Sir William Davidson, Royalist (1616-1689) and the Jews

<plain_text><page sequence="1">S'WILLIAM DAVIDS ONE KNIGHT AND BARONETT, (See pages 39-79)</page><page sequence="2">Sir William Davidson, Royalist, (1616-1689) and the Jews By Wilfred S. Samuel, F.S.A., F.R.Hist.S. Paper read before the Jewish Historical Society of England, Julyj, 1936. My story opens in Amsterdam in 1663, three years after the Restora? tion of Charles II to the throne of England. One of the principal Rabbis of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews of that city was Haham Jacob Abendana, a Rabbi of great industry and learning, and author of the Spanish version of the Mishna. His brother, Isaac, a great scholar likewise, had that year accepted the invitation of the Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, to take up his residence there for the purpose of translating the Mishna into Latin, and he continued to be so engaged for the ensuing twelve years.1 In 1667 Isaac Abendana's finances became involved, and?peace having been declared in July between the English and Dutch forces?Rabbi Jacob visited his brother in England in connection with some bookselling transac? tions, and at the close of that year he seems to have officiated at the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue in London, to judge by an entry in their accounts.2 Fourteen years later, in August, 1681, he became Haham of the London congregation, serving them until his death in London in September, 1695. Jacob Abendana's earliest approach to England occurred, how? ever, in Amsterdam in 1663, the opening year of my story, when he 1 Trans., viii. p. 98. - L. D. Barnett, El Libra de los Acuerdos (Oxford, 1931), p. 35. Trans., x. p. 223. 39</page><page sequence="3">4o JEWS AND ROYALISTS published his Spanish translation of Yehuda Halevi's great work, the Cuzary, being led to do so after a determined but quite unsuccessful attempt to convert him to Christianity made by one Hulsius, a Leyden professor, who, in his turn, published in 1669 the corres? pondence that had passed between him and the Rabbi. Now Aben dana's book was dedicated to Sir William Davidson of Amsterdam, a Christian gentleman who stood high in the favour of King Charles, and one is tempted to speculate as to the bonds between this courtier and the Rabbi. Indeed, Mr. Israel Solomons was so puzzled at the linking of these two names that, rather characteristically, he wrote to the journal Notes and Queries* for a solution, but succeeded only in getting some general information about Sir William's career. Here are some excerpts?personal, theological, and political? from Abendana's exuberant but lucid dedication :4 The decision to offer this book to you is born of a most anxious desire to make some small demonstration of affection, and to give some slight indication of my wish to employ myself in your service, if my weak forces do not defeat my intent. Wherefore it is rather my goodwill that I offer to you than the volume. . . . This excellent book contains Jewish Theology, and treats admirably of the prin? cipal and most weighty matters of Divine Law, with marvellous genius, and in a pleasing and agreeable style. ... [It] . . . proves the errors of the Gentiles, destroys the false opinions of the Philoso? phers, gives evidence showing the ignorance of the Karaites, proves the truth of the Divine Law. . . . Your Worship has shown your glorious fidelity and constant loyalty towards the most Serene King of Great Britain, your natural Lord and Master, who, absent from his majestic throne, through various accidents, and withdrawn in foreign Kingdoms from his opulent Provinces, has experienced in your Worship the height to which Royal felicity can reach, in finding a vassal who by con? tinued help has considerably relieved the cares of an offended Majesty, preserving, amid the tumult of the greatest disturbances, and of the most detestable ingratitude of many, the love which 3 Vol. xi. pp. 148-92, 20th February, 6th March, 1915. 4 Sec Appendix i. p. 65.</page><page sequence="4">jews and royalists 41 makes up for that of all others, and is constant both as regards the laws of nature and of duty. Such subtleties of love merit the just prize of singular virtue, and as the Wise Man saieth : ' Whoso helpeth the figtree shall eat the fruit thereof; so he that waiteth on his Master shall be honoured ' (Prov. 27, 18); your Worship kept the figtree, just is it that you do eat the fruit thereof; you guarded your natural Lord, it is right you should be honoured; your Wor? ship's beneficial services to his Majesty, are worthy of the great honours, dignities and offices you have received from his royal hand, increasing the felicity of your house, rewarding your great merits by many favours which do honour to and are worthy of so great a Monarch, and due to the virtue of your Worship, who has given an example of constant loyalty well known to our times, and deserving eternal remembrance. I beseech your Worship that as I offer this book with all the humility of which my spirit is capable, you will receive it with your habitual benignity. May God pre? serve your Worship, and grant you such prosperity as you desire. Your Worship's humble servant, Jacob Abendana. From the circumstances that preceded the publication of Aben? dana's Cuzary it can be assumed that he did not regard his gentile patron as a proselytiser, that he did assume him to be interested in theology, and that he, and perhaps, too, his Amsterdam congregants, were ardently anxious to ingratiate themselves, if not with the Royal Government, then at all events with its principal representative in the Netherlands. The dedication begins: "To the most illustrious Gentleman, William Davidsone, Knight Baronet, gentleman in ordinary of his Majesty's Privy Chamber : Conservator and Resi? dent over the subjects of his ancient Kingdom [of Scotland], in the 17 Provinces : First Commissioner and Agent of his Royal Majesty of Great Britain and Ireland, in Amsterdam : Commissioner and Agent of the Royal Company of England." It rather looks as though the text was provided by Davidson, since he was fond of parading his distinctions, and it almost tallies with the lettering on the portrait engraved for him in the following year by the Dutch</page><page sequence="5">42 JEWS AND ROYALISTS artist, Christopher H?gens.5 Here he is termed " Sr William Davidsone, honorabel Privy Chamber Conservator and Resident for his Majesties most Ancient Kingdome of Scotland in the seventein Provinces His Majesties sole Commissioner for Ingland and Ireland in the Citie of Amsterdam, &amp;c", and in which, incidentally, he looks a typical Roundhead, rather than the outstanding Cavalier he had been for more than ten years! Davidson6 had been born in Dundee in 1616 and had settled in Holland at the age of twenty-four, becoming a prominent merchant at Amsterdam. He was twice married, on each occasion to a Dutch wife, and between 1653 to 1660 he became known as a strong Royalist supporter, in constant touch with Lieut.-General John Middleton, Lord Newburgh, and other Scottish partisans of the exiled Royal house. In 1654 ne na&lt;^ Deen knighted (the precise date is in doubt), and at the Restoration the honours just enumerated had been show? ered upon him by a grateful monarch, who never forgot that at one time this Scottish merchant was almost his only supporter having a sound financial backing, and able?as Davidson did more than once ?to buy a frigate, finance an armed landing, and pay for secret information, and for the transport of soldiers. Mr. Israel Solomons was put in the way of ascertaining some of these facts by the Notes and Queries correspondent, Mr. W. del Court, who replied to his enquiry, and who drew attention to a num? ber of Davidson's letters, written in a most curious mongrel Scottish Dutch, which are to be found among the British Museum's Add. MSS. and at the Public Record Office under " State Papers, Holland and Flanders." 7 As regards Davidson's Jewish contracts, Mr. Solo 5 Long afterwards, in 1815, this was copied by Robert Dankarton (1744-1816), an English mezzotint engraver. [See Frontispiece.] It was re-engraved in 1819 by John Thane (with Davidson's seal and autograph) for a work called British Autography. 6 The name is spelt in three different ways (Davisone, Davidsone, Davidsons) in Sir William's last will (vol. 79, Comm. Edinburgh Testaments). He himself usually wrote it Davidsone; the King's secretaries generally addressed him as Davyson or Davison, whilst in official documents the spelling Davidson is mostly used. 7 W. del Court, Sir William Davidson in Nederland (Hague, 1906); actually a brief article in the Dutch periodical, Bijdragen voor Vaderlandsche Geschiednis, Series 4, Part 5, No. 4, pp. 375-79.</page><page sequence="6">JEWS AND ROYALISTS 43 mons overlooked that attention was drawn to these in 1897 in the Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, No. 5, in Dr. Herbert Friedenwald's article " Material for the History of the Jews in the British West Indies." This member of our sister Society had noticed a number of West Indian references of Jewish interest pub? lished as far back as 1880 in a volume of the Calendars of State Papers, and he has reproduced these in the appendices to his brief essay, copy? ing in some cases from the Calendars but in others giving transcripts of the actual documents. The period covered by these extracts is only from 1661 to 1668, and Sir William Davidson's name occurs in four documents and he is concerned indirectly in two others. In 1640, when Davidson first settled in Holland, the Dutch had a virtual monopoly of the carrying trade of the world, and by 1642 as a result of their conquests of Portuguese posts on the West Afri? can coast they came near to establishing a complete monopoly of slave purveying. This gave to the Dutch a dominating position in the trade to the West Indies for they alone could supply the English and French, and?when not at war with them?the Spanish planters with the indispensable labour for their sugar plantations. Dutch colonies in the East and West Indies were closed to all interlopers, but this did not prevent the Dutch intervening very successfully themselves in the business of the English and French colonies, especially in the West Indies. This became particularly marked in the case of the English possessions during the unsettled conditions brought about by the Civil War, when the principal colony, Bar? bados, stayed Royalist until 1652.8 Of Davidson's own commercial undertakings we know that he was interested in ropes, cordage, and deal boards for the shipyards, which mostly came from the Baltic. He owned iron works in Den? mark and Norway, exported potashes from Germany, textiles from Holland, and dealt, too, in grain. No doubt his affairs prospered even after the outbreak of the first Dutch war with the English, which raged from 1652 to 1654, but in European waters only, both 8 N. Darnall Davis, Cavalier and Roundhead in Barbados (Georgetown, British Guiana, 1887), p. 207.</page><page sequence="7">44 JEWS AND ROYALISTS parties having tacitly agreed to ignore the hostilities so far as their Caribbean interests were concerned. It may be that Davidson turned Cavalier in 1653 from inclination, since so many of his fellow-countrymen supported the Stuart cause, but it may well be, too, that he had grown to hate the Cromwellian administration for its increasing interference with the prosperity of the Dutch merchants and the Dutch carriers. The Commonwealth's retaliatory Navigation Acts of 1650 and 1651 were intended fatally to hinder the Netherlanders' foreign trade, and after peace had been made with the Dutch (in April, 1654), and the English were able to divert some of their fighting force to the West Indies, much Dutch shipping was seized by them in English harbours between 1655 and 1658. Among these was the Mary of London, owned by Sir William Davidson, taken at Barbados with five other Dutch ships, and by her captor, Capt. Christopher Myngs,9 stated to be the Mary of Medem blik, with a cargo of French canvas and of Ozenbrigs linen.10 For these Cromwellian Navigation Acts (which it should be noted were re-enacted at the Restoration) provided that English ships sailing from an English port and manned by a mainly English crew, must be the only purveyors and conveyors of any goods landed at an English port. It seems plausible to conclude that Davidson, with the broad outlook of the export trader, felt it " unwise to venture himself and his estate under Cromwell, where by his death or other alterations in that kingdom he might run the Hazard of an absolute ruin "?to paraphrase some sentiments which were expressed in 1655 about the Jews.11 Just as one may guess that Davidson and Rabbi Abendana shared a common interest in theology although the Scotsman was no scholar, so one can also speculate as to the business reasons which may have induced Sir William to fraternize with the Jewish merchant adven? turers of the Netherlands. As is well known, they had been wooed 9 Cal. S.P. Col. Am. and W.I. 1675-76, Add. 1574-1674, No. 295, p. 120 (Jamaica, 24th February, 1658). Myngs became a vice-admiral and was knighted. 10 Cal. S.P. Col. Am. and W.I. 1574-1660, p. 467. 11 H. S. Q. Henriques, The Jews and the English Law (Oxford, 1908), p. 119 (quoting Sir Marmadukc Langdalc, a Cavalier).</page><page sequence="8">JEWS AND ROYALISTS 45 in turn by Cromwell and by Charles. They had the reputation of being successful interlopers wherever a trade monopoly was being enforced,12 and were credited, too, with having a network of busi? ness agents all over the world, and of being skilled as intelligencers. It is not unlikely that Davidson had had dealings with them from an early date, and perhaps one of his functions may have been to use his name to cover their transactions with their relatives in the lands of the Inquisition (in which case Cromwell's breach with Spain, from about October 1655 onwards, would have spelt loss for any such business association, whilst Charles' Portuguese marriage, which occurred in 1660, was bound to bring England into conflict with the Dutch). Davidson's social and political positions were very high, but his commercial situation clearly called by then for some trimming in a changing world where his forte?trading with aliens?was becoming the monopoly, legally enforceable, of the English merchants estab? lished in England. Soon after the Restoration there was formed under the presidency of the Duke of York the Company of Royal Adven? turers, trading to Africa, usually called the Royal African Company, and Davidson became associated with this new enterprise, which was directly aimed at the Dutch West India Company and planned to provide English planters with an English source of supply of slaves. It was about this time that Davidson went into partnership with certain Jews who were planning to settle in Barbados and Jamaica, where were the principal English buyers of the West African slaves. He took pains to have them naturalized (or, rather, endenizened) and the proposals for this submitted by him to higher authority were wrapped up in a picturesque petition for leave to work an alleged gold mine said to have yielded its wealth to the Spaniards when Jamaica was in their occupation.13 To Englishmen nurtured in the Eliza 12 Samuel Hayne, " An Abstract of all the Statutes made concerning Aliens trading in England . . . also of all the laws for securing our plantation trade to ourselves " (London, 1685), quoted in Dr. V. T. Harlow's A History of Barbados, 1625-1685 (Oxford, 1926), pp. 263-64. 13 On the 22nd January, 1662, a certain Sir Balthazar Donnelly, writing from</page><page sequence="9">46 JEWS AND ROYALISTS bethan tradition any proposal to tap one of the sources of supply of the famed treasure galleons must have been irresistible. A con? temporary observer, Colonel William Reeston, who was a leading public man in Jamaica, reports, however, of Davidson's associates, the " Six Jews (with a Rich Cargo) who pretended they came to discover a Gold Mine known to them in the Spaniards Governmt but disused for fear it might bring enemies on a place so weakly man'd as Jam. was in the Spaniards time ", that " this was basely a pretence for their design was only to insinuate themselves into the Country for the sake of Trade and was managed by Sr Jo. [sic \ Davison."14 The contract executed between Charles II and Davidson and his Jewish associates has been printed by Mr. Samuel Oppenheim, who found a draft of the agreement dated 5th March, 1661 /2, among the British Museum's Egerton MSS. (2551, folios 152B-158B).15 I have taken a copy from the Patent Roll itself (Charles II, 14, Part XI), but it does not differ greatly, and the date is 15th March, 1661/2.16 The main heads of the agreement are : " That ye said Kings most Excf Matie being certainly informed by ye said Sr Wm Dauidson Abraham Israel (de Piso) &amp; Abraham Cohen that there is wtnin his Mats said island of Jamaca in America a Gold Mine wcil may bee of very great benefit and advantage to his said Matie and his People. And the said Sr Ww Dauidson Abr. Israel &amp; Abr: Cohen having offered &amp; engaged to discover ye said Mine &amp; to bee at the charge &amp; hazard in ye discovery and working thereof wtn and upon ye Allowances &amp; Agreemts herein after menconed, Wherewth for their encouragement &amp; the advancement of soe good &amp; profitable a worke his Matie is well pleased and contented, and repos Reading to Charles II, also mentions " the gold mine which a Spaniard told His late Majesty existed in Jamaica."?Cal. S.P. Col. Am. and W.I. 1661-68, No. 216, pp. 69-70. 14 B.M. Add. MSS. 12430, vol. ii. folio 28, K.14 (31st March, 1663). 15 Pub. Am. J. Hist. Soc, No. 19 (N.Y., 1910), pp. 161-67. 16 Perhaps both documents are of the same date, viz., 5?15th March, New Style. Davidson's agreement with Lord Lauderdale (see Appendix iii.), is dated 10th March, 1662-63, and recites that the Letters Patent have already been granted.</page><page sequence="10">JEWS AND ROYALISTS 47 ing speciall trust &amp; confidence in ye abilities care and diligence of ye said Sr Wm Dauidson Abraham Israel and Abraham Cohen. . . . by these pnts doeth give and grant . . . full power liberty Licence and authority. ..." The prospecting rights were to be for two years. The partners were to receive as a reward " one full third part of the full benefit and proffit . . . gotten . . . out of the said gold mines ", which were, it need hardly be said, to be worked " at their owne proper costs and charges." A yearly account of the " proffit and advantage " was to be sworn before the Governor of the Island, and the King was to appoint a local inspector and to get as his share " two full third parts of all the said gold ... in Wedges ready wrought." There follows a grant of thirty acres of land in Jamaica for each mine worker whether " Servants, Slaues or other Persons."17 As a further reward for finding and working the mine, but only in the event of the dis? covery, there was to pass to the partners property in all unappro? priated hollow pepper and Brazil-wood growing in Jamaica but their yearly shipments of the latter were not to exceed 400 tons : " And wtn &amp; upon ye expresse agreem* condicon and Limitacon that in case ye said Brazile wood or Brazilate soe to bee transported out of the said Island of Jamaica into his Maties Kingdomes &amp; Dominions as aforesaid doe proue and is found to bee as good as the Brazile wood &amp; Brazilate belonging to the King of Portugall in Brazile that then they the said Sr Wm Dauidson Abr : Israel &amp; Abr. Cohen their Extors and Assignes shall allow and pay such duties and customes for ye same as is or shalbee paid or payable for in respect of the said Brazile wood or Brazillate belonging to ye King of Portugall. But in case the said Brazille Wood or Brazilate soe to bee transported out of the said Island of Jamaica shall not proue &amp; bee found to bee as good as the said Brazile wood &amp; Brazilate belonging to ye said King of Portugall then they the said Sr Will Dauidson Abraham Israel &amp; Abr: Cohen their Executo and Assignes shal bee abated in ye said 17 Jamaica was being colonised at the time, and this was the usual Government grant of land to any free-born settler, but not to a slave. See Cal. S.P. Col. Am. and W.I. 1661-68, No. 195 (14th December, 1661).</page><page sequence="11">48 JEWS AND ROYALISTS duties and paymts ratably &amp; proporconably." For the hollow pepper they were to pay the King forty shillings for each hundredweight. The letters patent conclude with a very ample form of endeniza tion for the two Jews : " At their wills and pleasures to purchase buy &amp; possess reteyne and keepe any Lands Tenem Rents Revercons &amp; other Hereditments whatsoever wthin ye said Kingdome of England, and the same to vse enjoy give devise or dispose of to any person or persons whatsoever, and as freely peaceably and quietly as any other of his Mats Leige Subjects borne wtnin this said Realme of England may or can doe." 18 One of Davidson's partners, Abraham Cohen, can probably be identified with a prominent Jewish merchant of Amsterdam who was an important shareholder in the Dutch West India Company and had lived and traded in Pernambuco in Brazil during the Dutch occupation. Of him Dr. Kayserling wrote : " During the fighting in 1645 Abraham Coen of Recife, an Amsterdam Jew of great wealth and a favourite of Prince Maurice of Nassau (who later appointed his son Jacob Coen to be his Receiver General) poured out money in the Dutch cause and his liberality was celebrated in a poem by Daniel Levi de Barrios." 19 According to a seventeenth-century writer he " was then believed worth 100,000 /. Sterling, but lost a great deal of it when the Portuguese beat the Dutch out of Brasile : yet... he died worth 20,000 /. or upward." 20 As regards Abraham Israel de Pisa, Davidson's other partner, there has been speculation as to whether he may not have been identi? cal with an Abraham Israel, one of a party of Jewish fugitives from Northern Brazil, who reached New Amsterdam (New York) in 1654 on a ship called the St. Charles. If that were so then he may prove to have been the Abraham Israel who twenty years previously was reported to be one of the leaders of the hundred Amsterdam Jews who were alleged to be fitting out a fleet (in March, 1654) against 18 Cf. H. S. Q. Henriques, op. cit., pp. 191-94. (Capacity of Jews to hold real property.) 19 Am. J.H.S., No. 3, p. 15. See also ,4m. J.H.S., No. 8, p. 20. 20 The Conversion and Persecutions of Eve Cohan . . . (London, 1680), p. 1.</page><page sequence="12">JEWS AND ROYALISTS 49 Pernambuco.21 A Brazilian Jew of this name was denounced in the following terms to the Lisbon Inquisitors on the 19th December, 1646, by Abraham Bueno, alias Diogo Henriques, a Marrano youth taken fighting for the Dutch and sent for trial from Pernambuco to Lisbon: " At the same time he was acquainted with Abraham Israel, whose name as a Catholic he does not know, native of Portalegre, cousin of Luis Mendes of whom confessant has spoken, and confessant has heard the said Abraham Israel say that he left this kingdom ( = Portu? gal) and went to Holland, for fear of the justice of the Holy Office; and in Pernambuco, where confessant knew him, the said Abraham Israel publicly professed his belief in the Law of Moses, and attended the sinagogue in confessant's company in the manner customary to Jews; and the said Abraham Israel would be about forty at the time, tall, and stout, and followed the calling of barber, besides having certain commercial dealings; and he said that he was married to a niece of his, who was also a Jewess by belief, and lived in Amster? dam." 22 The name Abraham Israel was admittedly a common one, and likely to be assumed by Marranos on their reversion to Judaism or by proselytes. Whilst the identification is rather shadowy it does seem probable that De Pisa, the prospector, and Israel, the Brazilian pioneer, were the same man. The prospector's full name suggests, too, a connection with Italy, and it is established that his near kins? men the Bueno Henriques had links with that country. Sir William Davidson and Abraham Israel de Pisa and the latter's son journeyed to London in March, 1661/2, in connection with the grant of the concession, and although no record has survived they appear to have been received in audience at Whitehall by King Charles who as a " Mark of Our Royall favour . . . were pleased to bestow a Gold Chaine vpon . . . Isaac Israel de Piso." 23 Among the Laing MSS. preserved in the University of Edinburgh is an obliga? tion signed in London by Davidson on behalf of himself and the two Jews on the 10th March, 1661/2, and contracting to pay to the power 21 Am. J.H.S., No. 8, pp. 10, u and 69, and No. 18, p. 63. 22 Lisbon Inq. Archives, Torre do Tombo, No. 1770, fo. 26, verso. 2;" Cal. S.P. Col. Am. and W.I., 1661-68, No. 948. E</page><page sequence="13">5? JEWS AND ROYALISTS ful Lord Lauderdale, Secretary of State for Scotland, a fifth of the nett proceeds of the Brazil wood and pepper and a sixth of the nett proceeds of the gold that " His Majesty has been pleased by letters patent to grant to us to be transported from the Island Jamaica to His Majesty's kingdoms and dominions.'' (The contract is in Davidson's own hand and in the weirdest spelling imaginable.) 24 The two De Pisas busied over getting together a cargo for the Caribbean trade: they did not sail from London until early the fol? lowing year. The baronet afterwards claimed that he had paid their passages, as well as those of other Jews journeying to Jamaica and Barbados, and I have discovered an interesting series of letters written from Amsterdam by Davidson from the 12th May to the 4th August, 1662, importuning Whitehall to endenizen Daniel Bueno Henriques, a Barbados Jew,25 " a neir kinsman of the Portingall Merchand [presumably A. I. de Pisa] who goes for Jamaica for the discovery of the Myne ye know of." Davidson adds that Daniel has a brother in Amsterdam who is a friend of his, and we are left to wonder whether this was Eliahu, Moses or Jeosua Bueno Henriques, all of whom were well-known members of the Amsterdam Syna? gogue about that time, and who seem to have come from Bayonne in France where their official designation would have been " Marchands Portugals " notwithstanding that they may have been born in Seville, as was their Barbadian brother Daniel (in 1637). The great import? ance attached by Davidson to the speedy endenization (which he calls " naturalizment") of Daniel Bueno Henriques, a Barbados trader and afterwards a sugar planter, makes it clear that this was in some way rendered necessary by the forthcoming expedition and that trad? ing with Barbados, which was not mentioned in the contract with 24 See Appendix iii. p. 69. 25 See the several references to him in my Paper on the Jews of Barbados in Trans., xiii. He had previously been endenizened on the 12th of July, 1661, whilst the later grant was entered on the Patent Roll on the 5th September, 1662. A pre? liminary document of the 9th May, 1662, states that Sir Wm. Davidson had made the application. (Cal. S.P. Dom., 1661-62, No. 33, p. 367.) In the earlier grant he is described as " Merchant Native of Siville in Spaine &amp; now Resident in the Barbadoss "; in the later grant he becomes " a Portuguese."</page><page sequence="14">JEWS AND ROYALISTS 51 the King, was to have a place alongside the prospecting in Jamaica. To urge forward the matter Davidson submits an attested copy of the letters of endenization already granted to Luis Dias Gutteres, an outstanding Barbados Jew, and the founder of its synagogue.26 It will be remembered that it was in the following year, 1663, that Abendana, the Amsterdam Rabbi, dedicated to the baronet a major Jewish theological work, written in Spanish. Much of Davidson's business, including his correspondence, was entrusted by him to one James Watson, who is variously described as his secretary, his servant, his cousin, and his nephew,27 and who seems also to have been far more Dutch than English or Scottish. To him was assigned the delicate task of accompanying Davidson's Jewish associates to the Caribbean. In the entry already quoted from Colonel Beeston's diary it is recorded that they reached Jamaica from London on the 31st March, 1662/3, aboard His Majesty's ship The Great Gift, Captain Bernard, Commander. They (six Jews) came with a rich cargo " to insinuate themselves into the country for the sake of trade . . . and was managed by Sr Jo. [sic] Davidson who sent with them Mr. Watson a German that manag'd all." Some thirteen months later the two de Pisas left the Island bound for Lon? don aboard the Prudence, commanded by Captain James Capps. The ship had called at Barbados and went on to New Amsterdam, where the two Jews remained. Abraham drops out of the story, but Isaac Israel de Pisa found his way to Barbados where he settled, and num? erous Jews bearing his name were living there a century afterwards. Watson proceeded to London a month later (25th May, 1664). Charles II, who badly needed money, must have felt some disappoint? ment at the outcome of the treasure hunt when the Governor of Jamaica's report reached Whitehall that the prospectors had aban? doned their search. " The gold finding Jew went hence a month since in Capt. Capps bound for England he has left here care &amp; 26 Cal. S.P. Dom., 1661-62, p. 55 (the copy is endorsed " Sir W. Davidson " and is plainly the enclosure to the letter of the 12th May, 1662). For Davidson's letters to Whitehall, see Appendix ii. pp. 67 and 68. For Gutteres, see Trans, xii. p. 15. 27 B. M. Egerton MSS. 2535, fol. 140. Cal. S.P. Col. Am. and W.I. 1661-68, No. 74. B. M. Add. MSS. 22878, fol. 56.</page><page sequence="15">52 JEWS AND ROYALISTS direcion to find the gold, Butt we are all infidells, because the Miracle is to be wrought in our Country; wee believe hee has really found &amp; cured some little of Venilla &amp; Piemente, if hee (Senr. Abram Israel de Pisa) say nott enough to execute the charge &amp; justify ye Designe, this Bearer Mr. Jacob Watson may, he's Sr Wm. Davison's nephew &amp; Agent, &amp; has promised to deliver theis." 28 It is known that the de Pisas had an uncomfortable voyage to New Amsterdam since on the 17th July, 1664, nearly three months after having embarked at Jamaica, " Abraham Israel de Pyse, a Jew with his son " appeared before the Court of Burgomasters and Schepens [sheriffs] at New Amsterdam to support the evidence of two fellow passengers, against whom Captain Capps had taken pro? ceedings. The Commander of the Prudence lost his case, the elder Jew having testified " that the skipper was the first cause of all that occurred in the ship and that he abused the sailors as dogs and brutes, threatening to shoot them with a pistol and blunderbuss, and to wreck the ship." 29 There are two slightly earlier instances of Jews claiming privileges from higher authority on the strength of the alleged discovery of a mine, and it cannot be a pure coincidence that both these petitioners bore the name of Henriques, and that the second one, a Jamaica Jew, was definitely related to Abraham Israel de Pisa! In Rabbi Herbert I. Bloom's " Study of Brazilian Jewish History, 1623?1654," we read : "In the same year (1648) we also hear of a Jew, Bento Enriquez, apparently a prospector who succeeded in arousing the interest of the Supreme Council by the discovery of a great secret ' possibly a goldmine.' For the uncertain information he demanded a fairly large sum, also half of the future profits. After some negotiations he made a contract with the Council of the XIX (the executive body of the [Dutch ] West India Company) and took 28 Cal. S.P. Col. Am. and W.I. 1661-68, No. 744. The Governor of Jamaica (Lt.-Col. Lynch) to the Secretary of State (Lord Arlington), 25 May, 1664. (The original of this letter, 4 pp., is at the P.R.O. in Col. Papers, vol. xviii. No. 68.) 29 Berthold Fernow, Records of New Amsterdam, 1653-1674, vol. v. pp. 96 and 99 (N.Y., 1897), cited in Am. J.H.S., No. 18, p. 63.</page><page sequence="16">JEWS AND ROYALISTS 53 from the mine to Pernambuco a sample which contained sulphur and lead and was of no great value."30 Some time during 1661 Jacob Joshua Bueno Enriques petitioned Whitehall from Italy, but in Spanish, to " obtain from your Majesty permission to go to the Island of Jamaica at my own expense and see if I could discover a copper mine which during the time of the Spani? ards . . . they had . . . found to be productive." This Spanish petition was printed by Dr. Friedenwald in 1897 with an English version,31 but so many errors of transcription and of translation have crept in as to obscure the meaning, and I have prepared for our Society new texts which dispose of many of the ambiguities.32 The document that has survived is not the original petition but a contemporary copy, and is undated, but the context shows it to have been written during 1661. (Only one year later Sir William Davidson was moving heaven and earth to get Daniel B. H. naturalised.) The Bueno Henriques were a clan rather than a family, and 1 have not been able positively to identify the petitioner, whose name was probably Jacob de Joshua B. H., Joshua being his father's name. He states that he is a brother of Moses B. H., who has already been mentioned in this story as a leading Jew who lived in Amsterdam from 1657 until his death in 1702, having come there from Bayonne. A third brother, Joseph, is named in the petition, and one is left wondering whether this name is an alternative for Eliahu, who was in Amsterdam between 1659 and 1686, or for Daniel or Abraham Bueno Henriques, both of whom are connected with Barbados.33 The petitioner states that he had a house at Cagway Point, Jamaica, during the two years 1658 and 1659, where he was called the French 30 Am. J.H.S. Publications, No. 33 (N.Y., 1934), p. 66. si Am. J.H.S., No. 5, pp. 65-68, and Cal. S.P. Col. Am. and W.I. 1661-68, No. 138 (Col. Papers, vol. xv. No. 74), p. 48. 32 See Appendix iv. pp. 70-72 for the English version. 33 See Appendix viii. p. 76 for a very tentative sketch pedigree of the Bueno Henriques. I am indebted to my friend the Rev. D. A. Jessurun Cardozo of New York for the Amsterdam material, secured by him on the spot, as a result of much research while he was on leave.</page><page sequence="17">54 JEWS AND ROYALISTS Jew and was favourably known to " General Dall This must have been General Edward Doyley [1617?75], who was Commander-in Chief or Governor of Jamaica from 1657 to 1661, and who, on his return to England in the summer of 1662, reported to the Lord Chan? cellor " As for Mines, druggs, dye woode etc. I believe there are noe Mines But may be deceaved for that in truth there was none amongst us that understoode either mynes or the workeing of them, had there been any." 34 A certain " Melor Belemi " was to have lent his patronage to the scheme, but the parties reached no agreement, and this direct peti? tion was then submitted to Charles II, who, however, was offered only a beggarly 10 per cent of the profits from the mine, if discovered. The document mentions the " Act of Parliament . . . that no foreig? ners could do any business in the conquests of England without first becoming naturalised . . . moreover I petition that you naturalise myself, my brothers Joseph and Moses Bueno Enriques and that we may follow our Laws and have Synagogues confirmed by Parlia? ment." Eight years later ? in July, 1669 ? five "Aliens born, natives of Bayonne ", were granted letters of endenization, the first four being Jacob, Joshua, Moses, and Abraham Bueno Henriques. A Joshua B. H. was endenizened, perhaps re-endenizened, in Octo? ber, 1687, together with Jacob B. H. junior. There are endenization entries, too, in respect of an Abraham B.H. in December of the same year, and of a Joseph B. H. in March, 1693/4.35 I have worked out a tentative family tree which includes a Jacob B. H. who was living in London, perhaps intermittently, from 1680 until 34 Rawlinson MSS. A.347 (Bodl.). But I have used the transcription in N. Darnall Davis's MSS. (Box 2, p. 40) in the Library of the Royal Empire Institute, London. 35 When Abraham Bueno, alias Diogo Henriques, of Recife, appeared before the Lisbon Inquisitors in December 1647, being then aged twenty-six, he testified to having three younger unmarried brothers whose Christian names were Antonio, [oao, and Fernando, and that he had uncles, aunts and cousins on his father's side who lived in Ita^y. (Lisbon Inq. Archives, Torre do Tombo, No. 1770, Fo. 26, verso.) Several of Abraham Bueno's relatives bore the name de Mesquita, so that one is tempted to link him with the Bueno de Mesquitas who, as will be seen later, were to settle in Barbados as an outcome of Abraham Israel de Pisa's gold-prospecting expedition. See Appendix ix. p. 78 for a list of endenizations of the B. H. family.</page><page sequence="18">JEWS AND ROYALISTS 55 his death and burial there in 1694. Perhaps he was the author of the picturesque petition and the father of Joshua B. H., a young trader of Port Royal, Jamaica, who died there in the year 1695, and a copy of whose will is in my possession.36 To return to Sir William Davidson. Just one year after his Jewish prospectors quitted Jamaica, war was officially declared between England and the United Provinces, and for the ensuing two years King Charles's representative had rather an uncomfort? able time, being forced to live at Antwerp, Nieuport, Hamburg, and other neutral places until peace was signed at Breda in July, 1667, when the " Dutch came off worse . . . and they were . . . deprived of any hope of restoring their West Indian trade."37 Already in the autumn of 1664 the Dutch Admiral De Ruyter had fitted out a strong squadron with which he successfully attacked the English posts on the West African Coast (January, 1665), captur? ing and confiscating many English-owned slavers, and crossing the Atlantic to raid Barbados (20th April, 1665) and lay waste the Eng? lish shipping in the West Indies.38 Davidson, who was an efficient intelligencer in the English interest, would have known of De Ruy? ter's preparations, which, apart from any other factors, must have put an end to Davidson's plans for using endenizened English Jews settled in the English colonies to develop Dutch trade in those parts. On the ist March, 1665, a month before the English declared war on the Dutch, Sir William Davidson began a feud against his former Jewish partners, and Dr. Friedenwald39 has reprinted from the Calendars of State Papers two dispatches which the King was moved to send from Whitehall to the Governors of Barbados and of Jamaica respectively. Both dispatches are similarly phrased, and the one 36 See Appendix vii. p. 74. 37 See A. P. Newton, The European Nations in the West Indies, 1493-1668. (London, 1933), p. 254. 38 A. P. Newton, op. cit., p. 236. 39 Cal. S.P. Col. Am. and W.I. 1661-68, Nos. 948 and 949 (Dom. Entry Book, Charles II, vol. xiv. pp. 57, 57^, 58, and 58^). Printed in Am. J.H.S., No. 5, pp. 70, 90-92.</page><page sequence="19">5'&gt; JEWS AND ROYALISTS headed " Concerning the Jewes in ye Barbados " and addressed to Lord Willoughby, has the following preamble : Whereas Certaine Jews hereafter named have vnder pretence of a Gold Mine within some of our plantations in ye West Indies and their Ability to discover and improve the same fraudulently in? duced vs to make them free Denizens of our Kingdome of Eng? land with power to trade Every where, as our Native Subiects doe; and Whereas besides their abusing vs thereby, they have also very much wronged and damnified Our Trusty &amp; wellbeloved Servant Sr William Davidson Knt and Baronet Gentleman of our Privy Chamber in Ordinary, drawing him to great expences and falsify? ing their Oathes and promises made vnto him, as Wee are infor? med: We have therefore thought fit to declare Our pleasure con? cerning the said Jewes, that their Patent of Denization so obtained from vs is and shall be esteemed and held as Void and frustrate to all intents and purposes, and that they shall not have or receive any benefit thereby, but Contrary wise that you cause them and every one of them to make good Strangers Customes vnto vs (so far as the same may be recovered) for all the goods wherein they have traded vpon Our Island of Barbados since they had Our said Patent and then to be banished off Our said Island never to reside or trade their againe without our Expresse and particular Order on that behalfe: And our further pleasure is, that before such their banish? ment or dismission, you oblige and cause them or some of them to satisfy the said Sr William Davidson or his Correspondents (whom hee shall appoint and signify vnto you in Writing) All the disbursements which hee shall make appeare hee hath layed Out for &amp; vpon them in regard of their Transportation And the fore mentioned vndertaking or otherwise . . . The names of yc Jewes vpon that Our Island of Barbados are the said Isaac Israel de Piso, Aaron Israel de Piso with his two Sisters, and two brethren Moses and his Mother Sent thither by Abraham Cohen; The rest of that Confederacy not here named who receive benefit from Our fore mentioned Patent, the said Sir William Davidson will hereafter notify vnto you, But all yc particulars above Specified Wee recom end to your Especiall care, expecting an accompt thereof.</page><page sequence="20">JEWS AND ROYALISTS 57 The royal gift of a gold chain to young Isaac three years previously is now peremptorily revoked, the Governor of Barbados being ordered to " cause the same to be taken out of his Custody and returned to vs againe such false and faithlesse persons bein altogether vnworthy to beare or retaine any such Mark of Our Royall favour." The Jews to be expelled from Jamaica were " Beniamin Bueno de Mesquita40 with his two sons, Abraham Cohen, Jacob Vlhoa, Abra? ham Suarez." However, some or all of them contrived to remain on both Islands, and my recently published account of the Barbados Jews in the year 1680 deals in some detail with the three Bueno de Mesquitas. The Abraham Cohen who was to have been driven from Jamaica was not, I think, Davidson's Dutch partner but one Abraham Cohen Henriques, who is described ten years later on bills of lading written out in London as " Merchant in ye said Island of Jamaica." 41 He may have been the Abraham Cohen who was en denizened on the 19th August, 1688, together with three other Jewish West Indies merchants. I use the word " feud " because of a spiteful letter written by Davidson from Dordrecht on the 22nd December, 1668, to Sir Wil? liam Temple, the English Ambassador at The Hague : " the Ieues of this Country Spoyels all the trade ther in the Plantationes. In the time of the late war the King was graciously pleased to give me a licence for Six Scheps for those Islands I made bot ouse of one of them and finding I could do no good by that I retorned them all back againe to my Lord Arlington Presently after the Pace was con? cluded at Breda ..." He proceeds to give information against two ships about to sail direct from Amsterdam for Barbados in breach of 40 A year previously, on the 23rd June, 1664, Sir Geoffrey Palmer, the Attorney General, had been directed to advise the King at Whitehall as to the propriety of granting " the humble Peticon of Benjamin Bueno De Mesquita of the Portuguiz Nacon Merchant now Resident in the Isle of Jamaica." The Attorney-General reported in favour of endenization, and the actual grant bears date 24th Oct. 1664. Cal. S.P. Col. Am. and W.I. 1661-68, No. 760, pp. 216-17. Col. Papers, vol. xviii. No. 79, printed in Am. J.H.S., No. 5, pp. 69-70. 41 F. Judah, The History of the Jews in Jamaica, in The Daily Telegraph, Jamaica, issue of 29th November, 1900. (Chapter viii, " Evidence of Some Old Records," containing extracts from Liber I. of Powers, pp. 1 and 15.)</page><page sequence="21">58 JEWS AND ROYALISTS the English Acts of Navigation. It was, of course, Davidson's duty as a Trade Commissioner in the Low Countries to provide intelligence of this sort. One of the ships, a 300-tonner, called The Matthew and Francis, of London, and having an English captain, was stated by Davidson to be " fully lodent for the accompt of the lews of Amster? dam for the Barbados the lews of Amsterdam Hes a grate trade for the Barbados wher they cheated me of a considerable soume of money in the year 1662 &amp; 1663 for the which his Matie was Pleased to give order to My Lord Willoughby to banish them of those Islands as your Ex : may see by this inclosed which was at that time Sent and Put into the hands of My Lord Willoughby for execution ther of, bot to this day nothing at all doone in the busines for they Heaue grate freedome and liberty in the Barbados and caries on a grater trade ther nor Very feu in England does, it Seems they are ritch and hes much money which makes them to be the better looked upon . . ." 42 It is significant that there is no mention here of any gold mine or of losses through Jews in Jamaica, but only of a trading misadven? ture laid to the charge of the Jews of Barbados. I have turned back to Davidson's earlier career to try and discover whether as a prominent Amsterdam merchant and a " devilish malig? nant " he might not have been instrumental in getting support from the Jews for the Royalist cause. Mr. Lucien Wolf always averred that Charles II had ardent supporters among the Jews during the Inter? regnum, even among those of London,43 and statements to that effect have found their way into standard works on Anglo-Jewish history. As will be seen, however, the evidence when examined seems to point in the other direction. Moreover, the London Jews thrice petitioned Charles II when their rights were being assailed (in 1660, in 1664, and in 1674), but in making out a case for the Royal protection no claim was made that Jews, either individually or collectively, had assisted the King during the Interregnum. Indeed, the first of these peti? tions is headed, somewhat oddly, by Mistress Maria Carvajal, widow 42 Cal. S.P. Col. Am. and W.I. 1661-68, No. 1895. (Col. Papers, vol. xxiii. pp. 635-36, Nos. 98 and 99.) Printed in Am. J.H.S., No. 5, pp. 92-95. 43 Cf. Trans., i. p. 77, and No. v. pp. 152-53.</page><page sequence="22">JEWS AND ROYALISTS 59 of a man well known to have been a close associate of the Usurper. After his father's execution in January, 1649, the youthful Charles II, not yet nineteen years old, and a general object of sympathy, lived in the United Provinces for most of that year and for the first half of 1650. Davidson, who was a fervent Episcopalian, probably saw him during the protracted negotiations with the Commissioners of the Kirk sent from Scotland to treat in the interests of Presbyterian ism. In attendance on the King was Lord Lauderdale, who after? wards became the virtual ruler of Scotland and Davidson's lifelong patron, to whom most of his letters which have survived are addres? sed. In April 1650 Charles tried unsuccessfully to borrow ^50,000 from some merchants in Amsterdam for an invasion of England, and he offered them the Scilly Isles as security for their money, but neither Davidson nor any Jewish merchants are discernible in this connec? tion.44 Davidson himself seems first to have been won over to the Royalist cause by Lauderdale's rival of later days, General (afterwards Lord) Middleton. He was in touch with Davidson from March 1653, onwards, and was borrowing considerable sums in the King's name for the transport and equipment of the armed force with which he landed in Scotland in February 1654, and which was broken up by General Monck in the spring of 1655. There is a trifling scrap of evidence for September, 1655, that the needy Royalists were looking longingly towards the Netherlands Jews and had been doing so for some years past, but that it was decided by certain of the King's sup? porters after the most discreet enquiries that the Jews in the Low Countries " are in conjunction with Cromwell " and must be left alone. One year later, in September 1656, Middleton?having reported to Charles II, then at Bruges, that he had had a promising talk with some Amsterdam Jews anxious to dissociate themselves from Men asseh ben Israel's negotiations with Cromwell45?was instructed to 44 S. R. Gardiner, History of the Commonwealth and Protectorate (London, 1894 1903), vol. i. p. 224, footnote 1, and the authorities there cited. 45 The Nicholas Papers, vol. iii. pp. 44 and 51 (Camden Soc, 1897), quoted by H. S. Q. Henriques, op. cit., pp. 118-19. See also Clarendon S.P. (W. D. Macray's edition), vol. iii. p. 42, No. 125 (29th June, 1655).</page><page sequence="23">6o JEWS AND ROYALISTS approach them for a loan. The King's commission to Middleton dated 24th September, 1656, has already been printed by our Society, but it should be noted that Charles's oft-quoted promise to the Jews to " abate that rigour of the Lawes which is against them in our several dominions " is conditional on their making immediate " con? tributions of mony, Armes or Ammunicion." Moreover, in the accom? panying private instructions46 Middleton is told that if the Amster? dam Jews do nothing for the cause beyond expressing general good? will, he is not to make them any specific promises. Professor Firth, who presented these documents to our Society, says " Middleton's negotiations did not lead to any practical result." 47 In the same volume of our Transactions Mr. Wolf says precisely the opposite, viz., " that these negotiations were not without practical result is beyond question," 48 and he goes on to state " some of the wealthier Jews in London had assisted him [Charles J during his exile, especially the great family of Mendez da Costa and Augustin Coronel . . . these Jews had approached Charles at Bruges. . . . The da Costas and Coronels, as well as several other Jewish families, were exceedingly active on Charles's behalf during the last few years of the Common? wealth." I believe this to be an error, for whilst it is definitely known that representative London Jews of the period like Carvajal, Menasseh ben Israel and Simon de Caceres were trusted friends of Cromwell, no evidence is discoverable of any Anglo-Jewish Cavaliers working contemporaneously for the rival cause. The belief that the Mendez da Costas were English Royalists seems to be based entirely on an oft-quoted statement by an informer dated November, 1656, that " there is a Jew named da Costa, a great merchant in London, who hath and is presently to receive the sum of ^4,000 for the use of Charles Stewart." But it transpires on closer examination of the record49 that this information was furnished by a 46 Trans., iv. pp. 197-98. 47 Trans., iv. p. 195. 48 Trans., iv. p. 183. 49 " The lady (Apolin) Hall's " revelations about the great Jew da Costa are in vol. v. of John Thurloe's State Papers (Birch's edition) at pp. 573 and 568. One gets an illuminating view of this informant simply by reading all the references to her in the index in vol. v. (See Appendix v. p. 72.)</page><page sequence="24">JEWS AND ROYALISTS 6l crazy adventuress, daughter to an 4 4 old drunken casherde priest of whom Colonel Thomas Strangways reported at the time from Dur? ham?after she had been gaoled by his men?" I find her so great a Iyer and so great a cheate ... I shall send the slutt to Tinemouth Castle."? Certainly Augustin Coronel was concerned in the negotiations which made Catharine of Braganza Queen of England, receiving as his reward a knighthood, preceded by baptism, and leaving a desti? tute widow to be provided for by the London and Middelburg syna? gogues.51 It does not follow that he was not a loyal London citizen during Oliver's lifetime since his known Stuart activities occurred later. One of these was to borrow ^4,000 " on behalf of the King " from Alderman Back well, who claimed the sum on Coronel's bank? ruptcy in 1665. Mr. Wolf thought that this must have been the mythical da Costa loan of 1656. The State Papers make it quite clear, however, that the money was borrowed by Coronel after the Restora? tion and was passed on by him to the King?" for the supply of His Majesty's necessary occasions "?on a royal promise bearing date 8th December, 1661, to repay " from moneys expected from Portugal." 52 Altogether, it seems far likelier that any support given by English or Dutch Jews to Charles during the Rebellion took the form of lip service rather than of hard cash. Moreover, when Lord Middleton was directed by his King to negotiate with the Jews at Amsterdam in the autumn of 1656, he was also told to proceed thence to Danzig and Poland and to try and raise money from the many Scottish merchants settled there. Sir William Davidson's help was invoked in a personal letter from the King to be handed to him by Middleton, and a draft of this, bearing the royal seal, and in Sir Edward Hyde's writing, is in the Bodleian Library.53 It establishes that Davidson can hardly have been left by 50 Op. dt., pp. 577 and 668-69. 51 L. D. Barnett, Libro de los Acuerdos (Oxford, 1931), pp. 07 and 112, and Trans., vii. p. 129, No. 38. r?2 Cal. S.P. Dom., Charles II, 1661-62, vol. ii. p. 172. 53 Cal. Clarendon S.P. (W. D. Macray's edition, Oxford, 1876), vol. iii. p. 177, No. 541. See Appendix vi. p. 73.</page><page sequence="25">62 JEWS AND ROYALISTS Middleton in ignorance of the simultaneous attempt to win over the Amsterdam Jews, and it is more than likely that Davidson had a hand in the abortive negotiations. For over nine years, from 1662 until 1671, Davidson held the interesting appointment of Conservator of the Scottish Staple at Veere, near Middelburg. At this free port the merchants of Scotland had enjoyed substantial trading privileges for over two centuries, and this ancient concession, intended originally for the Wool Staplers, but extended afterwards to many other trades, was not abolished until 1795. Davidson's nine years of office were marked by a good deal of squabbling, and he fell out in turn with the City Fathers, with the Minister, and with the Scottish merchants and factors both at Veere and at home. The Rev. James Yair, who published in 1776 An Account . . . of the Staple Port in Campveere, based on documents which no longer exist, records that " there arose likewise a quarrel between him and the minister (although of the Episcopal persua? sion . . .) about his prerogatives, extent of his jurisdiction, and other things; which are to be found recorded by his order in the Court Register which I am persuaded will convince an impartial reader that neither . . . were over-loaded with humility and prudence. . . . the principles Sir William brought along with him and endeavoured upon all occasions to inculcate were extremely disagreeable to the Scottish people settled at Campveere." My own view of Sir William Davidson's character is that it was rather typical of the uncertain and variable times in which he lived. He seems to have been enterprising and fairly courageous, a kindly friend, a good family man, a keen Churchman, and a most loyal and open-handed subject of the exiled King. On the other hand, he was vain, greedy, tactless, over-bearing, over-suspicious, and cantankerous to a degree! Although he was so highly placed, he has not found a biographer, and his name, oddly enough, has escaped mention in the Dictionary of National Biography. Apart from the ancient book from which I have just quoted, there is detailed reference to him only in two modern works, both of them histories of the Scottish Staple, the one by two Scotsmen, Professor John Davidson and Mr. Alex</page><page sequence="26">JEWS AND ROYALISTS 63 ander Gray,54 and the other, a lengthier and very interesting account, by a Dutch scholar, Dr. M. P. Rooseboome, who writes in excellent English.55 In a way it is curious that the Jewish Historical Society should now be taking a hand in rescuing from oblivion the memory of a distinguished public man whose " example of constant loyalty " was, according to Rabbi Abendana, " deserving eternal remem? brance ". I have taken up a little time in referring to Davidson's connection with the Scottish Staple because of the interesting circumstance that two of its buildings are still standing and in the occupation of an English Jewess, Miss Alma Oakes. Known as Het Schotsche Huis, and used for the purpose of a local museum, Sir William Davidson's beautiful Dutch headquarters figure in all the guide books and are shown annually to a multitude of tourists from all countries, who include, I understand, numbers of Jews. 54 John Davidson and Alexander Gray, The Scottish Staple at Veere (London, 1909), pp. 222-27. 55 Matthijs P. Rooseboome, The Scottish Staple in the Netherlands (Hague, 1910). An account of Davidson's Conservatorship is in Chapter v. pp. 195-219.</page><page sequence="27">64 jews and royalists Index to Appendices. i. Haham Abendana's Dedication (1663) to Sir William Davidson. pp. 65-66. ii. Sir William Davidson's letters to Whitehall urging the naturali? zation of Daniel Bueno Henriques, the Barbados Jew. (Public Record Office.) pp. 67?68. iii. Obligation (dated London, 10th March, 1661/2) towards Lord Lauderdale of Sir William Davidson and of two Jews, his partners. (University of Edinburgh?) p. 69. iv. J. J. Bueno Henriques's petition (c. 1661) for leave to prospect for gold in Jamaica and for naturalization. (Public Record Office?) pp. 70-72. v. " The lady Hall's Information " (November, 1656) from the published " State Papers of John Thurloe " [London, 1742]. PP-72-73 vi. Charles IPs letter (September, 1656) asking Davidson's help for Middleton's mission. (Bodleian Library, Oxford.) pp. 73?74. vii. Will of Jeoshua Bueno Henriques of Jamaica, 1695. (Jamaica Probate Office.) pp. 74-75. viii. Tentative Pedigree of the Bueno Henriques family, pp. 76-77. ix. List of Endenizations of the Bueno Henriques family pp. 78-79.</page><page sequence="28">jews and royalists ('5 Appendices. l. Jacob Abendana, " Cuzary " (Amsterdam, 5423 = 1663). pp. 1-2] Dedication. (Translated from the Spanish) To the most illustrious Gentleman, William Davidsone, Knight Baronet, gentleman in ordinary of his Majesty's Privy Chamber: Conservator and Resident over his subjects of his ancient Kingdom, in the 17 Provinces : First Commissioner and Agent of his Royal Majesty of Great Britain and Ireland, in Amsterdam : Commissioner and Agent of the Royal Company of England. Most noble Sir, Presents are valued either for the goodwill with which they are offered, or for their own worth : the first motive saves this small offering I make your Worship from unworthiness, and confers on it the merit of being received by you, since the decision to offer this book to you is born of a most anxious desire to make some small demonstration of affection, and to give some slight indication of my desire to employ myself in your service, if my weak forces do not defeat my intent. Wherefore it is rather my goodwill that I offer to you than the volume. Yet the quality of the matter contained in this Work calls for wings to fly to so great a shelter, without fear of suf? fering the disabilities of boldness, nor yet be lost in flight by weight of matter, since being wholly intellectual and scientific it is wholly spirit, without body, wherefore it is assured the happiness of reaching so high a Sphere, and of being pleasing to your Worship rather than despicable. This book was originally written in Arabic by the wise R. Yeuda the Levite, father-in-law of the most learned R. Abraham Aben</page><page sequence="29">66 JEWS AND ROYALISTS Ezra; it was then translated into Hebrew by the Prince of Trans? lators, R. Yeuda Aben Tibon. The subject is a long dispute between a Gentile King and a noted Jew named R. Ysach Sanguery: in which he proves the errors of the Gentiles; destroys the false opinions of the Philosophers; gives evidence showing the ignorance of the Karaites; proves the truth of the Divine Law; teaches with arguments conform? able to reason, how it is possible for God to communicate with men and reveal His will to them; a strange and impossible thing in the eyes of the Gentiles and philosophers not enlightened with Divine light; declares that there is a particular worship by which God desires to be served, which cannot be reached by human intelligence, but by Divine revelation and precepts laid down by God Himself; in conclu? sion this excellent book contains Jewish Theology, and treats admir? ably of the principal and most weighty matters of Divine Law, with marvellous genius, and in a pleasing and agreeable style. This work being so applauded and carrying so great authority, as is notorious, I desired to publish it in the Spanish tongue with the comments I have made to elucidate the Author's words, and the subjects of which these Discourses treat; and my boldness takes wings to offer it to your Worship confiding in your generous humanity ever ready to exert itself for those who solicit its favour; heroic virtue which augments the lustre of the dignities your Worship enjoys. How well do hon? ours sit on the firm foundations of virtue! How fitting are the favours and graces bestowed by Princes on such merits of a faithful vassal! Just it is that virtue should be honoured, and merits re? warded. [The remainder of the Dedication is given in the text of this Paper at pages 40?41.]</page><page sequence="30">jews and royalists 67 11. sir william Davidson's letters to Whitehall urging the naturalization of daniel bueno henriques, a barbados jew. (Public Record Office) 1. Monsr. Williamson Chez endorsed Monsr. le Secretaire Nicolas 12 May 1662 R.5 a la Cour Whithall Londres. Sr Wm Davidson Denizaon for Daniel Bueno Emrriques. Amsterdam 12 May 1662 Sir . .. heir Is a friend a Portingall Merchand, a neir kinsman of the Port ingall Merchand Who goes for Jamaica for the discovery of the Myne ye know of Who has a brother living in the Barbados named Daniel Bueno Emrriques. Who desyres to be Naturalized and it Can not Weill be denyed seeing that the lyke is granted to others dayly, for ye Which I send you Heir Inclosit a copy of one of them for your Governe therfor you Will be pleased to speik to Mr. Secretary Nicolas to get a warrand for Naturalizing this Daniel Bueno Emrriques. Who lives at present In the Barbados, for the which Mr. Secretary shall have Sixty pound sterlings, therfor I pray you get it done and send it me and I shall come pay the Money as above said ... I am and shall remain Sr. your Loving friend and Serv. [Note.?Sealed with W.D.'s coat of arms (a good impression). ] (State Papers, Holland, Vol. 165 (fan-June, 1662). No. 197.)</page><page sequence="31">63 JEWS AND ROYALISTS 2. ... I hope that you have delyvred Mr. Doncon that bill off Naturaliz- Amsterdam, ing and that he had paid you the 7 July, 1662. 60^ sterlings. . . . (State Papers, Holland, 165 (Jan-June 1665). No. 328 : end of boo\.) 3 Amsterdam 28 July 1662 Sr My last Unto you Was the 21 Corrt. since non from you only that Mr. Doncan Wreats me that My Lord Privy Seale makes diffi? culty In Sealing the Patent of Naturalizment In respecte the Person is not ther to take the Oath of allegiance and supremacy, which Oath Can not be given In respect the Person is gone to Barbadoes, Wher he Is to give his Oath ther to Deputie Govenor &amp; Councell Which he Will Willingly gif to them he being gone ther to attend his Patent. Your loving friend and servant William Davidsone. (State Papers, Holland, Vol. 166. No. 124 or 51.) 4 Amsterdam 4th August 1662 Sr, My last Unto you Was ye 28 past since none from you. I look long for the Patent of Naturalizing Which I pray you Heasten hither as shone as possible can be, and In so doeing you Will oblidg me to remaine as I am Sr Your Loving friend and servant William Davidsone. (State Papers, Holland, 166. No. 569 or 138.)</page><page sequence="32">JEWS AND ROYALISTS 69 111. TRANSCRIPT OF THE OBLIGATION, DATED LONDON, I0TH MARCH, 1661-2. ENTERED INTO BY SIR W. DAVIDSON AND TWO JEWS, HIS PARTNERS, TOWARDS LORD LAUDERDALE. (University of Edinburgh. Laing MSS. II, 135.) I onder wrotten sr William Davidson for my selft and in name and behalf off" my partonaris neamid Abraham Israll despiso and Abraham Cohan dothe for deweris guid causes and consideraciones moving me heirto,?dous heirby promes and fathfullei oblige to pay or caus to be payit to the Right Honerabell John Erall off Lauderdaell secrattarij eastait for the kingdome off Shotland the just fyfth pairt off the proceid or freij money that schall happen to com out off the nolle Breisillia-wood and peper that his matij his bein graecoslei plasit be letter pattent to grant to us to be transportit from the Island Jamaca to his matij s king domes or domonions as also I doe feathfullei promes for my selft and in neame and behalft as foir sd to pay or caus to be payit to the sd Erall off Lauderfaill or his assenis the just and full acht pairt of the nette proceid off all the gold that schall be gotten ther as appeiris be the letter pattant this we feathfulei oblige o selves to performe without fraud or geill and that as gift all the imagnabell clauses in the worls were inset In this we holding it as firme and onder wretten this with my auane hand and seall in London the 10 day of Markhe Anno 1661/2 in the ffourtein yeir off his Matij s reing. William Davidsone for my selft and peartenaris as abov sd.</page><page sequence="33">7o JEWS AND ROYALISTS IV. TRANSLATION OF AN UNDATED SPANISH PETITION (c. l66l) BY JACOB (DE) JEOSUA BUENO HENRIQUES FOR LEAVE TO PROS? PECT FOR GOLD IN JAMAICA, AND FOR NATURALISATION. (P.R.O. Col. Papers, Vol. XV, No. 74; abridged in Cal. S.P. Col. Am. &amp; W.I., 1661-1668, No. 138, p. 48.) Jacob Josua Bueno Enriques, a Hebrew, who lived in Jamaica in the Punta de Cagoe,1 about two years, and at this time the French buccaneers came from San Domingo, and went to hunt in the said Island, and took some Spanish prisoners, amongst whom was one named Domingo Francisco Platero,2 inhabitant of the said island. Being set at liberty he came several times to my house at Punta de Cagoe, and on asking him various things about the island, he infor? med me that there was in a certain place a copper mine, which the said Platero2 used to work during the time of the Spaniards, and when they had experimented with it and found it productive, the English came along and took possession of the said island. This same man in? formed me of the whereabouts of this mine, but I was not able to go to draw a design of the said mine, because the enemy were going about the country at that time in the island. And also that it might not be discovered before coming to England and obtaining licence to consider the manner of working it, and wishing also to obtain licence, it came to the knowledge of my lord Belemi that I was in possession of the said story, and caused me to be summoned by a certain Hebrew, named Munuel de Fonsecca, who is now living in London in the house of the Spanish Ambassador, to interpret as he knows the 1 Cagvvay Point, afterwards called Port Royal. 2 ' Platcro ' means silversmith, but the word seems to have been used in the petition as a surname.</page><page sequence="34">JEWS AND ROYALISTS JI English language." Hearing my story and all the information I could give him, he wished to act in concert with me, and that one should find the said mine through the information given and should go to Jamaica, and that Your Majesty should make him General of America and not of Jamaica, and he would obtain from your Majesty that I should have all the freedom and lands that I should desire, and that I should be provided with sufficient negroes to make plantations or whatever I should wish, and that the said Belemi4 should stand all the expenses, and give me free of cost a third of what I should draw out. If the mines should be found, I would work them in conformity to the above. At this time an Act of Parliament decreed that ho foreigners could do any business in the conquests of England, without first becoming naturalized.;&gt; In addition to this, the merchants of London made petitions to the effect, that all the Jews who were within the boundaries of Your Majesty's kingdom should be ejected.6 Accordingly I determined to come to see Italy and with the information I possess whether I could obtain from Your Majesty permission to go to the island of Jamaica at my own expense, and see if I could discover the said mine, and if it should so happen that I discover it, and can work or sell it, giving to Your Majesty ten percent, and that in the surrounding lands nobody from Spain should inhabit more than 200 acres. Moreover, I petition that you naturalize myself, my brothers Joseph and Moses Bueno Enriques and that we may follow our laws, and have synagogues confirmed by Parliament. If Your Majesty 3 For Manoel (alias Jacob) da Fonseca Meza, a cousin of Carvajal, " The First English Jew," see Trans, i. pp. 56, 59, 70, and 87, and v. p. 8. He was endenizened in 1661 (there is a double entry?as Emanuel on the 19th April and as Jacob on the 30th May), being " born overseas in the Kingdom of Spaine." 4 No person of importance named Bellamy seems to have been on Jamaica during 1658 and 1659. If the negotiations took place in Great Britain?shortly before the petitioner went to Italy?then the would-be patron might have been Lord Bellenden, who in 1661 was Lauderdale's right-hand man in the Government of Scotland. According to the Dictionary of National Biography (vol. iv. p. 89) he " was noted for his violent and overbearing manners." 5 The Navigation Act of 1660 (12 Car. II, cap. 18). 6 30th November and 7th December, 1660.</page><page sequence="35">yi jews and royalists should wish to be informed of my character, it can be done through General Dall and other officials, who were in office at that time from 1658 to 1659, in the said isle where I lived honorably. In Jamaica the English used to call me the French Jew, and further information can be given by an Englishman, named Peter Pino, who was a banker in Jamaica7 and learn that the said Domingo Francisco gave me the information about the mines . . . etc.8 Jacob Jeosua Bueno Enriquez. v. Thos. Birch. " A Collection of the State Papers of John Thurloe " {London, 1742). Vol. V. p. 572. Information of the lady Hall November 7, 1656. The lady Hall informeth, that there is a Jew, named da Costa, a great merchant in London, who hath and is presently to receive the sum of 4000 /. for the use of Charles Stewart. ... to prove this she saith she will produce four good witnesses. p. 578. The lady Hall's Information, November 6, 1656. She saith, that there is a Jewish merchant, that hath a fine house near London, well known to his highness whose name is da Costa, which hath and is to receive very shortly the sum of 4000 /. for the use of Charles Stewart. This she will prove by good testimony. p. 577. Col. Tho. Strangwayes to Secretary Thurloe, 8 Nov. 1656. Durham. She was a great cheate in London her father ... the old drinken casherde priest... I find her so great a Iyer and so great a cheate . . . 7 Not traced. ,s This closing " etc." seems proof that the document is not an original.</page><page sequence="36">jews and royalists 73 pp. 668-9. Col. Tho. Strangwayes to Secretary Thurloe, 1 Dec. 1656. Durham. " this wicked woman called the lady Hall ... I shall send the slutt to Tinemouth Castle " " hir father ... is a deboy steed ejected priest " Vol. V, Index, under letter ' H ' : Hale1 lady, her information touching several of King Charles's agents, 572, 578 Examined by Col. Strangways, 576 Suspected for a cheat, ibid. Further account of her behaviour, 577 Her father examined, ibid. Her letter to Col. Strangways, ibid. An intercepted letter from her husband, 595 Character of her, her father, and husband, 688 Proceedings in relation to her, ibid. &amp; seq. vi. CHARLES Il's LETTER (SEPTEMBER 1656) ASKING DAVIDSON^ , HELP FOR MIDDLETON's MISSION. (Bodleian Library, Clarendon S.P. No. 541; abridged in W. D. Macray's " Calendar of Clarendon State Papers " (Oxford, 1876) Vol. Ill, p. 177.) The King by Middleton to Davison. September, 1656 (endorsed). Sr. William Davison; Middleton will tell you what he is now goinge about, in which he will depende very much upon your advize, and the assistance you can give him, I shall say no more to you, but 1 In the text this is " Hall " and her letter is signed " Apolin Hall."</page><page sequence="37">74 JEWS AND ROYALISTS that I hope the tyme is drawinge on, in which you will receave the fruite of all your labours, and of the affection which you have so constantly shewed to my service, I pray consider well of what Middle ton sayes to you, and give him all the helpe you can, and ingage as many of your friends in other places as you can to do the like, for which th^y [erased] you and they shall receave the hearty thankes of your affectionate friend (Draft by Sir Edward Hyde and endorsed by him, but sealed in red with a small Royal signet.) vii. TRANSLATION OF THE PORTUGUESE WILL OF JEOSHUA BUENO HENRIQUEZ OF JAMAICA, 1695. In the name of the Blessed God Amen. Will and last wishes. 1, Jeoshua Bueno Henriquez, being sick ... do make these disposi? tions being sound in mind. In case God should take me hence, it is my wish that the dispositions below-mentioned be carried out, I commending my soul unto my Creator, asking pardon for my sins. It is my wish that my Body be buried in the Beth Ahaim in Legovia among my brethren. I declare that all the Mulatto girls which are in my house in Puerto Royal are to belong to my friend, Jacob Correa, whom I appoint my Executor &amp; Administrator of all my Real and Personal Estate. It is my desire that after having adjusted my Books and Accounts, the following instructions be carried out: 2. The old hoop-ring be delivered to my dear Mother Deborah Buena Henriquez for my dear Cousin1 Hannah Buena Henriquez; 1 It will be seen from Appendix viii that the testator was married to his Cousin Hannah. Probably he had given her her freedom before setting out alone on the hazardous voyage to Barbados, but with the intention that the divorce should be inoperative should they come together again. This was a usual practice among Jews.</page><page sequence="38">jews and royalists 75 and the residue of my Estate, after payment of my debts, to go to my dear Mother Deborah Buena Henriquez and my dear Cousin Hannah Buena Henriquez, whom I make my joint equal heirs. 3. ^5 shall be distributed to the Poor, and after 30 days a further ^5 to Dr. Isaac Sousa, who shall pray for pardon for my sins, and that my soul be gathered to glorious rest. As I have already stated, I appoint my friend, Jacob Correa, as my Executor and Adminis? trator, in witness whereof I put my seal, in the presence of the wit? nesses whose signatures are below, in Jamaica, St. Jago de la Vega, the . . . June 1695. Signed: ]. Bueno Henriquez. Witnesses: Abraham Gomez Porto. Jacob Pereira. St. Jago De La Vega June 28th. There personally came and appeared before me Abraham Gomez Porto and Jacob Perera and made oath on the five books of Moses that they were present and saw the Testator being then of sound mind &amp; memory signe seal publish and declare the above written to be the last Will and Testament of him the sd Josuah Bueno Hcnrriquez. Wm. Beeston. (Island Record Office, Jamaica. Liber of Wills 8 folio 138. Entered August gth, 1695.)</page><page sequence="39">pq 5/5 W I E W H ? * S ? g w &lt;: C t3 ? 5 o 2 :? .-? J WO? n cj ? ~ 3 J.?? is ?.2 g -1 W .2 ? * &gt; S o S O ? " o ? O C Oh CJ i ? S 3 ? ?5 c ? &lt;u o 2 -fi o On ? : &lt; ?&lt;3 ? ^7, 3 -S CQ I IT ??S.sg3:834i.s SI PQ o &lt; PQ ? pq Q &lt; - g' ?j ^-^ 2 ^ S g ^ ~ ell O ^ cj ~ S-e pq OC m TS ' o .Sj -?PQ J ^PQ . W ON Q pq Q 0 -O JZ w D pq w o? 5 S -1 C?vo c P4 .S ? ?fei ^ o 2 c O w c &lt; 5 S3 ? ? Q ?tt .S 5.1 ig pq '5 "S ^ -CJ 3 2 21 S S goo CJ &lt; n</page><page sequence="40">JEWS AND ROYALISTS 77 1 Lived from c. 1657-58 in Barbados, and married Sarah de Acosta of Barbados. His household numbered three in 1680, and he had no children. When endenizened 24. 7. 1661 he was described as " of Seville ", and on 5. 9. 1662 as " a Portuguese ". 2 Endenizened 23. 7 1669 (? m Jamaica) and described as "of Bayonne." On Barbados in 1679. Again endenizened jointly with Abraham Baruch Henriques and Alfonso Rodrigues, both of Barbados in 16. 12. 1687. Married Rachael -. See Note supra. 3 Married Deborah -. In Jamaica, 1658-59, and called " the French Jew." Probably in London at the end of 1661. On 23. 7. 1669 were endenizened Jacob and Joshua B. H. together with Samuel Alvares, Moses and Abraham B.H., all natives of Bayonne. (Jacob (? de) Jeosua B.H. may be identical with Jacob B.I I. buried in Mile End on 9 Ab. 1694.) 4 Mentioned in 1661 as Jacob (? de) Jeosua B.H.'s brother. r&gt; Apparently the first B.H. to settle in Amsterdam and figuring in its congrega? tional records from 1657 onwards. Married Rachel-who died in 1682. In the same year he married Judith dc Abraham Lopes Melhado. He is mentioned in 1661 as Jacob (? de) Jeosua's brother. Active in the Amsterdam congregation from 1657 until his death there in 1702, but nevertheless probably identical with M.B.H. " of Bayonne," who was one of those endenizened (? in Jnmaica) on 23. 7. 1669. G Flourished in Amsterdam from 1659 until his death in 1686 (20 Elloel 5446). His wife was probably Rebecca Bucno, who died there in 1683. They seem to have reached Amsterdam after their marriage. 7 In Amsterdam between 1659 ano^ 1676. Endenizened in 1669. 8 This Jacob B.H. may have been identical with Jacob B.H. Junr. who became endenizened in 1687, probably in Barbados. 9 Endenizened on 9. 3. 1694 with six other Barbados Jews. 10 Married in Amsterdam in 1691. Compare Notes 3 and 7 supra. Probably endenizened 11.10. 1687. 11 Married in 1691, aged 12. 12 Abraham B.H. was in Amsterdam as a young student in 1683 and is named in De Barrios' Poems. He married Sara de Moses Alvares in 1691 (7 Tamuz 5450), and is traceable in Amsterdam congregational records until 1726. There is no record of his being buried there.</page><page sequence="41">78 jews and royalists ix. LIST OF ENDENIZATIONS OF THE BUENO HENRIQUES FAMILY. W. A. Shaw, " Letters of Denization and Acts of Naturalization for Aliens, i603-1700 " {Publications of the Huguenot Society of London, Vol. XVIII). Denizations. p. 86] Patent Roll. 13 Car. II. 1661. July 24. Daniel Bueno Henriques Merchant, native of Sevile in Spain, and resident in Spain. p. 89] Patent Roll. 14 Car. II, Part 2. 1662. Sept. 5. Daniel Bueno Enriques A Portuguese. p. 103] Patent Roll. 21 Car. II, Part 9. 1669. Sept. 1. Jacob Bueno Henriques Joshua Bueno Henriques Moses Bueno Henriques Abraham Bueno Henriques [One other Jew] Aliens born, natives of Bayonne. The docquet of this grant is dated 23rd July, 1669. See also S.P. Dom. Entry Book, XXX, p. 161. See also S.P. Dom. Docquets, XXIV, No. 74. The entry in the Signet Office Docquet Book is dated August, 1669, with the memorandum " this passed by immediate warrant with some alterations</page><page sequence="42">jews and royalists 79 p. 182] Patent Roll, i James II, Part 6. 1687. Oct. 11. Jacob Bueno Henriques, Jnr. Joshua Bueno Henriques [Four other Jews] Aliens born with all rights granted by the late King to distressed Protestants, who by reason of the severities, &amp;c. &amp;c. &amp;c. p. 196] S.P. Dom. Car. II. Entry Boo\, 67. 1687. Dec. 16. Abraham Bueno Henriques [Together with a large number of Huguenots and a few other Jews.] p. 234] Patent Roll. 6 William &amp; Mary, Part 1. S.P.D. Warrant Boo\, XXXVIII, p. 496. 1693-4. Mar. 9. Joseph Bueno Henriques [Six other Jews] Aliens born with all rights, immunities and advantages. Bibliographical Note. For the general history of the period I have used mainly : G. L. Beer, The Old Colonial System (New York, 1912). S. R. Gardiner, History of the Commonwealth and Protectorate, 1649?1660 (London, 1894?1903). V. T. Harlow, A History of Barbados 1625-1685 (Oxford, 1926). A. P. Newton, The European Nations in the West Indies 1493-1688 (London, 1933). W. S. S.</page></plain_text>