Eric Wolf Blog questions for Monday, September 16

1. What did Jewish identity consist of for former Portuguese conversos who emigrated to the "Port towns," especially Amsterdam?

Many Portuguese conversos moved to cities in Spain such as Seville and Madrid, although they could not openly practice their Judaism there. At the end of the sixteenth century, some conversos moved to southwestern France and could openly practice Judaism there, but were not considered Jews. Many conversos ended up moving to places such as Amsterdam, where they were allowed to openly return to Judaism and establish new Jewish Communities without fear of persecution. Many Portuguese Jews played a significant role in the Dutch sugar imports to Surinam. Many people consider these "port Jews" to be the first modern day Jews because they established a Jewish community and culture that departed from more traditional ideas.

2. Why do scholars consider the former converso communities of Amsterdam, Hamburg, and London to be the "first modern Jews"?

Port Jews were considered the first modern Jews because of the culture they established that was a departure from more traditional ways of life that were the constant in major Jewish cities in the Ottoman Empire. The Amsterdam Sephardim were the first Jewish community that had to completely reinvent its Jewish tradition. This community was one of the first to have Jewish Law only regulated to synagogue and religious holidays, instead of every day life. Their Jewish religion was only a part of their new identities.