The Settlement of Jews in Gibraltar, 1704-1783

<plain_text><page sequence="1">The Settlement of Jews in Gibraltar, 1704?1783* MESOD BENADY 1. Gibraltar becomes British 1704 In May 1704, the combined Anglo-Dutch fleet sailed from Lisbon for the Mediterranean. Britain, Holland, Portugal, and Austria were at war against France and Spain in support of the candidature of the Archduke Charles (the son of the Emperor of Austria) to the Spanish throne, in opposition to Philip V, grandson of Louis XIV of France. The fleet was com? manded by Sir George Rooke, with the Dutch Admiral van der Dussen second in command, and was under instructions to co-operate with the Duke of Savoy, engage the French fleet if possible, and alarm the Spanish coast. The fleet appeared off Barcelona but did not have the friendly reception anticipated and was unable to capture the town, so it continued its cruise along the coast of Spain with a view to attacking Cadiz again, but on 28 July at a Council of War held in the bay of Tetuan it was decided that in view of the difficulty expected in capturing Cadiz (as had been demonstrated during the attempt made in 1702) Gibraltar, the subsidiary target, which was strongly fortified but weakly garrisoned, should be attacked instead. After being invested by sea and land and subjected to bombardment by the fleet, the fortress capitulated; not to the allied admirals, but to a Marshal of the Austrian Empire, Prince George of Hesse Darmstadt, who was the pretender Charles's represen? tative aboard the fleet, with the title of Viceroy of the Kingdom of Aragon.1 Under the terms of capitulation most of the inhabi? tants left the town, and the allies occupied a city in which there were at most 70 civilians left, and which was cut off from the interior. Prince George was in command and he was faced with two problems: one was to prepare the fortress for the attack which he knew would soon come from the Spanish and French, and the other to find ways and means of keeping the town supplied. He had ten weeks to prepare to deal with the first problem, and he spent the time in build? ing additional fortifications and batteries along the northern side of the Rock to guard the approaches from the Spanish mainland, but the difficulty in obtaining supplies was to be a perennial problem and * Mr. Benady delivered a paper to the Jewish Historical Society of England, on the Jews in eighteenth-century Gibraltar, on 7 June 1978, and he has combined material from it with some of the contents of a lecture also on Gibraltar which he gave to the Society in 1958, to form this published version.. an important factor in the shaping of the history of Gibraltar from then on. Knox, the British Commissary of Supplies, reported on October 23: 'The whole of this garrison is about 2,600 souls including inhabitants which I vic tuall and have no more left than will last above 10 week at short allowance from this time.'2 The fleet landed what supplies it could and Prince George encouraged ships from all countries to call at Gibraltar by declaring it a free port. John Methuen, the British Ambassador in Lisbon, was very conscious of the importance to British trade of retaining Gibral? tar and keeping Prince George provided with supplies and money from Lisbon, but it was obvious that for fresh provisions and building materials Morocco was the nearest and best source. Prince George did his best to maintain a friendly correspondence with the Emperor Mulay Ismael, who at this juncture was in Tangier, and the Alcaide Aly Benandola, who com? manded the Moroccan forces besieging Ceuta. Hints were dropped that when Charles III ruled Spain, that fortress would be returned to the Moroccans. The best intermediaries were priests and Jews. The newly appointed Proveedor for Charles Hi's forces, Joseph Cortizos, a Dutch Jew of Marrano (New Christian) origin, who still had relatives in Spain, including his uncle, the Viscount de Valdefuentes, was sent to Mor? occo, to purchase grain and horses. In December a special British emissary also arrived in Tangier, the shadowy figure of'the Jew Israel Jones'.3 Right through the ensuing siege, which lasted from October 1704 until May 1705, Gibraltar was kept supplied from Britain, Portugal, and Morocco. In August 1705, the combined fleets sailed from Gibraltar with the Archduke Charles, Prince George, and the bulk of the available forces, under the Earl of Peterborough, to carry the war to the coasts of Cata? lonia and Valencia. Gibraltar was henceforth neglected. 'We want all most every thing but sault provisions; my Lord Peterborough has not left men enough to do the daily duty of the garrison', lamented the Governor on August 19.4 A few days after Gibraltar had been captured Prince George had appointed his lieutenant, Henry Nugent, Count of Val de Soto, an Irish Catholic who had served with him in Hungary and Spain, to be Gover? nor of the fortress, but this was not received very kindly by Brigadier-General Fox, of the Marines, who was the senior British officer at Gibraltar. Methuen 87</page><page sequence="2">88 Mesod Benady commented, 'the consequence of the place to England seems to require an English garrison ... I could wish that with regards the Government of that Place in Particular had been put in the hands of an Englishman and which I think ought yet to be in a handsom manner endeavoured'.5 When Nugent was mortally wounded by a shell in November,6 Prince George, after consultation with the Earl of Galway in Portugal, appointed an English officer, Brigadier-General John Shrimpton, the Major of the 1st Guards, to be Governor of Gibraltar on behalf of the Pretender Charles HI with the rank of major-general in the Spanish army. Shrimpton's appointment was confirmed by Charles and he was left in command of Gibraltar when the fleet sailed in August 1705; but he was away from his duties for long periods and the charge of the place reverted to the senior British officer, Colonel Roger Elliott, although there was a Dutch brigadier-general in the garrison. When Shrimpton died in England in December 1707, Elliott was promptly gazetted Governor of Gibraltar by Queen Anne.7 Prince George had been killed in the fighting at Barcelona the previous year and there was nobody in Charles's entourage to take an interest in the place. The fortress was only kept going by supplies and reinforcements sent by the British Government from England and Portugal. Gibraltar was now a de facto British colony, although it did not become so de jure until the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. II. Jews in Gibraltar before Utrecht, 1705-1712 Colonel Joseph Bennett, who was the chief military engineer at Gibraltar from 1704 to 1713, in his report to the Inspectors of the Army in 1712, made this comment: 'That in a short time after the place was declared an open port, many people came from all parts to reside in it, and gave any money for houses, both in large fines and heavy monthly rents.' It is not clear whether Bennett was referring to the declaration of Gibraltar as a free port by Prince George of Hesse in 1704, or the subsequent reaffirma tion by Queen Anne in an Order in Council of Febru? ary 1706, which confirmed that the port of Gibraltar was open to ships of all nations and all goods could be imported, regardless of their place of origin. Cer? tainly, by 1707 there were in Gibraltar a few English merchants; a number of Genoese, a people who had been seasonal workers along this coast for centuries; and a large number of Jews, mostly from Barbary, but some from elsewhere.8 The Spanish Lieutenant Francisco Perez de Padilla reported to the Inspectors of the Army: 'any person that kept a Shop, Tavern, or sold any Goods openly they were obliged to pay to Major Bucknall [the Town Major], if they were Spaniard 1 Pistole per month; if Genoese a Moeda of Gold per month, and if Jews 2 Moedas of Gold per month; and when thought fitt to raise a large sum from thejews, there was an order on the church door with the names of about 4 or 5 at a time, ordering them immediately to leave the Towne; which they not being willing to do, were obliged to raise two or three Moedas of Gold each man for leave to stay, which was paid to Major Buck? nall'.9 Brigadier-General Roger Elliott's10 peremptory behaviour was objected to by the Emperor of Mor? occo, Mulay Ismael, who cut off essential supplies to the garrison. Presumably, the Emperor's interest in these proceedings was aroused by his treasurer and man of business, Moses ben Hattar, who had suc? ceeded his father as Nagid, or leader, of the Jewish community of Sale in 1701. He never settled in Gibral? tar himself, but had inportant business interests there, and conducted much of his master's purchases from abroad through his agents at Gibraltar. Finding himself short of supplies, Bennett had to go to Morocco to negotiate a resumption of trade. He reported: 'the true reason that Gibraltar was made a free port was the Emperor of Morocco having received complaints of the Moorish Jews in Gibraltar, would not allow timber, lime and bricks, etc., for the fortifications, until the Queen made it a free port as well for Moors as for Jews. The Emperor of Morocco said this in a letter to me when I went to Barbary with the Queen's letter to procure these materials.'11 The Jewish traders and workmen from Morocco settled in some numbers and in a few years they formed half of the civilian population. The list of rents collected by the Governor from immigrants in 1712 (a number of Spaniards owned freeholds, and of course did not pay rents) attributed him with a revenue of 886 dollars, of which over half came from Jews who are listed as follows: 'Sehor Nieto 6; Sehor Amaro 4; Sehor Mattias 10; Sehor Benamore 8; 2 young merchant Jews in the Great Street (called Cardozo) 12; Moses Nementon 6; 2 Jews near the Great Church 12; Benjamin the Jew 4; The Jews Taylor at the Corner of the Parade 4; 28 Jews Shops in the Great Street 118; All other Jews cannot be known but supposed to pay 300: 484.' It will be seen that apart from Jews from Morocco there were some from Leghorn (Nieto), Portugal (Cardozo), and there were even Marranos from Spain.12 In his deposition to the Military Inspectors in 1713, the Franciscan friar, Father Balbuena, complained that</page><page sequence="3">The Settlement of Jews in Gibraltar, 1704-1783 89 he had been expelled from Gibraltar: 'more for want of money than on the cause of religion . . . And to confirm this opinion is, that coming a Physician from Spain a Jew very able and utile for the good of the garrison, was likewise turned out of the Town with me, under the pretence of his having circumcized and married in the Town, and they demanded off him eighty Moidores of gold for to remain in the Town and he would give but thirty. And he not complying with their demand he was turned out and went to Amsterdam.' Unfortunately he does not give the name of the 'utile physician' but he does mention that in the nego? tiations with the Governor to try to lift the order of expulsion against him he had employed 'a Jew called Ximenes', who acted as intermediary.13 There were a Francisco and a Diego Ximenes among the Spaniards who remained in 1704; was one of these the man referred to, or was Ximenes another early Marrano settler in Gibraltar? We do not know, as he cannot be otherwise identified, but the interesting thing is that relations between Jews and Roman Catholics in Gibraltar in the eighteenth century were on the whole good. There were no inter-communal incidents, nor the acrimonious exchanges between the Roman Cath? olic clergy and Jews that were a common picture of life in Minorca during the same period. Nevertheless, there were those who objected. Col? onel Bennett wrote: 'The Jews come daily in great numbers from Barbary, Leghorn and Portugal to inquire into every particular circumstance of the place, they have their correspondents abroad; those from Barbary have raised the price of provisions to a very great degree; and indulged by their paying high fines and rents, so that they have some of the best houses in the town.'14 In the following year the officers of the 5th and 13th Regiments of Foot complained. 'That the Jews, Genoese and Greeks [sic], get the best homes because they can afford to pay a high premium',15 and several British widows and 'other poor people who were inhabitants of Gibraltar' complained that as well as being deprived of the 'best houses' they were not allowed to go out to the Market till 9 o'clock but 'the Genoese, Spaniards and Jews had leave to go ... as soon as the Gates were open by which method such Jews and Genoese engrossed the whole trade and the poor English were in a starving circumstance'.16 III. The treaty of Utrecht and the Expulsion of thejews, 1713-1718 The War of the Spanish Succession was drawing to a close; all the Spaniards, apart from the Catalans, had rallied behind Philip V, who in spite of his foreign habits and psychology had managed to establish him? self in their minds as a defender of national unity and dignity. France was exhausted by the physical and financial pressures of maintaining a war against vir? tually the whole of Europe, and in October 1710 there were general elections in Britain in which the Whigs, who had prosecuted the war with great vigour, lost their majority to the Tories, who were all for making peace. The new Ministry's hand was strengthened when in December the British forces in the Peninsula were defeated at Brihuega and Lieutenant-General James Stanhope was taken prisoner. On 17 April 1711, the Emperor Joseph of Austria died and was succeeded by his brother the Archduke Charles, the pretender to the Spanish throne; and after Philip V had been per? suaded to renounce his claims to the crown of France in November, thus avoiding the possible danger of the union of France and Spain, the way was open for a general peace. The British forces were withdrawn from the Peninsula and a peace congress opened at Utrecht in January 1712. The British delegates to the Congress were instructed 'to have the Asiento and to keep Port Mahon and Gibraltar . . . from these three points no extremity shall oblige her to depart'; and with the withdra wl of the Dutch troops from Gibral? tar in March, the way was open for the formal cession ofthat fortress to Britain.17 The Treaty of Utrecht, after long and protracted negotiations, was concluded in April 1713, although it was not signed until the following August. Article X provided for the cession 'to the crown of Great Britain the full and entire propriety of the Town and Castle of Gibraltar, together with the port, fortifications, and forts thereunto belonging,' but not the extensive 'ter minos' which covered large areas of the surrounding countryside that now form the municipalities of Alge ciras, San Roque, Los Barrios, and La Linea. There was reference to thejews: 'and her Britannic Majesty at the request of the Catholic King does consent and agree that no leave shall be given under any pretence what? soever either to Jews or Moors to reside or have their dwellings in the said town of Gibraltar', although Dartmouth, the Secretary of State, had tried to avoid having this condition inserted in the treaty: 'His Cath? olic Majesty, has no right to intermeddle in the Affairs of Religion or any other matter whatsoever relating to the Government of those places' he had written; but the Spaniards were adamant, 'about the Jews and Moors they put to know their care for religion'.18 On 28 November 1713, the British Ambassador in Madrid, Lord Lexington, wrote to Lieutenant Governor Congreve at Gibraltar, informing him that</page><page sequence="4">90 Mesod Benady the Queen wanted Article X of the Treaty to be 'scrupulously observed' and Congreve reported to the Secretary of State that he had had discussions with Lieutenant-Colonel Perez, who commanded the Spanish troops at the frontier about 'how we were to have Provisions from the Country, and Conserning the Moors and Jews. . . that they should all be gon Immeadiately, and upon this subject, I begg leave to give yr Lrdship this short Account of them, of the Moors, seldom, or ever any have bin here, and then, only just come, and goe, and of the Jews there are about one hundred and fifty, two thirds of which are Natives of Barbary and the rest some from England, and Holland, but most from Italy, and as they have dealings in all parts, yor Lordship will soon judge the Loss their Correspondents must have, if they are sent away without settleing their Accounts, and paying what they owe, for want of a reasonable time, allow'd them for this purpose'.19 Bolingbroke replied: 'It is. . . the Queen's pleasure that you do not suffer under any pretence whatsoever, any Jews or Moors to inhabit at Gibraltar, and that you take care, that such as are at present settled there, do within the space of a Month, from the receipt of these Orders, make up their accounts, remove or otherwise dispose of their Effects &amp; Transport their Persons and Familys from thence. They will have no reason to complain that the Term limitted for their removal is too short, when it shall be considered that they have had for several Months already knowledge of what is stipulated relating to them.'20 On 13 May 1714, Congreve reported that all Jews had been removed 'except six principalle Jews of Barbary kept as hostages upon petition of English merchants to James Wishart',21 but they either returned or others took their place, for the truth was that thejewish merchants in Gibraltar were too im? portant to the garrison for them to be dispensed with altogether. Supplies were a big problem. Provisions were sent from England, but never enough, for as Commissary of Stores John Conduit explained in 1714: 'The three months supply sent from England only lasted 9 weeks because it was for 1500 men only but 2000 persons are victualled, the officers receiving provisions for their wives, children and servants that are on the spot and the Spaniards for themselves and their families.' And if any of the supply ships were wrecked or delayed, as happened in July 1715, when the ship John and Ann did not arrive, the garrison had to be put on short rations, for supplies were not available from Spain. In 1715 several peasants from the Camp area were shot for selling provisions to the fortress, so Morocco was therefore an important standby.22 What was more, the Jews conducted an important entrepot trade with that country which added to the affluence of the small garrison town and the Gover? nor's revenue. Matters stood still while relations between Britain and Spain were distant, but these began to improve. Colonel Stanhope Cotton took over as Lieutenant Governor in 1716 and for the next couple of years the relations between the two countries were excellent. Cotton travelled out to Gibraltar via Madrid, where he spent some weeks. During his time there he dis? cussed the question of supplies from Spain being allowed freely across the border and he was enjoined to enforce the requirements of the Treaty of Utrecht. But Cotton did not act precipitately.23 In 1717 Francisco Garcia Caballero was appointed Spanish Consul at Gibraltar and the Bishop of Cadiz, Don Lorenzo Armengual de la Mota, visited the for? tress with a large retinue, which included his secretary and his steward. Although Don Lorenzo declined Cotton's invitation to stay at the Convent, some of his retinue did stay there, and he himself dined daily with the Lieutenant-Governor 'and with many English gentlemen and officers who treated him most cour? teously and with their usual tact and urbanity', he later reported. The Consul had revealed that, contrary to the pro? visions of the Treaty of Utrecht, there was a substan? tial Jewish community in Gibraltar; which he put at 300, with a synagogue in the Calle de Juan de Sierra (Engineer Lane), perhaps near the site of the present synagogue of Shahar Hashamayim, and the situation was highlighted by the Bishop's visit. The Spanish Ambassador in London lodged a formal complaint.24 The commander of the Straits Squadron, Vice Admiral Cornwall, now took a hand. He objected to Cotton sheltering thejews and accused him of taking bribes. In fact, the Jewish merchants had several times offered sweeteners to the Lieutenant-Governor and the Town Major, Major Thomas Fowke. Both made depositions before the Deputy Judge Advocate at Gibraltar that they had not accepted presents from the European and African Jews, and in support of this, in October 1717, got the leading Jewish merchants to swear on oath that no presents had been received. These last depositions were made in two sections, one in English by the European merchants and signed by Manuel Diaz Arias, Moses Mocatta, Isaac Cardozo Nunez, Imanuel Seneor, Isaac Netto; and another in Spanish, by the Moroccan Jews, signed by Saml. Alevy ben Suffat, Solomon ben Amor, Joseph Bibas, Abraham ben Amara, Reuben Curiose, Ehuda Azuelos, Saml. Faxima, Saml. Shananes.25 Cotton also sent to the Secretary of State 'The</page><page sequence="5">The Settlement of Jews in Gibraltar, 1704-1783 91 Humble Memorial' he had received from 'Manuel Diaz Arias, an English Jew Marc't.' which asks for an extension of time, as his affairs were in such a state that a hurried departure would lead to his and some Lon? don merchants' financial undoing. He points out he had been resident in Gibraltar since 1713 and had settled here 'Upon the Incouragment that her Latte Majesty Queen Ann Pleased to Grantt to all Marchtts. and Traders Thatt would come to Satle in Gibraltar'. He goes on to ask that 'yr. Honr. will be Pleased To Take Intto Consideration My Circumstancys, and Distinguis' me from all The Restt Being an English Man and freeman of London. That I doe and have supplyd Mr. Vere, Agent Victualer, Mr. Wm. Sherer, and John Conduit esq. and Mr. Robt. Hill, Paymrs. with The money they wanted towards The Subsis? tence of the Garrison. As it apear By ye Certificats Anexed And Humbly Begg ye Favour of yr. Honour, to grant me Three Months Longer in This Place while I have an answer from my English Marchtts. In order to Dispose of Their Effects and Receive Their Moneys Due to Them.'26 The petition was accompanied by affidavits from Sherer and Hill testifying to the truth of Arias's state? ments, but the British Government was determined to stand by its Treaty obligations and gave Cotton in? structions that there were to be no further extensions. Cotton still procrastinated and Cornwall reported on 31 January 1718: 'I concluded that all the Jews had been remov'd as I wrote you in my Letter of ye 15 of November; but to my great surprise I am inform'd, that there are not only some remain yet within the Town, but many yt only lye on board a vessell in the Mold, who are allow'd to Trade notwithstanding His Majtys express commds to ye contrary.' With Cornwall checking on his every action, Cot? ton was forced reluctantly and at some considerable personal financial loss to comply with his instructions. Writing hastily to Addison two days after Cornwall's letter, he reported: 'I flatter myself that my conduct in relation to the Jews will meet with the same success, having strictly complyd with what is stipulated in the 10th Article of the Treaty of Utrecht, By removing both from the Towne and Bay the Jews of all Nations one only excepted, whom at the request of some English Mer? chants his Creditors, is still detained as a prisoner for a few day's longer he expecting by one of our Men of War goods sufficient to discharge his debts as this Ship is hourly expected he shall on her arrival instantly depart.' Thejews had been finally expelled and when Cot? ton left for London via Madrid in February, in his written instructions to Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Godbey, who was left in charge of the garrison, he admonished: 'I must recommend to you, that upon no account whatsoever you suffer Jews of any Nation to reside here.'27 Admiral Cornwall improved the shining hour by committing 'Hostilities ... on that [Moroccan] Coast, his interrupting Brimstone and other Contra? band Goods belonging to Jews who were concern'd as Agents for Persons of the greatest Interest at the Court of the Emperor of Morocco.' These Agents were presumably Ben Hattar's and the cargoes must have been intended for the Emperor, who reacted sharply at this threat to his interests. He declared he was at war with Britain and put a stop to trade with Gibraltar and England. Nevertheless, the Moroccan Court main? tained a friendly correspondence with those British merchants who were acting as factors in Moroccan ports. Moses Mocatta, now back in London, petitioned to be allowed to resume the large trade with Morocco he had conducted hitherto: 'To the Kings Most Excellent Majesty, the hum? ble petition of Moses Mocatta of London, Mercht. SHOWETH That having carried on a correspondence with some Merchants settled at Gibraltar for Conveniency of the Trade with Barbary, Did for several years send great quantities of British Cloath and other British Manufactures and those being bartered with the Moors for the Commodities of the Growth of Barbary had Communicated and Enlarged a con? siderable Trade with the Bay of Tetuan a Port belonging to the Emperor of Morocco within the Streights of Gibraltar. That your Petitioner by his Agents had Con? tracted last year for Great Parcells of British Cloath and other British Manufactures with severall Moor? ish Merchants and also with the Bashaw of Tetuan for the use of the Emperor of Morocco to a very great Vallue and have sent the British Goods Most of which were Transported to Tetuan and the Remainder are now at Gibraltar, your Petitioners said Agents, not being permitted to fetch them: nor bring over from Tetuan to Gibraltar the Barbary Goods so Bartered, there being a strict Prohibition of Trade and Communication between these Ports, No Letters permitted to pass, By which Interrup? tion Your Petitioner, cannot be informed of the Circumstances of his Concensus and by such long Detention is rendered uncapable of giving Satisfac? tion to his Credit and for large sums Contracted. Therefore your Petitioner humbly prays Your Majesties Most Gracious Letter to the Commander</page><page sequence="6">92 Mesod Benady of your Fortress of Gibraltar and of your Ships of Warr employed in that Prohibition, to permitt your Petitioner and his Agents the Liberty of Car? rying from Gibraltar such British goods as have long been lying there for the above mentioned, and also to bring over from Tetuan to Gibraltar Your Petitioners Returns without Molestation. And Your Petitioner as in Duty bound shall ever pray &amp;c.' Mocatta was the 'very rich Jew broker' whom the Gentleman's Magazine recorded as having died in Lon? don in 1737. Although he had returned to London he continued to have interests in Gibraltar, as is shown by his presenting 'a scheme for the establishing of the Trade at Gibraltar and Diminishing the Charge to the Crown' to the Lords Commissioners for Trade in December 1728.28 The blockade was not one-sided, and the Moroc? cans also imposed sanctions on trade with Gibraltar and Britain. In July 1718 sundry British merchants petitioned the Lords Commissioners of Trade to help them improve relations with Morocco, though they could not 'give account how the late Treaty came to break off, they suspected it was occasioned by thejews who had the management of it. . .at present there were about 164 English Slaves, and that they feared their factors and others would likewise be condemned to Slavery, if some Composition were not soon made'.29 Some of thejewish merchants from Gibraltar went to England, as Moses Mocatta did, but most of them moved to Tetuan, from where they hoped to re-estab? lish their trade with the fortress and with Britain. Isaac Netto and his brother Phineas, Emanuel Senior, and Jacob (Manuel?) Dias Arias were resident in Tetuan in 1720, and are recorded as having made gifts to a local synagogue.30 IV. The Resettlement, 1719 -1721 That would have been the end of Jewish settlement in Gibraltar if relations between Britain and Spain had remained cordial, but they deteriorated rapidly. Eliza? beth Farnese, the second wife of Philip V, desired to carve a kingdom for her son Charles in Italy and she was supported in this by the Spanish chief Minister, Alberoni. In July 1717, a Spanish expedition had sailed from Barcelona to occupy Sardinia and Sicily. The British Government protested, but, not being able to obtain the withdrawal of the Spanish forces by diplo? matic means, dispatched a fleet to the Mediterranean in the summer of 1718, commanded by Admiral Byng. The fleet sailed from Gibraltar accompanied by the Straits Squadron and cruised off the coast of Italy. When they came across the Spanish fleet off the coast of Sicily in November they attacked it, although war had not been declared, and destroyed or captured most of the ships at the Battle of Cape Passaro.31 This high-handed action by Byng led, of course, to war. The Spaniards threatened to invade Britain in the Jacobite interest and the British attacked and captured Vigo the following year. The war did not last long, for the French attacked the Spaniards across the Pyrenees and peace was concluded in January 1720;32 but the good relations between the British authorities and the Spanish were interrupted. Gibraltar was not attacked, for the Spanish Army was engaged elsewhere, but communications with Spain were cut, and once again it was dependent on Morocco for supplies and required the services of Jewish merchants. Many of those expelled in 1718 had settled in Morocco, and some returned. The driving force in the readmission of the Jews was Moses ben Hattar, the Nagid in Sale mentioned above, and treasurer to the King of Morocco, Mulay Ismael. Ben Hattar seems to have had great interest in Gibraltar, where Samuel Alevy ben Zephat acted as his agent, and he maintained good relations with the British authorities. This led to the negotiation of a new treaty between Britain and Mor? occo in 1720. In September ofthat year Captain Charles Stewart, R.N., was sent out in command of a squadron to cruise against the Barbary pirates and, at the same time, was nominated Minister Plenipotentiary to Morocco with instructions to negotiate a treaty and secure the release of British captives. On arrival at Gibraltar he found a large Spanish army encamped in the Bay, which was being embarked to reinforce the garrison at Ceuta, and considering this a good opportunity wrote to the Basha of Tetuan asking him to appoint an ambassador on behalf of the Emperor to discuss a treaty. The Basha sent Cardenash, who had been several times in London as Ambassador, but Stewart learned that present in Tetuan was Moses ben Hattar, 'A Jewish Merchant, who had been often employed in the former treaties, and was a person more artful and interested than any other in the country, and chiefly to be considered, in regard, he had it more in his power to make the negotiations successful, or defeat it as he had done that of others. Upon which consideration the ambassador sailed with his squadron to Tetuan Bay, December 22nd, and there with the said Moses Ben Hattar (who took upon him to be jointly empowered with the basha) agreed to the articles of peace, which were signed and exchanged the 17th January, 1720-1721.'33 Cavendish, the previous Ambassador, had offered the Moroccans 12,000 barrels of gunpowder, 12,000</page><page sequence="7">The Settlement of Jews in Gibraltar, 1704-1783 93 gunlocks, and 160 pieces of cloth for the release of 175 British captives, and a further 8,500 dollars to Ben Hattar for having fed and looked after the ship cap? tains, some ?40,000 in all, but since then the number of captives had increased to 290 and Stewart had to increase his offer by a quarter. The Treaty was signed by the Basha on 13 January 1721 and by Stewart on the 17th. Not having the ?50,000 or so required to pay the indemnity, Stewart sailed to Lisbon to raise the money, leaving Ben Hattar and Cardenash at Gibral? tar.34 John Windhus, who formed part of Stewart's entourage, described in his book what happened when Stewart landed at Tetuan the following May in order to proceed on his embassy to the Emperor at Mequinez: 'On Wednesday 3rd May we embarked at Gibraltar, Ben Hattar going on board the ambassa? dor's ship, he having after the signing of the treaty come over with him, and continued there, that he might accompany him at his landing in Barbary. We arrived in the bay of Tetuan, Saturday the 6th, and landed about nine of the clock in the morning, which being sooner than the basha expected, he was not come to the water-side to receive the ambassa? dor, but we found a sufficient number of tents pitched for our conveniency, and among them a fine large one that the Emperor had sent from Mequinez, which the ambassador made choice of to eat in on his journey . . . 'Sunday the 7th, the ambassador went to visit the basha in his tent, who renewed his kind expressions towards the English and his desire that the ambassa? dor should find everything agreeable to him. After that, as we were walking about to see the camp, we had an instance of Ben Hattar's unlimited power over the Jews; for he having employed one Ben Saphat, as his Agent or Factor in Gibraltar, found, upon going thither himself that he had wronged him considerably, reported things falsely, and dealt unfaithfully in his commission; wherefore as Ben Saphat was now coming down to meet him, before he could get within hearing, Ben Hattar ordered him to be strangled, upon which the Jews and some blacks belonging to the Emperor, immediately ran to him, pulled him off his mule, and in an instant stript off his clothes, and whipt a rope about his neck, which they began to draw; and in that man? ner bringing him nearer to us, pale and gasping, he cried out to the ambassador to intercede for him. The surprise of the thing kept everybody silent, and in suspense what would be the event; but after Ben Hattar had reviled and threatened him, he ordered that he should be carried to prison, where (as we afterwards heard) he was daily bastonaded, as well for the fault he had committed, as to make him discover all his effects, which Ben Hattar seized on for his own use.'35 The Ambassador set off for Mequinez accompanied by Ben Hattar, with whom he seemed to have got on very well. 'I have, I think bought Ben Hattar to be entirely in my interest', he wrote to the Secretary of State. When they arrived at the outskirts of Mequinez Ben Hattar hurried on ahead and returned with the news that the Emperor would be pleased to receive him and when the Ambassador entered the city he was lodged, not in the Basha of Tetuan's house, as he had anticipated, but on the Emperor's express instructions in 'a house of Ben Hattar that he had lately built and was one of the best in Mequinez'. While they were there, some Spanish and other Christian slaves who had the Emperor's ear tried to stop the liberation of so many English captives, and, afraid that the negotiations might miscarry, Ben Hat? tar arranged for Stewart to engage the interest of one of the Queens. Stewart wrote to this lady as requested and she replied, T will speak to my Master (whom God Preserve) to the end that he may renew the agreement entirely, and do Every Thing you desire, for in His Majesty there is much goodness and genero? sity.' Ben Hattar's intrigue was successful and on 23 July the Ambassador was called to the Emperor's presence, the captives were assembled, and 'He bade them go home along with the Ambassador into their own country'; the liberated men set out for Tetuan the following day.36 While they were in Mequinez they heard that a Portuguese ship had been taken by Sale rovers with three Englishmen on board and at Ben Hattar's inter? cession the Englishmen and Portuguese were all released.37 The 1721 Treaty is not to be found among the State Papers at the Public Record Office, although its text is well known, as it is quoted in full in Windhus'sJourney to Mequinez and James's History of the Herculean Straits. However, I did discover the original signed document among the Gibraltar papers.38 Like all treaties between Britain and Morocco in the eighteenth cen? tury, it is in Spanish, and though it must have been signed in both English and Arabic translations also, these have not been preserved. The preamble reads: 'ARTICLES of Peace and Commerce between the Most High and Most Renowned Prince George, by the Grace of God King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith Etc., and the High and Glorious, Mighty and Right Noble Prince</page><page sequence="8">94 Mesod Benady Albumazer Muley Ishmael, Ben Muley Xeriph Ben Muley Ally, King and Emperor of the Kingdoms of Fez and Morocco, Taffdet, Suz, and all the Algarbe and its Territories in Africa etc., concluded, agreed and adjusted by the Honourable Charles Stewart Esquire, on the Behalf of His Britannic Majesty, and by His Excellency Basha Hamet Ben Ally Ben Abdallah, and His Imperial Majesty's Treasurer, Mr. Moses Ben Hattar, a Jew, on behalf of the said King of Fez and Morocco.' and is followed by 14 Articles. Generally, it established peace between both coun? tries and provided for the appointing of consuls and the maintaining of peaceful trade. Article 7 gives English merchants the right to settle and work in Morocco and ends with the words 'and that the sub? jects of the Emperor of Fez and Morocco, whether Moors or Jews, residing in the dominions of the King of Great Britain, shall entirely enjoy the same privi? leges that are granted to the English residing in Barb ary'. Article 9 provided for captiulation rights for all disputes between British subjects in Morocco to be judged by the British Consul, and similarly, Moroc? can subjects in British possessions would have their domestic disputes judged by one of their number. 'A Moor for the Moors and a Jew for the Jews.' The position of Gibraltar was clarified in Article 13: 'And as it has pleased Almighty God, that by His Majesty's arms, the island of Minorca, and city of Gibraltar, Are now in His Majesty's possession and are become part of His Britannic Majesty's dominions; it is therefore agreed, that every person sailing in ships or vessels, whether Spaniard, English or otherwise, fishing in boats or vessels, living or residing there, shall be esteemed as his natural-born subjects, upon producing proper passes, from the governors or commanders in chief of those places.' All this was of great importance, as it gave the Jews residing in Gibraltar legal standing before British law, despite Article 13 of the Treaty of Utrecht.39 V. The Community is Established, 1721-1749 The Governor of Gibraltar, from 1713 till his death in 1730, was David Colyear, Earl of Portmore. He did not spend much time on the Rock, but delegated his authority to a succession of Lieutenant-Governors. Colonel Congreve was succeeded by Colonel Cotton in 1716, but Cotton left Gibraltar in 1719, never to return, and in turn delegated his authority to a succes sion of other officers. In March 1721, the command devolved on Colonel William Hargrave. It was during these years that the Jewish com? munity of Gibraltar became firmly established. In 1721 Hargrave confirmed the first property grants to Abraham Acris, Abraham Benider (who had acted as interpreter to Captain Stewart in his Embassy).40 and Moses Cansino, and in 1723 he also approved the purchase of a property by Isaack Netto. On 1 July 1724 he not only granted 'A ruined house which was a heap of Rubbish ... on which he hath built a house' to Memon Toledano, but also granted to Isaack Netto 'A piece of wast ground, on which he hath built a large room, which thejews made a synagogue of.'41 A study of the Louis Bravo's map of Gibraltar of 1627 shows that the only 'wast ground' was on the west side of the town towards the Rock, and this fits in well with the original site of the Shahar Hashamayim Synagogue, which was behind the buildings on the west side of Engineer Lane, and whose original entrance was in what was known in the eighteenth century as Synagogue Lane; it is now known as Ser faty's Passage. It is significant that Netto gave it the same Hebrew name as the Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregation in London, of which his father was Haham (Chief Rabbi) at the time. The 1877 Report of the Anglo-Jewish Association quotes the members of the local branch as reporting that 'The first Synagogue founded in Gibraltar is that situated in Engineer's Lane, and styled "Shaar Ashamayim". The ground, it is believed, was ceded to the Community as a place of worship some years previous to 5528 (1768) by Pinhas Nieto.'42 Netto's original building was probably seriously damaged in the great storm of January 1766, when the weight of water descending from the Rock caused a landslide. Many houses caved in and more than fifty people died, and it was rebuilt completely in 1768 on a more lavish scale.43 The entrance in Engineer Lane dates from this reconstruction. In 1725 there was a rapprochement between Spain and Austria and four treaties were signed at Vienna between Philip V and his erstwhile opponent Charles VI, now Emperor of Austria, in which Charles offered his good offices if required to assist Philip in having 'That fortress and the port of Gibraltar restored to his Dominions.'44 The British Government, concerned that the affairs of the garrison under the absentee Lieutenant-Gover? nor Colonel Stanhope Cotton were rather neglected, appointed Colonel Richard Kane to the post in August. Kane had earned a reputation as an energetic organiser and constructor of military defences at Minorca, as Lieutenant-Governor.45 From the mili</page><page sequence="9">The Settlement of Jews in Gibraltar, 1704-1783 95 tary point of view his appointment was a good deci? sion, but he was a particularly bigoted man, who mistrusted all foreigners and spent much time and ingenuity in trying to get the better of them. Kane engaged in a dispute with the Roman Catho? lic parish priest who had excommunicated one of his flock, which ended in Father Pehas's expulsion.46 He also turned his attention to the Jews, who he pointed out to the British Government were there in contra? vention of the Treaty of Utrecht. Kane was aware that the Jews of Gibraltar, being mainly Moroccans, pleaded the protection of the Treaty with Morocco of 1721 and he suggested that the Treaty did not really apply because Gibraltar was only mentioned in the thirteenth Article; he then advanced the novel and ingenious argument that the terms of the early articles of the Treaty could not apply to the territories men? tioned in the later articles, although they were of course presumed to apply to all of His Majesty's terri? tories that were not specified in the Treaty at all.47 On 20 August 1725, he took a census of the civilian inhabitants and found that out of a total of 1,113, 137 were Jews: 26 women and 111 males, who had the following provenance: England 4, Holland 3, Leg? horn 17, Barbary 86, Turkey (Algeria?) I.48 It is probable that Kane prepared a full list giving the names of all the people involved but unfortunately this has not survived. In addition to those who had received property grants, a study of the 1777 Census list produces the names of 13 other families that were resident in Gibraltar at the time, with places of origin in some cases, Aboab (Tetuan), Abudarham (S. Barbary), Anahory (Tetuan), Anraleck, Bensusan, Budy (Sale), Conquy (Holland), Daninos (Leghorn), Diaz Car valho (Portugal), Massias (Barbary), Moreno, Nunez Cardozo (Portugal), Sananes (Tetuan). Kane reported with horror that 'they have been allowed a Synagogue', and he further complained three months later that every vessel that was arriving in Gibraltar from Tetuan had brought some Jews and there were now 160 males and females in Gibraltar, but he was determined to put a stop to it: 'I shall order the Jews that are here to give Notice to their Corre? spondence in all Parts not to come hither with a view to inhabiting here; and shall acquaint all Jews who have familys that they are to prepare to retier from hence with their familys, and that none are to be admitted here but as travellers.' The British Government, concerned about Spanish designs on Gibraltar, and aware that if the Spanish frontier was closed again the garrison would have to rely on Morocco for supplies, did not wish to offend the Basha of Tetuan or the Emperor of Morocco and court a repetition of the 1711 and 1718 fiascos, and Kane was instructed that, although all this was in contravention of Utrecht, 'considering the present circumstances of our Affairs . . . those Jews at Gibral? tar may for the present be conived at, and will accord? ingly have you suspend the execution of any orders that may have been formally sent for removing them from thence'. In the meantime, Colonel Jasper Clayton had been appointed Lieutenant-Governor in September 1726, and Kane was evidently out of favour. When he heard that he was being replaced Kane wrote an insulting letter to the Secretary of State, 'I shall have due regard to the King's Command for coniving at the Jews staying here.'49 When Clayton arrived in February 1727 he found a large Spanish army encamped before the Rock and called a Council of War of all the senior officers in the garrison, but Kane was not invited to attend and he left Gibraltar three weeks later.50 The Spaniards, encouraged by their pact with Aus? tria, were now determined to recapture Gibraltar and the thirteenth Siege ensued. It lasted for only four months, from 11 February to 12 June, but the garrison was deprived of its supplies, which during the last five or six years had been coming from Spain. The Basha of Tetuan wrote to the Lieutenant-Governor offering supplies and provisions.51 Colonel Clayton appointed Isaac Netto as sole contractor for importing food from Morocco; and Netto held this appointment until the following year, when on the death of his father, Haham David Nieto, he went to London and became Rabbi of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue at Bevis Marks.52 Following protests in Parliament, the monopoly was abolished in 1729.53 But not all Jews were affluent merchants. A con? siderable number of the Moroccans were labourers, porters, and craftsmen, and when the cannon started to roar a diarist of the Siege recorded on 16 February: 'A body of thejews desire leave to retire to Barbary, because commanded to work for the common Preser? vation, but answered by the Governor that as they enjoy'd ease and plenty during Peace, if they will not assist for their own safety, they shall be turned out to the Spaniard,'54 and in the event, Daniel Defoe recorded, in his printed An impartial Account of the Late Famous Siege of Gibraltar 'The Jews were not a little serviceable, they wrought in the most indefatigable manner, and spared no pains when they could be of any advantage, either in the siege or after it,'55 but their hard work and self-sacrifice was to be of no avail, for on 22 October, after the Siege, the diarist recorded, 'Six and twenty poor Jews were turn'd out &amp; sent to Barbary for certain reasons of State.' That the reasons</page><page sequence="10">96 Mesod Benady of state were their poverty and not because they were Jews is shown by the next entry, on the 24th: 'Came in a Recruit of 24 Jews, Mony'd men from Leghorn.'56 The negotiations after the end of the siege con? tinued for almost a year, but in March 1728 peace was finally established, and Clayton was instructed by Newcastle, the Secretary of State, that the Treaty of Utrecht be fully complied with, as there were reports that there were 300 Jews at Gibraltar 'with a publick synagogue'.57 However, the Spaniards had in the meantime built a blockade line across the isthmus (La Linea) and the land blockade was to continue unabated for 25 years (with two short intermissions in 1730 and 1750); Gibraltar still needed her Jews, and nothing more was heard of their expulsion, although when Sabine was appointed Governor in April 1730 he was given the routine instructions to make Utrecht 'the constant Rule' to stand by.58 Many Spaniards had left Gibraltar when the siege appeared imminent and the interruption of normal communications with the Spanish hinterland led to a reduction in the Spanish element of the population of Gibraltar. In 1725, the Spaniards numbered 400 out of a total civil population of 1,113 (36%); 28 years later, in 1753, the civilian population had grown to 1,793, but the number of Spaniards was reduced to 185 (about 10%). The difference had been made up largely by Jews, who had increased in number from 137 in 1725 (12% of the civilian population) to 572 in 1753 (32%).59 A study of the 1777 Census list shows that the great influx of Jews came in the period 1727 to 1739. The census shows that at the time there were no fewer than 67 Jews, of both sexes, alive who had settled in the garrison during that period as compared with 41 who entered in the period 1740 to 1752. The difference was even greater if we bear in mind that, because immigrants during the first period were on average 12 years older than the immigrants during the second period, their rate of mortality must have been greater, and it is reasonable to assume that the rate of immigration by Jews into Gibraltar during the period 1727 to 1739 was three times what it was in subsequent years. Among the families known to have first arrived during the years 1728 to 1739 were, from Tetuan: Almosnino, Azulay, Benady, Benaim, Benamara, Benaros, Bensadon, Bensur, Benyunes, Cohen, Gabay, Halfon, Hassan, Israel, and Taurel; from Sale: Abenatar (or Benatar), Azuelos, Benbunan, Botibol, Lealtad, Levy, Maimaran, Megueres, and Uziel; there were also Abecasis from Tangier, Gozal from Alcazar, and Cohen from South Barbary, which probably denotes Mogador. Anedgiar, Bensamero, Salama, and Serfaty were just described as being from Barbary. The number of immigrants from Europe was small, Ferrares and Leuche from Leghorn, De Matos from Portugal, and Lara from London. The comparatively large number of immigrants from Sale at this stage was probably due to the period of political unrest which followed the death of Mulay Ismael in 1727, and which made the position of the leading inhabitants of that city particularly difficult, as it became a centre of political intrigue. The Jewish community in Gibraltar had as before a nucleus of well-off merchants, who were basically engaged in obtaining provisions from Morocco, and among the importers of cattle to Gibraltar in 1750 were Moses Bensusan, Abraham Cohen, Jonas Assiol, Mr. Carvalho, Mordecai Bellilo, Judah Aboab;60 but Jews were also engaged in the export of British manu? factured goods to Morocco, as the petition of Moses Mocatta illustrated. There was a considerable number of small traders and shopkeepers and in 1754 there were two licensed Jewish bakers, Abraham Nahon and Moses Belilo (sometimes spelt Berero), and many labourers, boatmen, tailors, shoemakers, and hawkers and ped? lars; the last-named particularly multiplied consider? ably during the Governership of Lieutenant-General William Hargrave (1740-1749), who when pre? viously left in command had insisted that all fish and vegetables brought into the garrison should be taken to him, after which they had to be given to licensed hawkers to sell; the reason for this may have been that he wanted the number of hawkers to increase so that he would have the benefit of the fees they paid for a licence.61 The elite of the labour force were the porters, who were organised into two companies, one of Genoese and the other of Jews; and the list of licensed Jew porters in 1751 consisted of: Masahod Benbunan, Chief; Haym Oziel, Moluf Benbunan, Moses Massias, Joseph Cohen, Samuel Nahon, Joseph Ben Hezra, Joseph Azancot, Jacob Cohen, Abraham (Ben) Sahdon, Mesahod Soto, Joshua Seruya, Solo? mon Ben Naym, Jacob Bensusan, Joseph Bensusan.62 George Borrow, when he was staying in Gibraltar in 1838 at the Griffiths Hotel in the Parade, described the Jewish porters, 'On either side outside the door, squatting on the ground, or leaning indolently against the walls, were some half dozen men of very singular appearance. Their principal garment was a kind of blue gown, something resembling the blouse worn by the peasants of the north of France, but not so long; it was compressed around their waists by a leathern girdle and descended about halfway down their thighs. Their legs were bare, so that I had an oppor? tunity of observing the calves, which appeared unnaturally large. Upon the head they wore small skull-caps of black wool. I asked the most athletic of</page><page sequence="11">The Settlement of Jews in Gibraltar, 1704-1783 97 these men, a dark-visaged fellow of forty, who they were. He answered "Hamalos". This word I knew to be Arabic, in which tongue it signifies a porter; and indeed the next moment, I saw a similar fellow stag? gering across the square under an immense burden, almost sufficient to have broken the back of a camel, On again addressing my swarthy friend, and inquiring whence he came, he replied that he was born at Moga? dor in Barbary, but had passed the greatest part of his life at Gibraltar. He added that he was the "capitaz" or head man of the "Hamalos" near the door.'63 This was 80 years later, but they had not changed in charac? ter or dress during the intervening period. Additional Articles of Peace and Commerce had been concluded with Morocco in July 1729, in which the British emissary, John Russel, like Stewart before him, was assisted by Abraham Benider, who acted as interpreter.64 Article 1 read: 'That all Moors and Jews subject to the Emperor of Morocco, shall be allowed a free Traffick to buy or sell for Thirty days, in the City of Gibraltar or Island of Minorca, but not to reside in either Place, to depart with their Effects without let or hindrance to any part of the said Emperor of Morocco's Dominions.'65 But the limitations as to residence were tacitly ignored, as the case of Isaac Sarfaty and Moses Mageres, 'Both Barbary Jews residing in this town and garrison, and subjects belonging to Basha Hammat of Tangier', vs. the Dutchman Dirk Labee, captain of the ship Vrouw Francisca, illustrates. In February 1739 both plaintiffs had contracted independently with Labee that he would bring from Hamburg a quantity of crockery, glasses, gin, and sugar, for which he would charge them a commission of 15%, and either party bound themselves to a penalty of 100 dollars should they breach the contract. When Labee arrived later in the year he said that he had not brought the goods because war being imminent he had not expected to find any Barbary Jews in Gibraltar, but, by coinci? dence, he had similar goods on board which he was prepared to sell at the market price, Sarfaty and Mageres sued Labee for breach of contract, and the Judge Advocate, Streynsham Master, found in their favour. Labee had pleaded that the contract was not valid because there were no witnesses but the plaintiffs were able to submit a witnessed document to the Court. Labee, on the advice of the Dutch Consul, then appealed to the Commander-in-Chief, Lieutenant General Columbine, who upheld the decision of Mas? ter (who was his father-in-law); and Butler, the Dutch Consul, accused him of condoning the Court's exceeding its authority. The case was then submitted to the Privy Council, who confirmed the jurisdiction of the newly formed Vice-Admiralty Court in Gibral? tar, and, what was of great consequence to the Jews there, tacitly admitted their right at law to settle in Gibraltar, and this gave their position a legal status that was never to be challenged again.66 Not all were so lucky. An anonymous pamphleteer recorded in 1747, 'You have heard of the Jew who was kidnapped by one Governor and sent to Barbary with this message from his British Excellency, to the Moor? ish Bashaw [of Tangier], that he had sent him a fat goose to pluck. The poor Jew was released by Captain [Thomas] Smith [of H.M.S. Dursley Galley], and pro? tected by him from the malice and avarice of the Governor with a spirit that became a British officer, and the well known character of that worthy man, who not only possesses all the qualities to form a brave and gallant officer, but adorns and beautifies them with all those amiable virtues that flow from an exalted benevolence'. The man concerned, Faquannar (Fachima or Fax ima), took his complaint against General Sabine to the Privy Council in December 1738:67 'But, what is surprising, and a great reproach to our nation, the poor Jew never obtained any satisfaction, at least that I have heard of, Tho' he complained to the privy coun? cil, and the thing was too notorious and flagrant to be denied.'68 VI. Bland's Regulations, 1750 Lieutenant-General William Hargrave, who as a colonel had acted as Commander-in-Chief from 1721 to 1725, was appointed Governor in 1740. He was not popular with the British merchants living in Gibraltar, who, with the officers of the garrison, objected very strongly to his system of appointing monopoly con? tractors for the supply of cattle, and for insisting that all fish and vegetables should be retailed by licensed hawkers; and they complained about the despotic way that he exercised his authority.69 In 1749 Hargrave was superseded by a new Governor, Lieutenant General Humphrey Bland, a great favourite of the Duke of Cumberland, then Commander-in-Chief of the British Army, who greatly admired his Treatise of Military Discipline, which was the standard training manual of the army during that period.70 Another complaint against Hargrave had been that he had illegally taken over houses from their pro? prietors, as the Secretary of State, the Duke of Bed? ford, said in his instructions to Bland: 'Fourthly, as many disputes have arose in Gibraltar about the pro? perty of the houses, and complaints being frequently</page><page sequence="12">98 Mesod Benady made that the Governor by his sole authority has taken them from the proprietors, and let them out to others to his own advantage, it is the King's pleasure that you have full authority to make a strict inquiry into the truth of such complaints and to oblige the com? plainants to produce the rights they had to the said houses; and when their titles are found just the houses should be restored to them, and a writing, signed and sealed under the Governor's hand, should be given to them to ascertain their property, upon their paying a moderate Ground rate annually to the King as all the ground is His Majesty's; all the other houses which have no particular proprietor, but are let out to the inhabitants by the Governor, at a monthly or yearly rent, you may let at an easy rent to encourage His Majesty's Protestant subjects to settle there, which will be a strengthening to the place; whereas at present those houses are cheaply inhabited by Jews, Moors and Papists, of different nations, which may prove dan? gerous to the town. All those Ground Rents, and rents of houses, are to be collected for the King, and not for the Governors as heretofore, and that an exact account of them kept in a book and transmitted yearly to the Treasury for His Majesty's use.'71 Bland arrived in Gibraltar in June and set about reorganising the place with great vigour. All property in Gibraltar, apart from a few cases of freehold emanating from before the British occupation, was granted by the Governors on long-term leases. Bland had his instructions about favouring Protestants, but he was a man with a high sense of justice and he endeavoured to establish what the correct position was in each case. He examined all the existing Deeds of Title and confirmed them regardless of religious per? suasion; and he endorsed the grant of land for the Synagogue Shahar Hashamayim in Engineer Lane, which at the time was in the name of Isaac Aboab, the leader of the Jewish community. The original shed building, built by Isaac Netto, appears to have been seriously damaged in the rain? storm of 1766, and it was rebuilt in 1768 on a bigger plan, additional land was bought, and a new entrance was made through this directly to Engineer Lane. This building was damaged during the Great Siege and was subsequently repaired. The present building dates from the last reconstruction in 1812, probably after a serious fire.72 The small Yeshiba of Es Hayim by the Zoco (meat market) was turned into a synagogue in 1759, and became known appropriately as the Little Synagogue, Esnoga Chica; but Shahar Hashamayim still remained the official synagogue and acquired the nickname by which it is still known of Esnoga Grande or Great Synagogue.73 Bland established the terms under which all pro? perty was held, he arranged for the payment of a monthly ground rent to the King's Revenue, and pursuant to his instructions he put in a provision that 'they must be sold to none but His Majesty's natural born Protestant subjects: The laying of this Restriction is to get by Degrees the Property out of the Hands of Foreigners and Papists, that the money arising from the Rent of these Houses may return to our Mother Country and not to Genoa and other places, as it does now, by the property being in Foreigners' hands, through the inadvertancy of former Governors in not encouraging His Majesty's Natural Born Subjects to get the Property of the Houses, by laying proper Restrictions against Papists and Foreigners purchasing them, as I have now done.'74 Bland's Regulations, carefully written out, and con? firmed 'by the Royal Sign Manual dated at St. James' the 12th March 1752, strictly charges all future Gover? nors ... to follow' what was laid down therein,75 but many Governors tended to ignore the provision re? stricting the sale of property to Protestants, and the amount of property in Jewish and Catholic hands increased over the years, particularly that owned by Isaac Aboab, who in 1749 was already the largest property-owner in Gibraltar, and he increased his holdings very considerably over the next 20 years. However, in order to get round the problem posed by Bland's Regulations the legal fiction was invented of putting the property in the name of a Protestant, after which it was mortgaged in perpetuity, and the mort? gagor acquired all rights and obligations of an original owner. This artifice may have been employed pre? viously by Jews in order to avoid the ambiguities created by the Treaty of Utrecht; after Bland's time it became general in all cases of properties acquired by Jews, and in some instances by Roman Catholics. The full list of Jewish property-owners appearing in Bland's rent book consisted of: Aboab &amp; Azulai; Acris David; Benider Abraham; Benatar Judah; Cansino Joshua; Cohen &amp; Taurel; Daninos Jacob; Ferrares Joseph; Gosal David; Namias Abram; Netto Phineas &amp; Isaac; Pacifico David; Vouga Abraham; Ward and Tedesco;76 Saml. Bensusan; Judah Bentash; Isaac Espinosa; Solomon Conquy; Isaac Aboab.77 Bland had been shocked when he arrived to find a number of soldiers lying in the streets in a drunken stupor; and he was determined to put a stop to this threat to military discipline and the morale of the army, so he increased the duty on wine to 10 dollars per butt of 117 gallons in order to be able to regulate the supply of this commodity. He also increased the duty on spirits to 2 reals (a quarter of a dollar) a gallon and 'entirely prohibited the sale of it in publick houses</page><page sequence="13">The Settlement of Jews in Gibraltar, 1704-1783 99 and shops. But as Punch is the liquor which those belonging to the Sea generally deal in, I permitted some of the Taverns to buy Rum for the use of the Sea Gentry, and the better sort of inhabitants who might have business to transact with them; Which Tavern Keepers are forbid to entertain Soldiers, or to sell them Rum or Drams.'78 For the Jews he made special regulations: 'As the African Jews inhabiting Gibraltar do not drink any Wine or Spirits, but what they make themselves from Raisins and Figgs, I gave by a writing under my hand, to three Jews, the sole liberty of making their Wine and Spirits, for the use of the Jews only, they paying a Duty to the King of ten Dollars per Butt for all the Wine so made, and a Quarter Dollar per Gallon for all the Spirits; Which Duty is collected by the Revenue Officers for His Majesty. They are not allowed to sell any ofthat wine or Spirits to any but Jews; tho' it is such horrid Stuff that I believe none but Jews will drink it.'79 Anybody who has tried the fig mahya (me-hayim or aquavit) can only wonder how even an 'African Jew' can stomach the 'horrid stuff. The licence to run the Jews' distillery was given to Menaham Boobdy and on his death it passed to his son-in-law, Jacob Matana, who died at the beginning of the Great Siege, after which his wife ran the distillery until the Spanish bombardment forced her to take ship to England with her three children.80 Bland took a lot of time and trouble in improving relations with Spain and met with such success that when communications with Morocco were cut off in the spring of 1750, because the plague was raging there, and the bad weather stopped the provision boats coming from Spain, the Spanish Commander at San Roque, General Josef San-Just, agreed to allow cattle from Spain to be driven across the frontier. Bland also studied the relationship with Morocco very carefully, and when Latton, the British Consul General, was imprisoned in Tetuan in 1749 Bland cut off all communication with that town, having first assured himself of supplies from Tangier, until the Tetuanis gave in and released the Consul. Bland explained that he was able to take this action because of his intimate knowledge of Moroccan affairs, 'which I acquired by a private correspondence I carried on with some of the most intelligent Jews of that Empire'.81 At the time, Isaac Diaz Carvalho was British Vice-Consul in Tangier and he was succeeded in this post by Jacob Benider (son of Abraham, who had been secretary to Stewart and Russel). When Benider moved to Mogador and was appointed Vice Consul there, he was succeeded at Tangier by Meshod Megueres.82 The Jewish hawkers and labourers tended to con? gregate in the centre of the town around the Parade (now John Mackintosh Square) when they were not working, and behaved in a noisy, quarrelsome, and aggressive fashion, which was a threat to public order and an embarrassment to the better-off members of the community. Bland tackled this in his usual fashion, establishing regulations in great detail: 'WHEREAS I have been receiving reported Complaints of Quarrels, Disturbances, and Dis? orderly Behaviour of thejews inhabiting this Garri? son, And the Attending to and examining of such Complaints being very tedious and troublesome, and interfering with my more material concerns, I ordered some of the Principal Jews to consider of some method for preventing such inconvenience for the future, who have reported to me that in their opinion the following rules and regulations will answer the intended purpose Viz: 1. THAT thejews do not assemble in the Street in a tumultuous manner or commit any Riot or Dis? order, And that on their Sabbath they behave themselves so worthy and conformable to the Rules and Orders of their Religion and Rabbi: 2. THAT no Jew presume on any account to strike or lift up his hand against any person what? soever: 3. THAT they shall not assemble at their Neigh? bour's Shop door, so as to incommode him in his Business. 4. THAT they shall not buy up Fish to sell again, But each one for the use of himself and family only; Except that they may buy fish to pickle or salt. 5. THAT they shall not buy fruit or other provi? sions to retail within 24 hours after their arrival. 6. THAT no Jew profess to receive or entertain any Stranger, till he is certain of such Strangers hav? ing the Governor's permission for coming into town. 7. THAT all Offences against these Regulations be examined and enquired into by those of the Principal Jews, to be chosen and appointed, for that purpose every six months, out of the Body of the Jews; And whosoever shall be by them after an impartial Enquiry, found Guilty of a Breach of any of the foregoing Regulations, shall be banished from the Garrison, and never per? mitted to return hither again. AND the said Rules and Regulations appearing to me to be just and reasonable, and such as will answer the intended Purpose, I do approve of and confirm the same; And do order all Jews to observe and obey</page><page sequence="14">100 Mesod Benady them strictly; But this is not to extend to empower any Jews to determine or judge of any matter of Debt, Account or Contract; Except the contending parties shall voluntarily submit the same to their Arbitration or Award: All such matters and disputes remaining cognizable before the Civil Court only. GIVEN AT GIBRALTAR this 23 Day of July 1750 H.B.'83 The importance of these regulations lies in that they gave legal approval to the established practice of the community of regulating its own affairs, even to the extent of collecting from among their numbers certain special taxes for the Goverment. This meant that the Jews were self-governing in domestic matters and served to instil a strong spirit of solidarity and even discipline, which was very necessary, in view of the number of immigrants from central Morocco (known as 'forasteros' and an unruly lot) who continued to arrive in later years. Bland's regulations for the Jews were confirmed by successive Governors; Lord Home, Cornwallis, Irwin, Boyd, and Eliott.84 VII. Interlude 1755-1777 Gibraltar now entered a period of quiet prosperity, for though Minorca fell to the French at the outbreak of the Seven Years War, Gibraltar remained at peace. Lord Tyrawly was Governor at this time, and he was engaged in overhauling the fortifications in expec? tation of a French attack. One of his measures was to break up the large batteries and place the guns in small groups along the whole length of the walls, for which antiquated thinkng he was subsequently criticised by the Board of Ordnance, though many officers con? sidered the emplacements he constructed were judi? ciously chosen.85 The guns were moved to their new positions with the help of Jewish and Genoese labourers and Tyrawly recorded that 'theJews to shew their Zeal for the King's Service would take no money'.86 Many merchants in Gibraltar fitted out privateers, and between the profit from this and the benefits derived from the trade in the prizes they brought in a lot of money circulated, and many of the merchants became rich. There was also considerable trade with Morocco, for not only were European manufactured goods sent there, but Morocco exported beeswax, which was re-exported either raw or after being made into candles at Gibraltar; and also much of that country's exports of raw hides passed through the colony as well as mules for the West Indies. At certain times of the year, whalers were based at Gibraltar to hunt whales in the Strait. In the next century the supply of tobacco for the illicit trade with Spain became a major industry, but during the eighteenth century all the Governors from Bland onwards did their best to aid the Spaniards in eliminating smug? gling. Lord Home went so far as to allow Spanish Customs officials to station themselves on the wharf at Gibraltar in order to supervise the activities of possible smugglers. Very few Jews were involved in the tobacco trade at any time, and then only in a small way.87 Jews from Gibraltar even traded with Spain. The records of the Inquisition show that in 1759 a Jew came to Valencia with merchandise from Gibraltar, a familiar of the Inquisition never left his side until he had sold his goods and departed, and his books were carefully scrutinized in order to ascertain that there was nothing prejudicial in them. Others followed in 1761 and 1762. Some were able to go across the frontier on the strength of a passport issued by the Governor of Gibraltar. A Fortress Order of August 1766 reads: 'Genoese and Jews having permits for Spain, enjoin'd to send them in, on pain of being expell'd the Garrison.' Presumably the permits were recalled for checking, and others were issued later.88 The civilian population almost doubled between 1753 and 1777, increasing from 1,793 to 3,201; but the increase of the Jews from 572 to 863 was modest compared with that of the Roman Catholics, from 807 to 1,819. (The British Protestants were fewer in numbers, and increased more slowly from 414 to 519.) Thejews were therefore older established than the rest of the population, as is demonstrated by 72% of the community being native-born in 1777, as compared to 49% of the Roman Catholics; this gave them im? portant economic advantages over the more recent immigrants, and while in 1756 they formed 33% of the population and owned 20% of the property, in 1777 they formed 27% of the population and owned 25% of the houses. This was a considerable advance in their standard of living.89 Ignacio Lopez de Ayala, a well-known Spanish writer of the period, who was anything but pro British, writing in 1778, could not but compliment the British Authorities on the way Gibraltar was gov? erned: 'One would expect the same quarrels and acts of violence in Gibraltar, because of the diversity of religious interests and customs, as one gets in the other cities of the Province [of Andalucia]. The strictness of the military government has, however, prevented them; because everybody knows the punishment they will receive if they commit a crime, as the officials cannot be bribed nor the judges coerced, everyone's security is based on not encroaching on the rights of others; and as a result of the well-established and</page><page sequence="15">The Settlement of Jews in Gibraltar, 1704-1783 101 observed system of law and order, many years pass without the murders and violent deaths that occur in other towns, which are smaller and have inhabitants who are all of the same religion and way of life.'90 The policing of the civilian population was in the hands of local 'Serjeants'. During the early years of the British occupation it had been found that British sol? diers on detached frontier duty were prone to desert, so a local Genoese Guard was raised for this duty, from men who had their families and homes on the Rock, as these were not likely to make an unauthorised exit. They were commanded by a Serjeant, a Spanish officer called Pedro de Salas, who had come to Gibral? tar to support the cause of the Archduke Charles. In addition to his frontier duties, he also assisted the Town Major in dealing with the Spanish and Genoese inhabitants. After the Siege of 1727, when a strict blockade line was established by the Spaniards, it became impossible for soldiers to desert easily, and the Genoese Guard was disbanded, but Pedro de Salas retained his police duties. The 1777 Census shows that he had been succeeded by Matias Adan, a native of the Canaries and a merchant, and there was also a Jews' Serjeant, Judah Serfaty, who had the duty of policing the Jews, and in particular to make sure that none slipped ashore from the boats that went to and from Morocco. That this was a problem is shown by a Garrison Order of February 1777 that forbade 'Inhabi? tants ... to harbour foreign Jews on pain of being order'd out of Town'.91 The protection provided by British rule was not limited to the confines of the colony. In July 1755 one of the town boats, La Conception, cleared Tetuan har? bour bound for Gibraltar, on charter to a Moorish merchant, with a cargo of cattle, oranges, and fruit for Gibraltar. On board were the patron, Bartholome Berro, his clerk, two sailors (all Genoese who had settled in Gibraltar), and three passengers, Abzeram Mandil, the supercargo, another Moor, and a Moroc? can Jew, Meshod Benadi, who had been living in Gibraltar for 17 years. The following morning they were stopped by two large French xebecs, of 24 and 18 guns, who reluctantly agreed to let the ship continue, as it was flying the British flag, and Britain and France were at peace, but ordered the patron 'to bring some of his Cattle on Board, and to deliver him the Two Moors &amp; The Jew Passengers, for he wanted to carry them to Marseilles to Row on Board the Galleys there'. The Patron answered. 'He would not nor could deliver the Moors and Jew, but as to the cattle, if they wanted any they should pay for the same to the Moors the Owners'; the wind and sea being very high the patron was ordered to follow the xebecs and was made to anchor in a quiet Spanish cove some 18 miles from Gibraltar; then the patron was ordered to pull down his colours and replied 'that he would rather Chose to Sink than to consent in the doing such an Affront to the King of Great Britain his Master, which answer enraged the French Captn. to such a degree that he ordered nine of his men with firearms to come on Board of this Vessel, to take possession of the same, and put the Moors &amp; Jew in some large heavy Chains'. The vessel was taken by the French to Malaga, and there the British Consul intervened; after two days of arguing, the boat, crew, and passengers were released, but the cattle were dead, and the fruit spoilt. The liberated men made their depositions before the judge on reaching Gibraltar and claimed damages for the losses they had suffered. General Fowke forwarded the details to the British Government, and volunteered the opinion 'they confide in the protection of our Colours, and that if that Protection is violated the English Nation ought to make good the damages to them, and seek satisfaction from the aggressors'.92 Meshod Benady settled permanently in Gibraltar and lived to a ripe old age; his daughter Gimol's Ketuba (marriage contract), on her marriage to Isaac Ferrares in 1786, is in the British Museum.93 Ayala, who detested Jews and accused them of being cheats and rascals, says that in Gibraltar they were mostly shopkeepers or brokers. He goes on: 'They are governed by the Jew of most importance among them who they call King. He is the one who deals with the Governor, who gives him his instruc? tions and gets him to collect the taxes that all pay, for he (the Governor) is a tyrant and sovereign despot over the town, and more of a King in Gibraltar than the King of England.'94 Serfaty considered that the use of the word Rei= King was probably a corruption of Resh (Aramaic for chief/head), but it is likely that this was a term used half jocularly by the English for the leader of the Jewish community. Mrs. Middleton, for example, when she visited the Jewish Synagogue on Simchat Torah in 1806, referred to Aaron Cardozo: 'We went a large party, and the King of thejews, who is quite a gentleman, made them pray for us all by name.'95 There are similar references in the contemporary British press to the Chief Rabbi as the King of the Jews. Ayala is referring to Isaac Aboab, born in Tetuan in 1712 and resident in Gibraltar from 1720. As he was only eight years old at that time, one can assume that his father was one of the few merchants rich enough to be able to afford to bring his family to live in Gibraltar, where accommodation was scarce and expensive and the cost of living much higher than in Morocco. The 1749 list of rents shows him to be the largest property</page><page sequence="16">102 Mesod Benady owner on the Rock, and when the 1777 property census was drawn up he is shown to have 15 properties and an interest in another. Next among the property owners was an English merchant, William Davies, with nine properties, and after came Abraham Cohen and John De La Rosa (a descendant of a Spanish family that had stayed on in Gibraltar in 1704), who had eight properties each. Aboab was also an important mer? chant and when the pink Fortune was arrested by Spanish coastguards at Almeria in 1767, he owned half of the cargo of greenhides and corn carried on board. In 1755 he discounted a draft of ?980 to William Petticrew, the British Consul General in Morocco, who needed the money to redeem some British cap? tives. Petticrew died shortly after and the draft was never honoured. In 1768 Aboab was still petitioning the Governor to have the money repaid, as he had made the transaction at the request of General Fowke, who was then Governor. In forwarding this petition to England, Cornwallis described Aboab as 'a princi? ple Jew Merchant of this place he has resided here many years with a fair character and I dare say what he sets forth is true and as such I recommend it to Your Lordship's Consideration'.96 Ayala was scandalized that 'The Queen of the Jews' was received in good society in Gibraltar and he said of her, 'She was notorious for her great beauty, her lack of hair which makes her have to wear a wig, and her husband's bigamy.' Isaac had a wife, Hannah, born in Gibraltar in 1727, and he said in his will that because his wife was barren, Jewish law permitted him to take a second wife. When he was 50 he married a 13-year old girl, Simha, from Tetuan, who must be the lady referred to by Ayala. We must take Ayala's word for her beauty, as no portraits have survived, but we should assume that her reasons for wearing a wig were religious rather than incipient baldness. Isaac does not seem to have been more successful in producing children by the beautiful Simha than with his first wife.97 Isaac and his wives were one of the families that went to London at the time of the Siege in 1781 and Isaac never returned to Gibraltar. He died in London and was buried in the Beth Haim Novo in Mile End Road in 1786. Next to his grave there are two empty plots which he had reserved for his two widows but neither was taken up.98 It would appear that both ladies had had enough of their Lord and Master by then and presumably made off at a great rate of knots with the substantial wealth he bequeathed at his death. Isaac Aboab had acted as leader of the Jewish community for many years and when Eliott arrived in Gibraltar in May 1777, his first official act was to confirm to him Bland's Regulations for the Jews. The other leading Jewish merchants were Moses Espinosa, who was Dutch Vice-Consul, a shipowner and 'an old-established house of business and in credit here'; his father Isaac probably came to Gibraltar from Amsterdam. The Dutch Consul was Francis Butler, son or nephew of the Butler who was Consul in 1739. Abraham de Jona Pariente, another young mer? chant, may have had an interesting personal life. It is understandable that all non-Christians should be lumped with the Jews, and we find that in the 1777 Census, 'Bumper, a negroe from Guinea' is included under the Bs, but why was Jane, a 30-year 'Negroe servant from America,' with two young daughters, Nancy and Betty, bracketed to the name of the bache? lor Pariente Ab. de Jona? Other merchants of note were the brothers Abra? ham and David Diaz Carvalho, the Nunez Cardozos, and Judah Israel, from Tetuan, who had three sons: Moses, who lived in England, Abraham, who was a junior partner and local agent of his brother's firm, Moses Israel &amp; Co., and Solomon. Abraham married Sarah Montefiore in 1777. He wrote a book of poetry in Spanish, Un viaje de Gibraltar a Londres en el ano 1777, the manuscript of which is in the Biblioteca Nacional in Madrid." Others listed among the princi? pal Jewish inhabitants were David Leuche from Leg? horn and 'Mr. Abraham and Saml. Cohen, Mr. Abur darham, Taurel and Cansino'.100 The Chief Rabbi of Gibraltar during this time was Isaac Almosnino, son of a Chief Rabbi of Tetuan, who had settled in Gibraltar in 1737, at the age of 25; he went to London in 1781, during the Siege, and died there in 1785.101 Also living in Gibraltar from 1766 onwards was Rabbi Abraham Coriat, who had been Dayan in Tetuan (where he was born in 1717) and Mogador; during the Siege he went to Leghorn, where he was given a communal appointment, and he died there in 1806.102 The licences registered by the Governor's secretary in 1774 showed Solomon Azuelos as a tobacconist. The number of licensed porters had now grown to 26; Meshod Benbunan was still overseer: 'I do hereby appoint the several Jews hereunder to be porters in this garrison, to carry goods for merchants &amp; others, and to do all other kinds of porters work, they giving due attendance, and demanding only the limited prices for their labour agreeable to the established regulations and in every respect conforming themselves to the Rules and Orders of the Garrison. Abraham Bensadon 1 Judah Bensusan 5 Abraham Abecasis 2 Moses Halfon 6 Meshod Abecasis 3 Samuel Masias 7 Joseph Uziel 4 Solomon Benayon 8</page><page sequence="17">The Settlement of Jews in Gibraltar, 1704-1783 103 Moses Benyunes 9 Solomon Ladero David Benyunes 10 (Laredo?) 19 Abraham. Hassa 11 Meshod Abucasis 20 Simon Benmuya 12 Yamin Gabay 21 Joseph Bensusan 13 Jacob Levy 22 Moses Nahon 14 Saml. Burgi Mimon Bensetrit 15 (Abirgel?) 23 Abraham Navarro 16 Saya Benamor 24 Isaac Hassan 17 Judah Azulay 25 Abraham Aluff 18 Halfon Serfaty 26 And at the request of the said porters I do hereby nominate and appoint Meshod Benbunan to be their Chief or overseer and Somon Oziel their Clerk. This to continue in force a twelve month. Given at Gibral? tar the 1st day of january 1774. Robert Boyd.'103 Of the 38 licensed town boats and lighters, four were owned and manned by Jews: Boat No. Master Crew 23 Samuel Bensusan Isaac Bensusan Samuel Cohen 24 Soln. Benzaquen Judah Benzaquen Jacob Benzaquen 25?26 Jamin Gabay Isaac Benchiquito Abram Belilo Joseph Bensamero and other registered Jewish Boatmen were: Abaccuc Barosi, Moses Hassan, and Moses Heluz.104 VIII. The Great Siege. 1779-1783 Spain was determined to make another attempt to recover Gibraltar, although the last two, in 1704 and 1727, had been unsuccessful. The fortress was geared up to what was to be the most determined and pro? longed attack it had every undergone. The Lieu tenant-Governor, Robert Boyd, and Colonel Green, of the Engineers, had redesigned and rebuilt the defences over a number of years; the garrison was strengthened, and the experienced and austere, but much admired, General George Eliott was made Gov? ernor in 1776. On 9 April 1778 a proclamation was issued by the Governor's Secretary requiring 'Inhabitants of the age of 12 years and upwards to inrol their names in this Office within ten days from this date and hold them? selves in readiness to render assistance to His Majesty's Arms, and for all Inhabitants to provide themselves with and keep up a sufficient stock of flour and Biscuit to serve each Person three months,' and on November 11 they were further warned that such 'inhabitants upon examination found unprovided with the supply required by order of April 9 last; will not be allowed to remain in the garrison'. Additional regiments had arrived in July, and 60 officers were quartered propor? tionately among the civilian inhabitants, 15 being allocated to the Jews, who owned a quarter of all the registered houses.105 Communications with Spain were cut on 21 June 1779, and many of the inhabitants started to leave for Britain, Morocco, Minorca, and Italy; some who had families there even went to Spain. The Spaniards started fortifying the isthmus, and 300 Jews and Genoese labourers were employed in clearing some mounds of sand from in front of the fortifications, so that the Garrison could secure a clear field of fire. On 12 September, Eliott went to the northern batteries and, exclaiming 'Britons, strike home', started a can? nonade of the advanced Spanish positions. The inhabi? tants, fearing Spanish retaliation, fled from the town to the open ground to the south, but their fears were premature; the Spaniards did not reply for the next 18 months; they were busy building up their forces and batteries for the great attack. Food began to run short. The occasional small ship would slip in from Mor? occo, Minorca, or even from Spain, but their cargoes were not adequate for the requirements of the town and were sold at a premium. Privateers from the garrison brought in a number of enemy prizes and also forced some neutral ships to come in and sell their cargoes.106 The Hare, one of the open boats owned by Jews, was fitted out as a privateer and scored a notable success on 11 September, when it 'brought in a Dutch Dogger laden with Wheat; a very valuable supply'. The wheat was sold and the boatmen received ?50.107 Moses Toledano, who owned several boats, later described how on one trip to Tangier for provi? sions 'he was pursued by the Spaniards. . . and to save himself from being seized by them threw himself over board and swam ashore to Tangier tho' two miles distance, and his Boat was taken'.108 David Hassan, who was taken in another boat in 1779, was less lucky ; he spent the whole war as a prisoner in the Spanish penal colony at Oran.109 Most of the able-bodied young men were employed by the military, either in constructing and repairing the fortifications or as porters; a few joined the Company of Artificers. Abraham Hassan joined the 3 8th Foot (South Staffordshire) as a volunteer and served as a private soldier during the whole of the Siege. When peace came he was given an honourable discharge and Eliott granted him a property in South</page><page sequence="18">104 Mesod Benady port Street for 21 years. In 1796 it was required by the Army and it was exchanged for another piece of ground to be held in perpetuity. Eliott explained in the grant that it had been made because 'he having offered himself to do the duty of a private soldier in which character he behaved in a very spirited and exemplary manner.' Abraham Hassan was also made a King's Messenger and Marshal of the Superior Court.110 By the end of 1779 the bakers had to ration strictly the amount they baked, and sentries were placed at their doors to prevent confusion and riot among those queuing for bread. 'The strongest, nevertheless, had the advantage, so that numbers of women and infirm persons, returned to their miserable habitations, fre? quently without tasting bread.'111 But relief was at hand: Rodney arrived with the British Fleet in January 1780, and for a time supplies were easier. When the fleet left the following month, more of the inhabitants took this opportunity to leave the garrison.112 For a time the supply of food was adequate but it began to run short again as the months passed. Hunger and the threat of enemy bombardment were not the only dangers that the people of Gibraltar were sub? jected to. In November of the previous year some Jewish children had contracted smallpox and had been isolated in a deserted house in Irish Town. All others who contracted the disease were also taken there and the spread of the disease was contained, but in the spring it appeared again; unaccountably Eliott refused to allow vaccination and by the end of the summer over 500 had died.113 The inhabitants began to build huts for themselves south of the town, out of range of the Spanish guns, and this became known as Black Town, or Hardy Town after the Town Adjutant. As the year 1780 drew to a close, food was again in short supply. The winter rains allowed those who had secured a piece of ground, mainly the officers and a few of the rich inhabitants, to grow vegetables, but the poor, both civil and military, were not so lucky, and scurvy made its appearance among them. Eliott wrote in October: 'We have numbers ill of scurvy and many die . . . We are in the greatest distress for fuel, clothing for the 72nd and 73rd Regiments, strong liquors, and potatoes.'114 The supply position became more serious at the end of the year, as the Spaniards had farmed the Moroccan ports for ?7,500,000 and the garrison was now deprived of the possibility of supplies from that source.115 In January 1781 the British Consul-General Logie and those Gibraltarians who had taken refuge in Tangier, including some Jews, were expelled and sent back to Gibraltar.116 In February, 40 more Jews left for Minorca; things were looking black, but relief was on its way again.117 On 12 April 1781, the first ships of Admiral Darby's fleet were seen in the Strait. Drink water recorded, 'The ecstasies of the inhabitants at this grand and exhilarating sight were not to be described. Their expressions of joy, far exceeded their former exhilaration. But alas! They little dreamed of the tremendous blow that impended which was to annihi? late their property and reduced many of them to indigence and beggary.'118 At 11 o'clock the van of the convoy came to anchor off the New Mole and this was the signal for the enemy to open a tremendous fire, for the first time, with the large number of guns they had emplaced during the previous 18 months. The terrified inhabitants, who, unlike the troops, did not have bombproofs to retire to, fled to the south? ward, abandoning their property to enemy shells and marauding soldiers. Abraham Israel, whose wife had died at the begin? ning of the Siege, wrote in Spanish to his brother Moses in London, 'the 12 instant at 5 o'clock in the morning a small King's Sloop appeared with the news that the Convoy and our Grand Fleet were behind, at 8 in the morning all the convoy and fleet was in sight, which was a glorious sight and having a fine wind at 10 they were all very near Rosia Bay. 20 Spanish Gun Boats appeared with one Gun each of Eighteen and Twenty-four pounders and began to fire upon all the convoy but as our frigates went to them bravely they all fled, after this the Spaniards opened all their Land Batteries upon the Town and at least 50 Mortars and begun to throw such fire as was incredible for a human person to believe such destruction and confusion. Consider the state we were in, some dying some wounded, my first care was to get out and abandon all that we had in the Houses and warehouses, and carry? ing out a Handkerchief of Cakes119 not to die with hunger. Thank God we saved our lives and we are now here with such Miseries and Heartache to see ourselves ruined without knowing how to help our? selves . . . our Houses and Warehouses are thrown down and this not our only misfortune but Thieves robbed all they could from our Warehouses that were Shot... I applied immediately at the risk of my life to see if by Dint of Money I could save anything ... of all my Goods, House, furniture, wearing apparel, provisions, and everything, all the wearing apparel of our father and mother and so on, of nine chests of Cloath of my dear Sarah nothing can be found.' A week later he wrote again: 'Almost all the inhabi? tants go away, some to England, others to Mahon. The Perils are great and for as much as I find myself obliged to embark my Dear Father, Mother and Brother Solomon with my dear Juda for your place . . . Look after these poor old people as they go at their age, upon the Seas, and neither of them can</page><page sequence="19">The Settlement of Jews in Gibraltar, 1704-1783 105 move, and to add, I always had money enough in Cash, and now I wanted it I have it not. The Town is already destroyed and Burnt . . .' On 27 April he added: T did not save you may reckon nothing out of my house.'120 His house and goods were reported to have been worth ?10,000.121 The soldiers rummaged through the ruins looking for drink, food, and valuables (in that order); Eliott was determined to stop the increasing demoralisation of the garrison, and a number were hanged publicly, to discourage the others. On the first day the bombardment eased between 1 and 2 o'clock and many of the inhabitants took this opportunity to return for what they could salvage, but later in the afternoon it was restarted with renewed vigour and became a constant feature of life in Gibral? tar: it was computed that during the next seven weeks over 70,000 cannon balls and shells were fired by the besieging Spaniards at the town and fortifications. The whole of the town from the Parade to the Casemates was in ruins; on 17 May the new Synagogue was burnt down. Those who had taken refuge in the south, because they thought they would be out of range of the enemy guns, were soon to be undeceived. At the end of April, Spanish gunboats and mortar boats started coming up to the town wall at night and shelling the south district and Hardy Town. Many were killed; on the night of 23 May a shell fell on a Jewish house.122 Mrs. Upton, in her printed diary, described the scene graphically: 'I will now endeavour to describe that dreadful night, which made me determined to leave Gibraltar; but language will convey but a faint idea of the horrid scene! About one o'clock in the morning, our disturbers the gun-boats began to fire upon us. I wrapped a blanket about myself and children, and ran to the side of a rock; but they directed their fire in a different manner from what they had ever done before. They had the temerity to advance so near, that the people in our ships could hear them say, Guarda Angloise! which is, Take care, Eng? lish! Mrs. Tourale, a handsome and agreeable lady was blown almost to atoms! Nothing was found of her but one arm. Her brother, who sat by her, and his clerk, both shared the same fate . . . Many other people were sent to their eternal homes, but I do not know their names. After what I had seen and suffered, I was of opinion it was not courage but madness to stay.'123 Mrs. Taurel's brother was Abraham Israel, although Drinkwater and the other diarists mistake the name of his firm with his, and refer to him as Moses, who was alive and well, living in London at the time. His clerk was Abraham Benider, whose father, Jacob, was at this time in London; and among the other people killed that night was a butcher, Meshod Belilo.124 Conditions were unbearable and many shared Mrs. Upton's views and embarked with the fleet when it returned to England. On 27 May, ordnance-ships and transports, which carried a number of civilian refu? gees, sailed under the protection of the frigate Enter? prise. Two of the ships were captured by Spanish and American privateers, and 141 captured civilians, in? cluding 36 Jews, were returned to Gibraltar on 15 June. The rest landed, some in Portsmouth and some in Ireland, and other ports, but they all made their way to London, where they were succoured by the Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregation there. Among the refugees were Rabbi Isaac Almosnino and the two wives of the leader of the community, Isaac Aboab, who himself followed later; both Almosnino and Aboab did not return to Gibraltar and died in Lon? don.125 The arrival of so many people in London, many of them in exotic Eastern dress, caused some sensation; some of the poorer refugees eked out a living there by peddling spices and 'Turkey' or 'Rus? sian' rhubarb, a medicinal root.126 However, all the civilians did not leave Gibraltar, some were determined to support whatever privations they might suffer in their native town and try to preserve what little property they had left rather than venture into unknown lands. Others would have gone but did not have the money to pay for their passage. The Siege was to last another 20 months and during this time conditions were worse than ever before, for in addition to the blockade and shortage of food, they were under constant bombardment. During the period April 1781 to February 1783, the Spanish guns fired over 250,000 rounds at the Rock. The whole of the Town area was completely devastated, not a single building was left intact, and only a few basements survived. On the night of 26 November 1781, the Garrison made a sortie and spiked the guns the enemy had placed in their front lines. This was a tremendous morale-booster for the defenders, but did not have much practical value. The Spanish preparations finally came to a head in September 1782, and on the 13th their specially prepared floating batteries anchored close to the Town's walls to batter it into submission; but they were defeated by the steady sustained fire of the defenders, whose constant barriage of 'hot pota? toes', or heated shot, set the Spanish batteries alight. The following month, the Town was relieved again by a convoy under Admiral Lord Howe, and more of the inhabitants took the opportunity to sail to Eng? land. On 31 October, the frigate Tisiphone sailed, escorting five or six ordnance ships to England with 160 Jews on board.127</page><page sequence="20">106 Me sod Benady But by now the British Government had acknow? ledged the independence of the United States; and the Spaniards, that they were incapable of capturing Gibraltar against a determined defence with the wea? pons of the day. On 2 February 1783, a complete cease-fire was established. The following month the first boat with bullocks arrived from Morocco;128 the Sultan professed undying friendship for the English. The inhabitants began to return to the devastated town to try to pick up the threads of their old lives. On 8 May, a Venetian ship brought the first Jewish refu? gees to return from London.129 Others could not raise the fare back and applied to the British Government for relief: Mayr Abicasis, 80 years of age, 50 years an inhabi? tant of Gibraltar, with a wife and two daughters actually starving. Joseph Abitbol. Judah Benetas, 73 years of age, 45 years an inhabi? tant. Abraham Benady, one of the more distressed in? habitants, with a family of five helpless children. Menahem Nahon, with a family of six children, all natives. Rahma Botibol, an unfortunate widow. Zimol, widow of Juda Sananes, whose husband died, leaving her with two helpless girls to support and a boy. Moses Nahon, an inhabitant of Gibraltar , where he was married and kept a shop. Jacob Henriques Cardozo, native and inhabitant, with a wife and two small children. Abraham Pariente, jun. (or Jonah) [referred to above as a bachelor merchant]. Luna, widow of Joseph Attia, with a helpless family of four girls, all natives and inhabitants. Jacob Levy, a native and inhabitant with a wife and five helpless children. Isaac Serfaty, an inhabitant, who formerly attended at the Jews' Brandy Warehouse. David Nabarro and family. Abraham Anijar, a butcher, with a wife and three young children. Moses Toledano, with an old mother and three sisters, all natives. [He had evaded a chase at sea by the Spaniards, as described above] Abraham Senor, with a wife and six children, all natives. Moses Hassan. Aron Levy, an inhabitant. Mary, widow of Phineas Toledano. Isaac Levy Bensusan, native. Isaac Dasa, a very old inhabitant, with wife and family. Joshua Levy, a native, with wife and five children. Solomon Beniso, native, with a wife and six children. Donah, widow of Jacob Benshannan, an inhabitant for many years. Mordecay Molenguy. Ruben Melul, inhabitant. David Benady, native. Meriam, widow of Abraham Hassan, with five children. Joseph Wanano, inhabitant upwards of 20 years, kept a grocer's shop. Reyna Toledano, native and orphan. Isaac Taurel, formerly broker to H.M. Forces. Jacob Shannan, native. Abraham Massias, inhabitant upwards of 40 years, with a wife and six children. Isaac Ambram, inhabitant. Isaac Lara, former vice-consul at Tangier and Arcila. Saml. Cardozo Nunes, silversmith [a younger brother of Aaron Cardozo]. The distressed widow of Jacob Matana, three orphans [she was the lady who had held the licence for the Jews' distillery referred to above].130 The petitions were obviously organised by Isaac Aboab, who countersigned all of them except Abra? ham Pariente's, and he got other Gibraltar merchants to sign also, including Juda Israel, John Turnbull, and John Ward, jun.; but none of these petitioners appears to have received aid from the British Government, and some of them remained in London. Another of the petitioners was Jacob Benider, who had been Vice-Consul in Tangier and Mogador, and who claimed money that the Government had owed him for many years, and his request must have been met, for in 1785 he and his family returned to Gibral? tar with a 3-year-old child, another Abraham, 'for the comfort of his Advanced Age', but Jacob died a few years later.131 IX. The refugees in London Dr. Richard Barnett has very kindly made available to me the notes he has prepared from the minute books of the Mahamad (management committee) and the Elders of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Con? gregation, of Bevis Marks in London, which throw light on the position of the Jews from Gibraltar who took refuge there during the Great Siege. On 1 June, 1781, a letter was received from Yesiel Tedesquino reporting his arrival with other families at Portsmouth; the party included Rabbi Almosnino. They were all being housed and fed by the Jewish</page><page sequence="21">The Settlement of Jews in Gibraltar, 1704-1783 107 community of Portsmouth but needed 18 guineas to clear their debts with the captain of the ship that had brought them over. Others arrived at other ports in England and Ireland, Judah Israel and his family landed at Maryport, in Cumberland; but all the refu? gees gravitated to London, where they expected suc? cour from the Bevis Marks Congregation, with whom Gibraltar had had close links from the time of Isaac Netto. The arrival of some 250 Jews from Gibraltar, most of them destitute, imposed a heavy burden on the resources of that small congregation, which did not number more than 600, and had its own poor to look after. Nevertheless, the members rose to the occasion, a Gibraltar Committee was formed to help the refu? gees, and by the end of the Siege over ?122 had been collected for them, in addition to amounts granted from congregational funds, like the ?15 given by the Society Achnasat Horehim in November 1781, and ?30 granted from the funds of the Beth Holim, the congregation's hospital. There are a number of entries in the minute-books listing sums granted by the Board of Elders to those in need. In July 1782, the case of 13 persons who had arrived in what was described as a wretched state, via Italy and Hamburg, was referred to the Elders by the Gibraltar Committee, as the members were of the opinion that they did not come under their terms of reference, as they had not arrived directly from Gibraltar. They were probably Gibraltarians who had taken refuge in Minorca but had been expelled after its capture by the Spaniards. The Spaniards tried to return the Gibraltarians found in Minorca to their home town, but Eliott, in view of the great shortages in supplies and accommodation faced by the besieged garrison, had perforce to refuse them admittance. The Elders granted one guinea each to Moses Naory, David Nabarro, Is. Lahmi, Jacob Benaim, Miriam, widow of Ph. Toledano, and four daughters, Joshua Gabay, his wife, and two sons. In 1783 a number were assisted with 'despachos', sums of money to help them to pay their passages out of England. Jacob Levy and David Nabarro were given assistance to return to Gibraltar in March, but others went elsewhere. Jos. Hadida was given one guinea to assist him to go to America in January, and some weeks later Simha Abenatar was helped to go to Hamburg. After the petitions presented to the Government had met with no success, Menahem Nahon, one of the petitioners, was given five guineas for a despacho for Gibraltar for his family and himself; others also asked for help. Shortage of money kept a number of Gibraltarians in London; on 21 January 1784, Isaac Benaim was granted one guinea as a despa cho for Gibraltar, and on 17 May, Ben. Nunes Lara, one of the officials of the Bevis Marks Congregation, presented a list of families that wished to return to Gibraltar, all of whom appeared before the Mahamad to promise that they would go if they were given the opportunity. Among them were some of the peti? tioners of the previous year: Ruben Melul (6 in family), Zimol Sananes (4), Moseh Toledano (3), and Meriam de Abm. Hassan (5). There were also other names, Haim Levy (3 in family), Moseh Benjamin (4), Jos. Benaim (1), Jos. Matana (5), Abm. Benamor (1), Sei. andjac. Masias (2), and Moses Nahon (4). A problem which achieved a more satisfactory con? clusion was that of Moses Espinosa, merchant and Dutch Vice-Consul at Gibraltar, who expected help from that country. In September 1783 he wrote thanking the Mahamad for the loan of ?20 which they had made him to enable him to return to Gibral? tar via Holland, and a few days later, on the 23rd of the month, he was able to repay the money, as he had established his claim for compensation with the Dutch Government. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am indebted to Dr. Richard Barnett for much advice and encouragement, to the Gibraltar Government for permission to consult their Archives, and to Mr. Bill Cumming, the Archivist, for advice and assistance in selecting the docu? ments I have quoted. Unfortunately, the Archives are not at present normally available for historical research. I should not have been able to do justice to my subject without the pioneer work of Mr. A. B. M. Serfaty, and Sir Joshua Hassan's study of the political and diplomatic corre? spondence relating to the events of 1713 to 1728. NOTES 1 For an account of the capture of Gibraltar and sub? sequent events, see A. D. Francis, The First Peninsular War 1702?1713 (Benn, London, 1975), and for the negotiations with Morocco, Francis, The Methuens and Portugal (Cam? bridge University Press, 1966). 2 Heinrich Kuenzel, Leben und Briefwechsel des Landgrafen Georg von Hessen-Darmstadt (London and Friedberg, 1859). 3 Ibid., p. 440. Charles Rubens. 'Joseph Cortissos and the War of the Spanish Succession', Transactions of the Jewish Historical Society of England (hereafter Trans.JHSE), Vol. XXIV (1975). 4 Public Record Office (hereafter PRO), CO.91:1. 5 PRO, SP.89:18, fo.153. 6 An Exact Journal of the taking of Gibraltar by the Prince of Hesse with the Confederate Fleet in the year 1704, By an Officer then in the Service of the Allies (London, 1710?), Nov. 8. 7 Charles Dalton, George the First's Army 1714-27, Vol. 3, p.237. 8 British Museum (hereafter BM) Add.MS. 10034. His? torical Manuscripts Commission (hereafter HMC), House of Lords, Vol. 9, p.65. 9 BM, Add.MS. 38329, fo. 169.</page><page sequence="22">108 Mesod Benady 10 Not to be confused with the austere and high-minded General George Eliott, who commanded during the Great Siege 1779-1783. 11 BM, Add.MS. 10034. Encyclopedia Judaica (hereafter Enc.Jud.) (Keter, Jerusalem, 1971) Vol. 3, p.812b. 12 PRO, C0.91:l. 13 Ibid. 14 BM, Add.MS. 10034. 15 BM, Add.MS. 38853. 85-87. 16 Ibid. 17 George Hills, {Rock of Contention (Hale, 1974), p.218. The Asiento was the right to transport and sell African slaves to the Spanish colonies in America. 18 PRO, C0.95:3. Dartmouth to Lexington, 7 Nov. 1712, Lexington to Dartmouth, 20 Oct. For a full account of the subsequent correspondence between the British Govern? ment and the Governors of Gibraltar see Sir Joshua Hassan, The Treaty of Utrecht 1713 and the Jews of Gibraltar (JHSE, 1970) . 19 Hassan, op. dr., p.2b. 20 76iW.,p.3a. 21 PRO, CO-9T:5i Lieutenant-Governor Congreve to Bolingbroke, 13 May 1714. Bolingbroke was Secretary of State for the Southern Department; Gibraltar came under this department until it was abolished in 1782. Admiral Sir James Wishart was Commander-in-Chief in the Mediter? ranean in 1714. 22 PRO, C0.9L5. 23 Hills, op. cit., p.243. 24 Antonio de Bethencourt Massieu, El Catolicismo en Gibraltar durante el siglo XVIII (Universidad de Valladolid, 1967), pp.19, 39, 41. Hassan, op. cit., p.3b. 25 Copies of the affidavits in PRO, CO,91:l, 12 Oct. 1717. 26 PRO, CO,91:l, 2 Nov. 1717. 27 Hassan, op. cit., p.4b. PRO, C0.9L1, 8 Feb. 1718. 28 PRO, C0.9L2. HMC, Commissioners for Trade 1722-3 to 1728, p.447. 29 PRO, CO.391:22, f.358. 30 Israel Solomons, 'David Nieto and some of his Con? temporaries', Trans. JHSE, Vol. XII (1928-31), p.6. 31 John Charnock Biographia Navalis, or, Impartial Memoirs of the Lives and Characters of the Officers of the Navy of Great Britain from the Year 1660 to the Present Time (London, 1795),p.207. 32 Sir Charles Petrie, King Charles III of Spain (London, 1971) , p.8. 33 Enc.Jud. Vol. 3, p.812b. John Windhus, 'A Journey to Mequinez', in Vol. 15 of A General Collection of the best and most interesting Voyages and Travels in all parts of the World, by J. Pinkerton (London 1814) p.446. 34 PRO, C0.9L5, Stewart to Craggs, 11 Nov. 1720, 20 Dec. 1720, 20 Jan. 1721. 35 Windhus, op. cit., p.446. 36 Ibid., pp.459, 464, 479. PRO, C0.9L5. 37 PRO, C0.9L5, Stewart to Craggs, 22Jun. 1721. 38 PRO, C0.9L7. 39 PRO, C0.9L7. Lieut.-Col. Thomas James, The His? tory of the Herculean Straits (London, 1771), Vol. 2, p.393. 40 PRO, C0.9L8, Hargrave to Bedford, 4 Dec. 1748. 41 BM, Add.MS.3617, fos.139-155. 42 Anglo-Jewish Association Annual Report (hereafter AJA) 1877, p. 119. 43 The similar rainstorm of 1834 particularly affected the area round the synagogue (Gibraltar Chronicle, 20 Nov. 1834). 44 Hills, op. cit., p.258. 45 Dalton, op. cit. PRO, C0.91:l, letter from Kane, 18 Aug. 1725. Dictionary of National Biography (hereafter DNB) [Oxford University Press). 46 BM, Add.MS. 23637. 47 The second article of the Treaty concluded by Admiral Baker in 1716 with the Bey of Algiers was unequivocal: That as the island of Minorca, in the Mediterranean sea, and the City of Gibraltar in Spain, have been yielded and annexed to the crown of Great Britain, as well as by the King of Spain, is also by the several powers of Europe engaged in the late war, it is now hereby agreed, and fully concluded from this time forwards for ever, the said island of Minorca and City of Gibraltar shall be esteemed in every respect by the govern? ment and people of Algiers, to be part of his Britannic Majesty's dominions, and the inhabitants thereof to be looked upon as his Majesty's natural subjects.' The treaty with Tripoli read similarly. James, Vol. 2, p. 387. 48 Hassan, op. cit., p.6b. PRO, C0.91:l. 49 Hassan, op. cit., p.8b. 50 BM, King's MS. 231. 51 Hassan, op. cit., p.9a. 52 Edgar R. Samuel, 'Anglo-Jewish Notaries and Scri? veners', Trans. JHSE, Vol. XVII, 1953. p.123. BM, Add.Ms. 23643. 53 In 1729, Lieutenant-Governor Clayton wrote to the Secretary of State, 'There is a person in the City whose name is Netto, a Jew, very well known there, he was the person I engaged to furnish the Garrison with fresh provisions from Barbary, whether I had any profit from him in any kind, but for my own table paid the same as every officer in the Garrison for my consumption. I beg sir if you doubt me you will enquire or whether, since his leaving this place (as he now resides in London) he hears I have since.' 54 Journal of the Siege of Gibraltar, by S. H., 16 Feb. 1727, Gibraltar Museum 328. This MS. diary of the 1727 siege was given to the museum by Sir John Fortescue. S.H. was ajunior Dfficer on the staff of Colonel Henry Desney, of the 29th Regiment of Foot (Cameronians). 55 P.4 (London 1728). This book was published anony? mously and appears to have been commissioned by Colonel (later General) John Guise, the Major of the First Guards. 56 S.H., op cit. 57 PRO, CO.91:5, Newcastle to Clayton, 16 Apr. 1728. 58 PRO, C0.91:5, letter to Sabine, 4 Apr. 1730. 59 PRO, CO.91:1. James, op. cit., Vol. 2, p. 320. 60 Gibraltar Government Archives, Governors Orders Book? (hereafter Orders Book), 1750. 61 Reasons for giving up Gibraltar (hereafter Reasons) (Anon., London, 1749). 62 Orders Book, ljuly 1751. 63 George Borrow, The Bible in Spain, cap.52. 64 PRO, SP.108:24. 1777 Census (Gib. Govt. Archives). 65 PRO, SP.108.24. 66 PRO, CO,91:8. 67 Information supplied by Mr. Edgar R. Samuel from The London Evening Post. Charnock, op. cit., Vol. IV, p. 210. 68 Three Letters relating to the Navy (Anon., London, 1757). 69 Reasons. 70 DNB. 71 Abraham B. M. Serfaty, The Jews of Gibraltar under British Rule (Gibraltar, 1933, 2nd edn., 1958), p. 12. 72 Ibid., p. 14. AJA, 1877,p.ll9. 73 Serfaty, op. cit., p. 14. 74 BM, Lansdowne MS. 1234, fo.94. 75 PRO, C0.91:14, Irwin to Seymour, 16 Dec. 1765. 76 John Ward married Rebecca, one of the three</page><page sequence="23">The Settlement of Jews in Gibraltar, 1704-1783 109 daughters of Raffaele Tedesco. They had a number of children. George (b. Gibraltar, 1752) was one of the pro? moters of the Regent Street Canal, and acquired large hold? ings in land in the Isle of Wight, where he became known as 'King George'; his son William (1787?1849) was a Director of the Bank of England, M.P. for the City of London, and the leading cricketer of his time; in 1820 he scored 278 runs at Lords' for the M.C.C. against Norfolk, a record for that ground that stood for over a century; 5 years later he bought Lords' to save it from speculative builders. (Information from Mr. Wilfred Ward, DNB, Vol. 20, p.801, and John Drinkwater's manuscript Commonplace Book in the Gibraltar Garrison Library. See DNB, Vol. 20, for other descendants of John and Rebecca: Sir Henry George Ward (p.773), Robert Plumer Ward (p.788), and William George Ward (p.801). 77 PRO, C0.91:ll, Bland to Bedford, No.1749. 78 BM, Lansdowne MS., fo.95. 79 Ibid., fo.98. 80 PRO, CO.91:3. Petition of widow of Jacob Matana, 10 July 1783. 81 Ibid., ff. 110-111. Ignacio Lopez de Ayala, Historia de Gibraltar (Madrid, 1782), p. 364. 82 PRO, CO.91:11, 19 May 1750. CO.91:18. Cecil Roth, 'Jacob Benider', Miscellanies II (JHSE, 1935), p. 88. 83 Orders Book, 23 July 1750. 84 Ibid. Notes in the margin. 85 PRO, CO.91:24. Eliott's letter, 10 April 1778. 86 BM, Add.MS. 23647, diary for 13 Aug. 1756. 87 Ayala, op. cit., p.374 seq. An Accurate Description of Gibraltar interspersed with a Pathetic Account of the Progress of the Siege By a Gentleman just arrived from, and many years resident in, that Garrison (Anon., London 1782), p.22. Governor's Secretary's Diary (hereafter See's Diary), 1778 (Gib. Govt. Archives). PRO, C0.9L15, May 1767, cargo of pink For? tune. PRO. CO.91.13, Home to Pitt, 30 May, 1760. 88 Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of Spain (New York, 1906-1908), Vol. 3, p. 313. PRO, C0.9L32. 89 James, op. cit., Vol. 2, p.230. 1777 Census (Gib. Govt. Archives). 90 Ayala, op. cit., p.373. 91 BM, Add. MS. 36137, fos.139-155. PRO, C0.9L32. 1777 Census (Gib. Govt. Achives). 92 PRO, C0.9L11, Depositions before Judge at Gibral? tar, 18 July, 1755. 93 Misc.JHSE, Vol. 2, p.80, Anglo-Judaica in the Cata? logue of the British Museum, Hebrew Manuscripts. 94 Ayala, op. cit., p. 373. 95 Mrs. Middleton's Letters 1805-1807 (typescript, Gibraltar Garrison Library), 28 Mar. 1807; see also reports in British press on Rabbi Solomon Hirschell in 1802. 96 PRO, CO.91:15, Cornwallis to Shellburne, 30 May 1768, Report on detention of pink Fortune, May 1767. 1777 Census (Gib. Govt. Archives). 97 Ayala, op. cit., p. 383. 1777 Census (Gib. Govt. Archive). 98 Information supplied by Dr. Richard D. Barnett. 99 1777 Census, and L. D. Barnett, Bevis Marks Records, Part II (London, 1949), p. 103. 100 Ibid. An Accurate Description. 101 1777 Census. Enc.Jud., Vol. 2, p.669. 102 Ibid, and Vol. 5, p.973. 103 Orders Book. 104 Ibid. 105 See's Diary, 1778. 106 John Drinkwater, A History of the Siege of Gibraltar 1779-1783 (London 1905). There are a number of editions of this work, but I prefer to use this one, as it is indexed, op. cit., p.53 seq. S. Ancell, A Journal of the Blockade and Siege of Gibraltar (Dublin, 1802), p.6. seq. 107 Drinkwater op. cit., p.68. Captain John Spilsbury, A Journal of the Siege of Gibraltar (Gibraltar, 1908), Spilsbury, p.5. An Authentic and Accurate Journal of the Siege of Gibraltar (London, 1785), p.7. 108 PRO, C0.91:31. Petition of Moses Toledano. 109 PRO, CO,91:28. Report of Patron Caneppa. 110 Serfaty, op. cit., p.16. 1777 Census. CO,91:42, Memorial of Hannah Hassan mother of Abraham Hassan deceased, February 10, 1802. 111 Drinkwater, op. cit., p. 143. 112 Ancell, op. cit., p.31. 113 Mrs. Green, 'A Lady's Experience in the Great Siege of Gibraltar' (Royal Engineers Journal, Jan -July 1912) p.116 (Feb.), p.255 (April), p.309 (May). 114 HMC, Commissioner's 10th Report. Section 6, p.39. 115 Petrie, op. cit., p. 192. 116 Drinkwater, op. cit., pp. 133-138. Mrs. Green, op. cit., p.33 (July)' 117 Spilsbury op. cit., p.27. 118 Drinkwater, op. cit., p. 147. 119 Matzot, as this was during the middle days of Pass? over. 120 PRO, C.12:1538 (16); also Serfaty op. cit., p.40. Abra? ham's letters to his brother Moses in Spanish were translated into English for the purpose of a court case between the two grandfathers, when Moses Montefiore sought an injunction to stop Judah Israel from taking Abraham's son, young Judah, back to Gibraltar. 121 Drinkwater, op. cit., p.167. 122 Ibid., p.167. 123 Upton, op. cit., 20 May. 124 Drinkwater op. cit., p. 167. Spilsbury, op. cit., p.32. An Accurate Description, p.8 (where there is another error: the name of the clerk is given as Benady, but all that family are accounted for at the end of the Siege, so it must have been mistaken for Benider, see Roth, op. cit., p.89). 125 Drinkwater op. cit., pp.167, 173. R. D. Barnett 'The Correspondence of the Mahamad of the Spanish and Portu? guese, Congregation of London' (Trans JHSE, XX, 1964), p.15. PRO, CO,91:27, Sotomayor to Eliott, 15 June 1781. Authentic Journal, p.88. 126 Alfred Rubens, 'Portrait of Anglo-Jewry, 1656 1836', Trans JHSE, XIX, 1960, p. 18. 127 Drinkwater, op. cit., p.335. 128 Ibid. 129 Ibid. 130 PRO, CO.91:30. C0.91:3. 131 During the time he was in Morocco, Benider had seen relations between Britain and that country deteriorating. In 1758 the frigate Syren in a moment of ill-timed officiousness had caused the Emperor of Morocco's new cruiser to run aground and become a total loss. The Emperor was furious and asked for heavy compensation, the British Government demurred, and James Read, the Consul-General, was impri? soned and ill-treated, and, afraid that he might give in to this pressure and commit the British Government to large finan? cial indemnities, he committed suicide. Eventually the matter was resolved by the embassy of Captain Milbanke, R.N., and a new Consul, Sampson, was sent out. Benider got involved in a quarrel with George Adams, a British merchant at Mogador who would not accept his jurisdiction, as he was trying to obtain for himself the position of Vice-Consul. The Emperor asked Sampson, who was at Tetuan, to visit him at Mequinez. Sampson, fearful of Read's fate, timidly demurred. The Emperor repeated his demands and Sampson</page><page sequence="24">110 MesodBenady excused himself and in January 1772, Sumbal, the Emperor's Secretary, wrote him a letter: The King my Master says you have no sense. You have no Manners. You have no breeding. Our servant Sumbal, the Jew is appointed to transact all affairs with Christians. One Adams of Mogador behaved ill and was guilty of breaking the peace with us, by threatening that the Englishmen will kill the Moors; and applyed to Us about matters that belong to English subjects for you to Judge of, contrary to his duty. We wanted to see you and you will not come. You were sent here to act between two Kings, and you should not say anything of breaking peace. Now you shall not ever see us, and for your sake no Consul of any Nation in this Country shall ever see us again, and you are no Consul. You may live in our Country as a Gentleman, and go all over the Country wherever you like. I am a King and you are a Consul, But you are no Consul.' The Spaniards were at this time engaged, through a process of diplomacy and substantial gifts, in weaning Morocco from the British alliance, as they wanted to close the ports to Britain during the coming attack on Gibraltar, and in 1765 they signed a treaty of alliance. They achieved their aim, as we have seen, in January 1781, when they farmed the ports of northern Morocco. Benider, in view of the worsening relations, decided he would be well out of it, and got himself sent to England in 1772 on a special mission by the Emperor. His wife and two children stayed on in Gibraltar. During the siege his son, Abraham, who worked as a clerk for Abraham Israel, was killed in the cannonade, as related above. A few days later, his wife, Esther, and daughter, Sarah, embarked for England, but their ship was taken by an American priva? teer, and they were carried into Spain. They thus lost the last few remaining possessions they had saved when their house in George's Lane was destroyed. Eventually they were reunited in London and they had since kept themselves by taking in a 'few writings and his Wife Needle Work.' Roth, op. cit., and correspondence in PRO, C0.9L12, 13, 17, 18.</page></plain_text>