Poverty and welfare among the Portuguese Jews in early modern Amsterdam

Abstract

The reputed wealth and benevolence of the Portuguese Jews of early modern Amsterdam attracted many poor and impoverished people to the city, both ex-conversos from the Iberian peninsula and Jews from many other countries. In describing the consequences of that migration in terms of demography, admission policy, charitable institutions--public and private--philanthropy and daily life, and the dynamics of the relationship between the rich and the poor, the author adds a nuanced new dimension to the understanding of Jewish life in the early modern period.

Contents

1. Setting the scene -- 2. Migration of the poor -- 3. Demographic outline -- 4. The organization of welfare -- 5. Financing charity -- 6. The motives behind charity -- 7. The daily life of the poor -- 8. Epilogue.