from 1652 to 1654. The years 1655 and 1656 were to prove decisive in

1104-694: The descendants of the Ten lost tribes of Israel , with Cromwell himself numbering amongst the supporters of this idea. After both the Alhambra Decree of 1492, which expelled Jews from Spain in 1492, and similar measures in Portugal in 1496, some converso traders (Jewish converts to Christianity, who often practised Judaism in secret, sometimes also known as New Christians or derogatively as Marranos ) settled in London and Bristol. The small community

1173-665: The first Protectorate Parliament , ushering in a period of military Rule of the Major-Generals . The Instrument of Government was replaced in May 1657 by England's second, and last, codified constitution, the Humble Petition and Advice . However Cromwell died the next year, and his nominated successor as Lord Protector, his son Richard , proved unable to govern effectively as various political parties strove to gain power. The Protectorate came to an end in May 1659 when

1242-497: The "chosen ones"; and Fifth Monarchy Men , who opposed all "earthly" governments, believing they must prepare for God's kingdom on earth by establishing a "government of saints". Despite greater toleration, extreme sects were opposed by the upper classes as they were seen as a threat to social order and property rights. Catholics were also excluded from the toleration applied to the other groups. Conservatives were still dominant in both central government and local government . In

1311-463: The 1649 An Agreement of the People , they asked for a more representative and accountable Parliament, to meet every two years; a reform of law so it would be available to and fair to all; and religious toleration. They wanted a more democratic society, although their proposed franchise did not extend to women or to the lowest orders of society. Levellers saw the Rump Parliament as little better than

1380-983: The Cartwrights never received an answer. The following year Amsterdam-based Rabbi and diplomat Menasseh Ben Israel wrote in his book Hope of Israel of the necessity of the Jews being "spread out to the ends of the earth" (Daniel 12:7) before they could be redeemed. The book was originally published in Dutch and Latin in 1650, and then in English (dedicated to Parliament and the Council of State) in 1652. In 1651 Ben Israel met Oliver St John and his envoys on their mission to secure an Anglo-Dutch coalition. The English were impressed by learning and manner, and advised him to formally apply for Jewish readmission to England. In 1653, at Oliver St John’s suggestion, Cromwell issued an official directive to authorise, "Menasseh ben Israel,

1449-697: The Commonwealth Parliament. Rabbi Menasseh Ben Israel met Cromwell in 1655 in order to discuss the admission of Jews into England. Cromwell did not agree to all the rights that Ben Israel requested, but the opening of Jewish synagogues and burial grounds was tolerated under Cromwell's Protectorate. The Jewish faith was still not practised openly in England, since Cromwell's move had been controversial and many in England were still hostile toward Jews. Life for Jews in England improved in that they could no longer be prosecuted if caught worshipping, yet discrimination continued. Parliament had, to

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1518-485: The Dissenter Henry Jessey . The Fifth Monarchy Men were another example of Puritan millenarians who saw the readmission of the Jews as hastening the kingdom of Christ. The exiled Royalist Sir Edward Nicholas is one of the few admissionists who did not seem interested in conversion. By contrast, the anti-admissionists were often animated by the belief that it would be difficult or impossible to convert

1587-399: The English throne by a loan of 2,000,000 guilders from Francisco Lopes Suasso (1614–1685) (of the well-known Lopes Suasso family), later made first Baron d'Avernas le Gras by Charles II of Spain . William did not interfere when in 1689 some of the chief Jewish merchants of London were forced to pay the duty levied on the goods of aliens, but he refused a petition from Jamaica to expel

1656-409: The Grandees recalled the Rump Parliament, which authorised a Committee of Safety to replace Richard's Council of State. This ushered in a period of unstable government, which did not come to an end until February 1660 when General George Monck , the English military governor of Scotland, marched to London at the head of his troops, and oversaw the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II. After

1725-557: The Jews as the true Israel of the Bible. Indeed, they saw the Jews as a superior group, sharing some characteristics with the chosen nation of England. This belief was rooted in the literal interpretation of the Biblical primacy of the Jews found in the writings of Thomas Brightman . This meant that if the Jews were specially favoured by God, the English must listen to their appeals for help. These philo-semitic figures, who also believed in

1794-586: The Jews in England The resettlement of the Jews in England was an informal arrangement during the Commonwealth of England in the mid-1650s, which allowed Jews to practice their faith openly. It forms a prominent part of the history of the Jews in England . It happened directly after two events. Firstly a prominent rabbi Menasseh ben Israel came to the country from the Netherlands to make

1863-475: The Jews, his presence gave prominent Englishmen a positive impression of learning and virtue among Jews. Early in the following year (1656), the question came to a practical issue through the declaration of war against Spain , which resulted in the arrest of Antonio Rodrigues Robles , one of the community of Iberian New Christians who traded between London and the Canary Islands. Robles petitioned for

1932-604: The Jews. William Prynne ’s anti-Semitic pamphlet A Short Demurrer , which was printed on the eve of the Whitehall Conference, and the pamphlet Anglo-Judaeus or The History of the Jews Whilst Here in England by W.H. both doubt that the Jews would be converted once in England. Many millenarians at the time emphasised the chosen role of England in God’s plan, and this was often accompanied by the identification

2001-476: The Jews. William's reign brought about a closer connection between the predominantly Sephardic communities of London and Amsterdam; this aided in the transfer of the European finance centre from the Dutch capital to the English capital. Over this time a small German Ashkenazi community had arrived and established their own synagogue in 1692, but they were of little mercantile consequence, and did not figure in

2070-669: The Levellers were closer to espousing). They advocated a lifestyle that bore many similarities to later understandings of communism and anarchism , with communal ownership of land, and equality for males and females in law and education. They existed in only very small numbers and faced a very strong opposition, even from the Levellers. The breakdown of religious uniformity and incomplete Presbyterian Settlement of 1646 enabled independent churches to flourish. The main sects of English Dissenters were Baptists , who advocated adult rebaptism ; Ranters , who claimed that sin did not exist for

2139-777: The Parliamentarian victory in the English Civil War , the Puritan views of the majority of Parliament and its supporters began to be imposed on the rest of the country. The Puritans advocated an austere lifestyle and restricted what they saw as the excesses of the previous regime. Most prominently, holidays such as Christmas and Easter were suppressed. Pastimes such as the theatre and gambling were also banned. However, some forms of art that were thought to be "virtuous", such as opera, were encouraged. These changes are often credited to Cromwell, though they were introduced by

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2208-530: The Pope as antichrist , came to replace antisemitism. The period of the English Civil Wars and Interregnum was marked by both widespread millennial beliefs and a beginning of religious tolerance. Significantly, millenarianism in England often had a strong Hebraist character, that emphasised the study of Hebrew and Judaism. This was sometimes extended by certain individuals to claim the English as

2277-692: The arrival of his son Charles II in London on 29 May 1660, which marked the start of the Restoration . During the Interregnum, England was under various forms of republican government. The politics of the period were dominated by the wishes of the Grandees (senior officers) of the New Model Army and their civilian supporters. They encouraged (or at least tolerated) several republican regimes. From 1649 until 1653 executive powers lay with

2346-582: The autumn Moses Athias moved from Hamburg to act as religious preceptor. By December 1656 they had rented a house for use as a synagogue, and services began in January of 1657. In February of 1657 the new community, represented by Antonio Fernandez Carvajal and Simon de Caceres , acquired land near Mile End for use as a Synagogue. Historian Todd Endelman makes the point that it is unlikely this activity could have happened without Cromwell’s permission that they could live as professing Jews. The informal nature of

2415-406: The case for Jewish resettlement, and secondly a Spanish New Christian (a supposedly converted Jew, who secretly practised his religion) merchant Antonio Robles requested that he be classified as a Jew rather than Spaniard during the war between England and Spain . Historians have disagreed about the reasons behind the resettlement, particularly regarding Oliver Cromwell 's motives, but the move

2484-406: The discussion to prevent an adverse decision. Nonetheless, some change to official policy must have occurred, because the diarist John Evelyn wrote in his diary on 14 December, "Now were the Jews admitted". Ben Israel stayed in England until September 1657, during which time he met and engaged with a number of influential people. Although he did not achieve a legal ruling on the resettlement of

2553-570: The eighteenth century. In 1290, King Edward I of England had issued an edict expelling all Jews from England . However the English Reformation , which started in the 1530s, brought a number of changes that benefited Jews in the long term. Doctrines and rituals of the Roman Catholic church that insulted Jews were eliminated, especially those that emphasised their role in the death of Jesus. Further anti-Catholicism , with

2622-406: The end, it was impossible to make all the political factions happy. During the Interregnum, Cromwell lost much of the support he had gained during the civil war. Edward Sexby , previously a supporter of Cromwell's, felt disenfranchised by Cromwell's failure to abolish the aristocracy . In 1657, Silius Titus called for Cromwell's assassination in a co-authored pamphlet Killing No Murder under

2691-490: The executive to work with this Parliament as it had with the Rump Parliament, so after sitting for five months, members friendly to the Grandees engendered its dissolution on 12 December 1653. The Instrument of Government was adopted on 15 December 1653, Cromwell was installed as Lord Protector on the following day. The Instrument of Government granted executive power to the Lord Protector. Although this post

2760-817: The field was the MP and jurist John Selden , whose thought was influenced by Thomas Erastus and Grotius . Selden proposed minimal government intervention on matters of religion, a view he modelled on the Hebrew Commonwealth . He in turn influenced similar approaches in John Milton (whose plea for freedom of the press, the Areopagitica (1644), directly named him), Thomas Hobbes and James Harrington (the latter of whom proposed settling Jews in Ireland in his book The Commonwealth of Oceana ). Overall

2829-520: The former, the Rump Parliament was anxious not to offend the traditional ruling class whose support it needed for survival, so it opposed radical ideas. In the latter, that ruling class dominated through the influence of traditional regional gentry. The Interregnum was a relatively short but important period in the history of the British Isles. There were several political experiments without any stable form of government emerging, largely because of

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2898-785: The history of the resettlement of the Jews in England. The first of these was the visit of Menasseh ben Israel and the second was the case of the Marrano trader Antonio Rodrigues Robles. Menasseh ben Israel's son Samuel had arrived in England accompanied by trader David Dormido in 1653 to investigate the possibility of the resettlement of the Jews. In May 1655, he was sent back to Amsterdam in order to try to convince his father to visit England. The rabbi came to England in September 1655 with three other local rabbis, where they were lodged as guests of Cromwell. There he printed his "humble address" to Cromwell. (When ben Israel began his stay in London it

2967-455: The monarchy it had replaced, and they showed their displeasure in demonstrations, pamphlets and mutinies. While their numbers did not pose a serious threat to the government, they scared the Rump Parliament into action, and a Treasons Act was passed against them in 1649. Led by Gerrard Winstanley , Diggers wanted an even more coercively equal society than the Levellers (in the sense of "equality of outcome", not "equality of opportunity" which

3036-458: The petition of the merchants of London asking him to revoke Cromwell's concession. He had been assisted during his exile by several Jews of royalist sympathies, such as Andrea Mendes da Costa ( Chamberlain of Catherine of Braganza , wife of Charles II), Antonio Mendes (the physician brother of Andrea, who had cured Catherine of erysipelas while in Portugal) and Augustine Coronel-Chacon. In 1664

3105-568: The proceedings in both cases were put a stop to by direction of the Privy Council . The status of the Jews was still very indeterminate, with the Attorney-General declaring that they resided in England only under an implied licence. As a matter of fact, the majority of them were still legally aliens and liable to all the disabilities that condition carried with it. William III is reported to have been assisted in his ascent to

3174-502: The pseudonym of William Allen. Sexby was captured when he returned to England and attempted to carry out the assassination described in Titus' book. Cromwell coerced Sexby into confessing authorship of the pamphlet and then imprisoned him in the Tower of London , where Sexby was driven to insanity, dying there less than a year later. High taxes required by the large standing army , kept due to

3243-585: The readmission of the Jews using this same tolerant approach, as well as believing that it would improve trade (he saw the Jews as an important part of Amsterdam’s financial success). Competition with the Dutch for trade and the increasingly protectionist commercial policy that led to the Navigation Act in October 1651 made Oliver Cromwell want to attract the rich Jews of Amsterdam to London so that they might transfer their important trade interests with

3312-512: The relations between the established Jewish community and the government. One of the rabbi was Solomon Ayllon . Early in the eighteenth century the Jewish community of London comprised representatives of the chief Jewish financiers in northern Europe; these included the Mendez da Costa , Abudiente (later known as Gideon and Eardley), Salvador , Lopez , Fonseca, and Seixas families. The utility of these prominent Jewish merchants and financiers

3381-400: The resettlement also meant the forces ranged against it had no target and never united to form any significant opposition. Further, at a later date it meant there were no restrictive laws to repeal when Jews wanted fuller citizenship rights. By the end of the decade the number of Jewish families had risen to thirty five. In 1657 Solomon Dormido , a nephew of Menasseh Ben Israel, was admitted to

3450-515: The restoration of the Jews to the Holy Land, included Jeremiah Burroughs , Peter Bulkeley (whose father had given Brightman’s funeral sermon), John Fenwicke , and John Cotton . The original petition for readmission was submitted by Johanna and Ebenezer Cartwright, two English baptists living in Amsterdam, to Thomas Fairfax ’s Council of War in January 1649. As well as asking that Jews be allowed to live in England, their petition also expressed

3519-599: The return of his seized property on account of his being ‘of the Hebrew nation’ rather than Spanish. At the same time six leading members of the New Christian community petitioned Cromwell for permission to gather to worship and acquire a burial ground. Although no formal permission was granted, some assurances must have been given because in the summer Menasseh asked for the Torah scroll to be sent over from Amsterdam, and in

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3588-502: The same hopes regarding the readmission and conversion of the Jews as the millenarians. Paul Rycaut , later ambassador to the port of Smyrna recalled the Whitehall Conference, "When they all met, he (Cromwell) ordered the Jews to speak for themselves. After that he turned to the clergy, who inveigled much against the Jews as a cruel and cursed people. Cromwell in his answer to the Clergy called them ‘Men of God’ and desired to be informed by

3657-527: The spirit rather than institutions. Like the Platonists , they searched for internal unity amidst external diversity. Further, Puritans valued conscience, which could be neither forced nor tested, over ritual and ceremony. So rather than toleration, the key debate among key figures in the Protectorate revolved around liberty of conscience . For Blair Worden , Cromwell’s religious policy was rooted in

3726-516: The strongest political group of the 1640s and 50s, the English Puritans, had a negative view of toleration, seeing it as a concession to evil and heresy. It was often associated with tolerating the heresies of Arminianism , the philosophy of free will and free thought, and Socinianism , a doctrine of Anti-trinitarianism . But despite this Puritan hostility to toleration, England did see a certain religious laissez-faire emerge (for instance,

3795-701: The whether it was not their opinion that the Jews were one day to be called into the Church? He then desired to know whether it was not every Christian man’s duty to forward that good end all he could?… was it not then our duty… to encourage them to settle ere where they could be taught the thuth…[sic]" It has also been pointed out that Cromwell held more practical beliefs. Cromwell believed that Jews could be used as skilled purveyors of foreign intelligence (which would assist his territorial ambitions). Further, toleration of Protestant sects made political sense for Cromwell as it prevented disorder and promoted harmony. He justified

3864-521: The wide diversity in religious and political groups that had been allowed to flourish after the regicide of Charles I. The Puritan movement had evolved as a rejection of both real and perceived "Catholicisation" of the Church of England . When the Church of England was quickly disestablished by the Commonwealth government, the question of what church to establish became a hotly debated subject. In

3933-529: The wish that the Jews "shall come to know the Emanuell" and that they be transported to the "Land promised to their fore-fathers". It can be seen as a distillation of the Judeo-centric trends of Puritan thought that had developed over the previous century since John Bale (1495–1563). However, the petition was sent the day before the high court was established to try Charles I , so in the ensuing turmoil

4002-606: The words "on the true faith of a Christian", when registering their title. Only once more would this allowance be made in the passage of the Plantation Act 1740 , but more significantly the act allowed Jews who had or would have resided in British America for seven years to become naturalised British subjects. Shortly afterwards a similar bill was introduced into the Irish Parliament , where it passed

4071-617: The years after the interregnum ended. On the one hand, the loosely Calvinist Cromwell allowed the punishment of men such as the Unitarian John Biddle and the Quaker James Nayler , and accepted the restrictions on religious tolerance found in the Humble Petition and Advice of 1657. But on the other hand, his entourage included men who wanted more liberty of belief than he allowed. These non-sectarian ‘merciful men’ or politiques , who wanted to understand and tolerate beliefs different to their own, included Bulstrode Whitelocke , Matthew Hale , and Sir Charles Worsley . The toleration of Jews

4140-423: Was England's divine duty to readmit Jews, or else face God's wrath. Most members of this third faction hoped to convert Jews to Christianity upon their arrival in England, thereby hastening the second coming and the advent of the messianic age. While the conference failed to reach a definitive conclusion as to whether Jewish readmission should be carried out, it was significant for clarifying that resettlement

4209-439: Was elective, not hereditary, it was to be held for life. It also created a one chamber Parliament with its members chosen from redrawn districts that ultimately favored the gentry and required the calling of triennial Parliaments, with each sitting for at least five months. This would also mark the permanent disenfranchisement of Roman Catholics and all the participants of the Irish Rebellion . In January 1655, Cromwell dissolved

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4278-485: Was fought in a pamphlet war . Conservative opponents including William Prynne opposed the return while the Quaker Margaret Fell was in favour. Christian supporters believed the conversion of Jews was a sign of the end times and the readmission to England was a step towards that goal. This method of debate had the advantage of not raising antisemitic feelings too strongly; and it likewise enabled Charles II , on his Restoration in 1660, to avoid taking any action on

4347-416: Was largely borne by the hope of converting them to Christianity . Leonard Busher was one of the first to call for the readmission of the Jews to England and the toleration of their faith in 1616. Lawyer and MP, Henry Finch and the scholar Joseph Mede both wrote of the benefits of the conversion of the Jews in the 1620s. The Scottish minister John Wemyss advocated readmitting Jews to Christian lands with

4416-556: Was largely linked by trade to Antwerp, and was expelled altogether in 1609. It was with London’s growing importance as a trading city that Jews from the Netherlands began to settle in the country once more from the 1630s. It is from this first that the current Jewish population of the UK has grown. The 1640s and 1650s in England were marked by intense debates about religious tolerance, marked by speeches and tracts by radical puritans and dissenters who called for liberty of conscience. This extreme diversity of opinion about religious toleration

4485-405: Was legally permissible. Most prominent legal scholars agreed that " there is no law against their (the Jews) coming ". This was correct, as Jews had been expelled from England by the Edict of Expulsion in 1290 on the basis of a royal decree, not on the basis of parliamentary legislation. This finding would prove crucial to the eventual readmission of Jews in the 1660s. Resettlement of

4554-437: Was painted by Solomon Alexander Hart in 1873 and bought by Sir Francis Goldsmid . The historical figure of Menasseh Ben Israel and the admission of Sephardic Jews from the Netherlands into England are featured in the novel The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017.). Interregnum (England) The Interregnum was the period between the execution of Charles I on 30 January 1649 and

4623-523: Was sorted into 12 schools of thought in the seminal study of the period by W.K. Jordan . John Coffey uses a simpler three-point schema: anti-tolerationists, conservative tolerationists, and radical tolerationists, pointing out that although the latter were in a minority, they formed an important part of the debate. Nonetheless it is important to remember that although figures such as William Walwyn , Henry Vane , John Milton , and others made powerful apologia for religious toleration, their frame of reference

4692-447: Was theological, rather than secular in nature and they were not calling for religious pluralism as is understood today. The early and mid Seventeenth century was also marked by a rise in Hebraism, the study of Jewish scriptures, which were often used to discuss political issues such as the existence of a monarchy or republic, and religious toleration. This debate used Jewish sources to justify its conclusions. The most prominent scholar in

4761-475: Was widely recognised. Marlborough in particular made great use of the services of Sir Solomon de Medina , and indeed was publicly charged with taking an annual subvention from him. The early merchants of the resettlement are estimated to have brought with them a capital of £1,500,000 into the country; this amount is estimated to have increased to £5,000,000 by the middle of the 18th century. As early as 1723 an act of Parliament allowed Jews holding land to omit

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