Editing Resettlement of the Jews in England

{{short description|Policy of tolerance towards Jews in Commonwealth-era England}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2018}}
{{History of the Jews in England}}

The '''resettlement of the Jews in England''' was an informal arrangement during the [[Commonwealth of England]] in the mid-1650s that allowed [[Jews]] to practice their faith openly. It forms a prominent part of the [[history of the Jews in England]]. It happened directly after two events. First, a prominent rabbi, [[Menasseh ben Israel]], came to the country from the [[Dutch Republic|Netherlands]] to make the case for Jewish resettlement, and second, a Spanish ''[[marrano]]'' (a Jew forcibly conververted to Christianity who still practiced Judaism in secret) merchant, Antonio Robles, requested that he be classified as a Jew rather than Spaniard during [[Anglo-Spanish War (1654–1660)|the war]] between England and [[Habsburg Spain|Spain]].

Historians have disagreed about the reasons behind the resettlement, particularly regarding [[Oliver Cromwell]]'s motives, but the move is generally seen as a part of a current of religious and intellectual thought moving towards [[Freedom of thought|liberty of conscience]], encompassing [[philosemitic]] [[millenarianism]] and [[Hebraic]]ism, as well as political and trade interests favouring Jewish presence in England. The schools of thought that led to the resettlement of the Jews in England are the most heavily studied subject of Anglo-Jewish history in the period before the eighteenth century.<ref>Gow, Andrew Colin and Fradkin, Jeremy (2016). [https://books.google.com/books?id=7QiTDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA296 Protestantism and Non-Christian Religions] in ed. Rublack, Ulinka (2017). The Oxford Handbook of the Protestant Reformations. OUP {{ISBN|9780199646920}}</ref>

== Background ==
In 1290, King [[Edward I of England]] had issued an [[Edict of Expulsion|edict expelling all Jews from England]].<ref name=bbc2011>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/history/350.shtml|title=Readmission of Jews to Britain in 1656|author=Tara Holmes|date=24 June 2011|work=BBC}}</ref> However, the [[English Reformation]], which started in the 1530s, brought a number of changes that benefited Jews in the long term.  Doctrines and rituals of the Roman Catholic church that insulted Jews were eliminated, especially those that emphasised their role in the death of Jesus.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} Further [[Anti-Catholicism in the United Kingdom|anti-Catholicism]], with the Pope as [[antichrist]], came to replace antisemitism.<ref>Lindemann, Albert S.; Levy, Richard S. (2008). [https://books.google.com/books?id=SaEUDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA151 ''Antisemitism: A History'']. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|9780199235032}}. p. 151.</ref><ref>Endelman, Todd M. (1999). [https://books.google.com/books?id=Oy6FwmnvVGEC&pg=PA47 ''The Jews of Georgian England, 1714–1830: Tradition and Change in a Liberal Society'']. University of Michigan Press. {{ISBN|9780472086092}}. p. 47</ref> The period of the [[English Civil War]]s and [[Interregnum (England)|Interregnum]] was marked by both widespread [[Millennialism|millennial]] beliefs and a beginning of religious tolerance. Significantly, millenarianism in England often had a strong [[Hebraist]] character, that emphasised the study of Hebrew and Judaism. This was sometimes extended by certain individuals to claim the English as the [[British Israelism|descendants of the Ten lost tribes of Israel]],<ref>Scult, Mel (1978). [https://books.google.com/books?id=1tQUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA18 ''Millennial Expectations and Jewish Liberties: A Study of the Efforts to Convert the Jews in Britain, Up to the Mid Nineteenth Century'']. Brill Archive. p. 18.</ref><ref>Hirschman, Elizabeth Caldwell and Yates, Donald N. (2014). [https://books.google.com/books?id=zq9iAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA164 ''The Early Jews and Muslims of England and Wales: A Genetic and Genealogical History'']. McFarland. {{ISBN| 9780786476848}} pp. 163–173</ref> with Cromwell himself numbering amongst the supporters of this idea.<ref>Lapide, Pinchas E. (1984). [https://books.google.com/books?id=F_mUvs91FxEC&pg=PA73 ''Hebrew in the Church: The Foundations of Jewish-Christian Dialogue'']. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. {{ISBN|9780802849175}}. p. 73.</ref>

{{Main|History of the Marranos in England}}
After both the [[Alhambra Decree]] of 1492, which expelled Jews from Spain in 1492, and [[Persecution of Jews and Muslims by Manuel I of Portugal|similar measures in Portugal]] in 1496, some [[converso]] traders (Jewish converts to Christianity, who often practised Judaism in secret, sometimes also known as [[New Christians]] or derogatively as [[Marrano]]s) settled in London and Bristol.{{refn|In addition to these small communities of ‘[[port Jew]]s’, Henry VIII consulted rabbis on the biblical legitimacy of his divorce from Catherine of Aragon, and during the reign of Edward VI the Regius professor of Hebrew at Cambridge was the converso Hebraist [[Immanuel Tremellius]]. Elizabeth had a Jewish physician, [[Roderigo Lopez|Roderigo Lopes]], and her spymaster [[Francis Walsingham]]’s network of intelligencers included the Portuguese Marrano traders, Hector Nuñes and Dunstan Añez, as well as Lopes. Further, [[Sir Walter Raleigh]] travelled to the New World with Jewish mining expert [[Joachim Gans]] in 1584. It is estimated that there were roughly 80 to 90 Portuguese converses in Elizabethan London.<ref>Henderson, John P (2012). [https://books.google.com/books?id=o6TaBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA71 ''The Life and Economics of David Ricardo''] Springer Science & Business Media. {{ISBN| 9781461561293}} pp. 71–73.</ref><ref>[http://www.ourmigrationstory.org.uk/oms/african-freedom-in-tudor-england-dr-hector-nuness-request ''African freedom in Tudor England: Dr Hector Nunes’ petition''] ourmigrationstory.org.uk</ref>|group=note}} The small community was largely linked by trade to Antwerp, and was expelled altogether in 1609. It was with London’s growing importance as a trading city that Jews from the Netherlands began to settle in the country once more from the 1630s. It is from this first that the current Jewish population of the UK has grown.<ref>Edelman, Todd M. (2002). [https://books.google.com/books?id=RNyvgPAuvhAC&pg=PA17 ''The Jews of Britain, 1656 to 2000'']. University of California Press. {{ISBN|9780520935662}} pp. 17–18</ref>

=== Religious toleration and liberty of conscience ===
The 1640s and 1650s in England were marked by intense debates about religious tolerance, marked by speeches and tracts by radical puritans and dissenters who called for liberty of conscience. This extreme diversity of opinion about religious toleration was sorted into 12 schools of thought in the study of the period by [[Wilbur Kitchener Jordan|W.K. Jordan]].{{refn|These categories were: orthodox Presbyterians, moderate Presbyterians, Independents, Baptists, Latitudinarians, Cambridge Platonists, rationalists and sceptics, Erastians, the rank and file, Anglican extremists, moderate Anglicans, and Roman Catholics.<ref>Jordan, Wilbur Kitchener (1938 and 1940). ''The Development of Religious Toleration in England. Vols. III and IV''. in Coffey (2006)</ref>|group=note|text.}} John Coffey uses a simpler three-point schema:  anti-tolerationists, conservative tolerationists, and radical tolerationists, pointing out that although the latter were in a minority, they formed an important part of the debate.<ref name=Coffey2006>Coffey, John (2006). [https://www.academia.edu/30764101/_The_toleration_controversy_during_the_English_Revolution_in_C._Durston_and_J._Maltby_eds_Religion_in_Revolutionary_England_Manchester_University_Press_2006_ The Toleration Controversy during the English Revolution]. in C. Durston and J. Maltby, eds, Religion in Revolutionary England. Manchester University Press, 2006. pp. 42–68.</ref> Nonetheless it is important to remember that although figures such as [[William Walwyn]], [[Sir Henry Vane the Younger|Henry Vane]], [[John Milton]], and others made powerful apologia for religious toleration, their frame of reference was theological, rather than secular in nature and they were not calling for religious pluralism as is understood today.<ref>Walsham, Alexandra (2006).[https://books.google.com/books?id=MwNlIIGnckYC&pg=PA233 Charitable Hatred: Tolerance and Intolerance in England, 1500–1700]. Manchester University Press. pp. 232–233. {{ISBN|9780719052392}}</ref><ref>Zagorin, Peter (2003). [https://books.google.com/books?id=iVHyAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA195 How the Idea of Religious Toleration Came to the West]. Princeton University Press. pp. 195–196. {{ISBN|9781400850716}}.</ref> The early and mid Seventeenth century was also marked by a rise in Hebraism, the study of Jewish scriptures, which were often used to discuss political issues such as the existence of a monarchy or republic, and religious toleration. This debate used Jewish sources to justify its conclusions.<ref>Parker, Kim Ian (2015). [https://books.google.com/books?id=TraYCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT654 ‘A King Like Other Nations’: Political Theory and The Hebrew Republic in the Early Modern Age] in Kileen, Kevin, Smith, Helen, Willie, Rachel Judith (2015). The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in Early Modern England, c. 1530–1700. OUP Oxford. {{ISBN|9780191510595}}.</ref> The most prominent scholar in the field was the MP and jurist [[John Selden]], whose thought was influenced by [[Thomas Erastus]] and [[Grotius]]. Selden proposed minimal government intervention on matters of religion, a view he modelled on the [[Hebrew republic|Hebrew Commonwealth]]. He in turn influenced similar approaches in [[John Milton]] (whose plea for freedom of the press, the [[Areopagitica]] (1644), directly named him), [[Thomas Hobbes]] and [[James Harrington (author)|James Harrington]] (the latter of whom proposed settling Jews in Ireland in his book ''[[The Commonwealth of Oceana]]'').<ref>[[Gertrude Himmelfarb|Himmelfarb, Gertrude]] (2011). [https://books.google.com/books?id=SwPnCjeHMj4C&pg=PT114 ''The People of the Book: Philosemitism in England, From Cromwell to Churchill'']. Encounter Books. {{ISBN|9781594035715}}. pp. 144–146</ref><ref>[[Eric M. Nelson|Nelson, Eric]] (2011). [https://www.fpri.org/docs/media/201105.nelson.religiousoriginsofreligioustolerance.pdf ''The Religious Origins of Religious Tolerance'']. [[Foreign Policy Research Institute]].</ref>

Overall the strongest political group of the 1640s and 50s, the English Puritans, had a negative view of toleration, seeing it as a concession to evil and heresy. It was often associated with tolerating the heresies of [[Arminianism]], the philosophy of free will and free thought, and [[Socinianism]], a doctrine of [[Anti-trinitarianism]]. But despite this Puritan hostility to toleration, England did see a certain religious laissez-faire emerge (for instance, the [[Rump Parliament]] repealed the [[recusancy]] laws in 1650). This was partly due to the impossibility of stopping religious free expression, but it also became a part of the cause of the [[New Model Army|new model army]].<ref>Worden, Blair (2012). [https://books.google.com/books?id=evIKK1WdYdcC&pg=PA68 ''God's Instruments: Political Conduct in the England of Oliver Cromwell'']. OUP. p. 68. {{ISBN|9780199570492}}</ref> The doctrinal policies of the protectorate were largely conservative. However, this Puritan train of thought could also point towards liberty of conscience. For [[Congregationalists]], truth lay in the spirit rather than institutions. Like the [[Cambridge Platonists|Platonists]], they searched for internal unity amidst external diversity.<ref>Worden (2012). pp. 69–70.</ref> Further, Puritans valued conscience, which could be neither forced nor tested, over ritual and ceremony. So rather than toleration, the key debate among key figures in the Protectorate revolved around [[liberty of conscience]]. For [[Blair Worden]], Cromwell’s religious policy was rooted in a search for union of believers, rather than toleration of differing beliefs, and religious persecution was the largest obstacle to this union. However, liberty of conscience extended only to "God's peculiar" and not heretics (such as [[Quakers]], [[Socinians]], and [[Ranters]]).<ref>Worden (2012). pp. 71–73.</ref>

There was a great increase of religious freedom and the ecclesiastical diversity in Cromwellian England.  This marked a revolutionary change and led to increasing toleration in the years after the interregnum ended.<ref>Worden (2012). pp. 73–74.</ref> On the one hand, the loosely Calvinist Cromwell allowed the punishment of men such as the [[Unitarianism|Unitarian]] [[John Biddle (Unitarian)|John Biddle]] and the [[Quaker]] [[James Nayler]], and accepted the restrictions on religious tolerance found in the [[Humble Petition and Advice]] of 1657. But on the other hand, his entourage included men who wanted more liberty of belief than he allowed. These non-sectarian ‘merciful men’ or [[politiques]], who wanted to understand and tolerate beliefs different to their own, included [[Bulstrode Whitelocke]], [[Matthew Hale (jurist)|Matthew Hale]], and [[Charles Worsley|Sir Charles Worsley]].<ref>Worden, Blair (2012). [https://books.google.com/books?id=evIKK1WdYdcC&pg=PA85 ''God's Instruments: Political Conduct in the England of Oliver Cromwell'']. OUP. pp. 85–86. {{ISBN|9780199570492}}</ref>

=== Millenarian 'admissionists' ===
The toleration of Jews was largely borne by the hope of [[Conversion of the Jews (future event)|converting them to Christianity]]. [[Leonard Busher]] was one of the first to call for the readmission of the Jews to England and the toleration of their faith in 1616. Lawyer and MP, [[Henry Finch (died 1625)|Henry Finch]] and the scholar [[Joseph Mede]] both wrote of the benefits of the conversion of the Jews in the 1620s. The Scottish minister [[John Wemyss (minister)|John Wemyss]] advocated readmitting Jews to Christian lands with a view to converting them in the 1630s. So, by the 1640s, the imminent conversion of the Jews was a widespread belief among Puritans. Indeed during that decade the Christians who were most liberal towards Jews are also those who were most committed to their conversion. A number of these ‘admissionists’ were close to Cromwell, including [[John Sadler (Town Clerk of London)|John Sadler]], [[John Dury]], and [[Hugh Peter]]. Other notable readmissionists include exiled Royalist cleric [[Thomas Barlow (bishop)|Thomas Barlow]] and the Dissenter [[Henry Jessey]]. The [[Fifth Monarchy Men]] were another example of Puritan millenarians who saw the readmission of the Jews as hastening the kingdom of Christ. The exiled Royalist [[Edward Nicholas|Sir Edward Nicholas]] is one of the few admissionists who did not seem interested in conversion. By contrast, the anti-admissionists were often animated by the belief that it would be difficult or impossible to convert the Jews. [[William Prynne]]’s anti-Semitic pamphlet ''A Short Demurrer'', which was printed on the eve of the Whitehall Conference, and the pamphlet ''Anglo-Judaeus or The History of the Jews Whilst Here in England'' by W.H. both doubt that the Jews would be converted once in England.<ref>Scult, Mel (1978). [https://books.google.com/books?id=1tQUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA18 Millennial Expectations and Jewish Liberties: A Study of the Efforts to Convert the Jews in Britain, Up to the Mid Nineteenth Century]. Brill Archive. pp. 18–32</ref> Many millenarians at the time emphasised the chosen role of England in God’s plan, and this was often accompanied by the identification the Jews as the true Israel of the Bible. Indeed, they saw the Jews as a superior group, sharing some characteristics with the chosen nation of England. This belief was rooted in the literal interpretation of the Biblical primacy of the Jews found in the writings of [[Thomas Brightman]].<ref>Hirschman and Yates (2014). p. 167</ref> This meant that if the Jews were specially favoured by God, the English must listen to their appeals for help.<ref>Crome, Andrew (2014). [https://books.google.com/books?id=qcokBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA189 ''The Restoration of the Jews: Early Modern Hermeneutics, Eschatology, and National Identity in the Works of Thomas Brightman'']. Springer. {{ISBN|9783319047614}}. p. 189</ref> These philo-semitic figures, who also believed in the restoration of the Jews to the Holy Land, included [[Jeremiah Burroughs]], [[Peter Bulkley|Peter Bulkeley]] (whose father had given Brightman’s funeral sermon), [[John Fenwicke]], and [[John Cotton (minister)|John Cotton]].<ref>Crome (2014). pp. 179, 184–188</ref>

== 1649 to 1654: First steps towards resettlement ==

The original petition for readmission was submitted by Johanna and Ebenezer Cartwright, two English baptists living in Amsterdam, to [[Thomas Fairfax]]’s Council of War in January 1649. As well as asking that Jews be allowed to live in England, their petition also expressed the wish that the Jews "shall come to know the Emanuell" and that they be transported to the "Land promised to their fore-fathers". It can be seen as a distillation of the Judeo-centric trends of Puritan thought that had developed over the previous century since [[John Bale]] (1495–1563). However, the petition was sent the day before the [[High Court of Justice for the trial of King Charles I|high court was established to try Charles I]], so in the ensuing turmoil the Cartwrights never received an answer.<ref>Smith, Robert O. (2013). [https://books.google.com/books?id=SjJpAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA74 ''More Desired than Our Owne Salvation: The Roots of Christian Zionism'']. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|9780199993253}}. pps. 95–117</ref>  The following year Amsterdam-based Rabbi and diplomat [[Menasseh Ben Israel]] wrote in his book ''Hope of Israel'' of the necessity of the Jews being "spread out to the ends of the earth" (Daniel 12:7) before they could be redeemed. The book was originally published in Dutch and Latin in 1650, and then in English (dedicated to Parliament and the Council of State) in 1652.<ref>Scult, Mel (1978). [https://books.google.com/books?id=1tQUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA18 Millennial Expectations and Jewish Liberties: A Study of the Efforts to Convert the Jews in Britain, Up to the Mid Nineteenth Century]. Brill Archive. p. 24</ref> In 1651 Ben Israel met [[Oliver St John]] and his envoys on their mission to secure an Anglo-Dutch coalition. The English were impressed by learning and manner, and advised him to formally apply for Jewish readmission to England.<ref name=sachar1994>Sachar, Howard M. (1994). [https://books.google.com/books?id=2RowAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA313 ''Farewell Espana: The World of the Sephardim Remembered''] pp. 313–314. Knopf Doubleday. {{ISBN|9780804150538}}</ref>

In 1653, at Oliver St John’s suggestion, Cromwell issued an official directive to authorise, "Menasseh ben Israel, a rabbi of the Jewish nation, well respected for his learning and good affection to the State, to come from Amsterdam to these parts." Fearing local anti-English opinion so soon after war, ben Israel turned down the invitation. But by the middle of the decade, Cromwell was taking advice from [[Marrano]] trader [[Simon de Caceres]]. At de Caceres' suggestion, Cromwell dispatched Marrano physician Abraham de Mercado and his son Raphael to [[History of the Jews in Barbados|Barbados]] (which a few years previously had already started admitting Jews escaping from the Portuguese reconquest of [[Dutch Brazil]]), where he explored the possibility of Jews setting in [[History of the Jews in Jamaica|Jamaica]]. There they would be offered full civil rights and even land grants.<ref name=sachar1994 /><ref>Stiefel, Barry L. (2014). [https://books.google.com/books?id=mMu7BwAAQBAJ&pg=PT128 ''Jewish Sanctuary in the Atlantic World: A Social and Architectural History'']. Univ of South Carolina Press. {{ISBN|9781611173215}}. p. 128</ref>

There is some difference of opinion as to Oliver Cromwell’s opinions regarding the readmission of the Jews. It has been pointed out that he held many of the same hopes regarding the readmission and conversion of the Jews as the millenarians. [[Paul Rycaut]], later ambassador to the port of [[Smyrna]] recalled the Whitehall Conference, "When they all met, he (Cromwell) ordered the Jews to speak for themselves. After that he turned to the clergy, who inveigled much against the Jews as a cruel and cursed people. Cromwell in his answer to the Clergy called them ‘Men of God’ and desired to be informed by the whether it was not their opinion that the Jews were one day to be called into the Church? He then desired to know whether it was not every Christian man’s duty to forward that good end all he could?… was it not then our duty… to encourage them to settle ere where they could be taught the thuth…[sic]"<ref>Scult, Mel (1978). p. 30</ref> It has also been pointed out that Cromwell held more practical beliefs. Cromwell believed that Jews could be used as skilled purveyors of foreign intelligence (which would assist his territorial ambitions).<ref>Fraser, Antonia. (1973). [https://books.google.com/books?id=1iiWzpYwfCcC&pg=PT484 Cromwell, Our Chief of Men.] Hachette. 2011. {{ISBN|9781780220697}} This view first appeared in [[Lucien Wolf]]’s essay ''Cromwell's Jewish Intelligencers: A Paper Read at Jews' College Literary Society, May 10th, 1891''.</ref> Further, toleration of Protestant sects made political sense for Cromwell as it prevented disorder and promoted harmony. He justified the readmission of the Jews using this same tolerant approach, as well as believing that it would improve trade (he saw the Jews as an important part of Amsterdam’s financial success).<ref>Sharp, David (2003). [https://books.google.com/books?id=j1Vj6dH1PxAC&pg=PA67 Oliver Cromwell.] pp.  67–68. Heinemann. {{ISBN|9780435327569}}</ref>

Competition with the Dutch for trade and the increasingly protectionist commercial policy that led to the [[Navigation Acts#The 1651 Act|Navigation Act]] in October 1651 made [[Oliver Cromwell]] want to attract the rich Jews of Amsterdam to London so that they might transfer their important trade interests with the [[Spanish Main]] from the Netherlands to England. The mission of [[Oliver St John]] to Amsterdam, though failing to establish a coalition between English and Dutch commercial interests as an alternative to the Navigation Act, had negotiated with [[Menasseh Ben Israel]] and the Amsterdam community. A pass was granted to Menasseh to enter England, but he was unable to use it because of the [[First Anglo-Dutch War]], which lasted from 1652 to 1654.

== 1655 and 1656: Informal resettlement achieved ==

The years 1655 and 1656 were to prove decisive in the history of the resettlement of the Jews in England. The first of these was the visit of Menasseh ben Israel and the second was the case of the Marrano trader Antonio Rodrigues Robles.

=== Menasseh Ben Israel's petition ===
Menasseh ben Israel's son Samuel had arrived in England accompanied by trader David Dormido<ref name=AngloJewishDict>eds. [[Rubinstein, William D.]]; Jolles, Michael and [[Rubinstein, Hilary L.]] (2011). [https://books.google.com/books?id=hJc8afOZV0QC&pg=PA227 The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History – Dormido, David Abrabanel]. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 227</ref> in 1653 to investigate the possibility of the resettlement of the Jews. In May 1655, he was sent back to Amsterdam in order to try to convince his father to visit England. The rabbi came to England in September 1655 with three other local rabbis, where they were lodged as guests of Cromwell.<ref name=sachar1994 /> There he printed his "humble address" to Cromwell.{{refn|ben Israel’s petition was titled ’To His Highness the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland, the Humble Addresses of Menasseh ben Israel, a Divine, and Doctor of Physick, in behalf of the Jewish Nation’. The document argued that the Jews contribute to the wealth of the nations in which they dwell and are loyal to their host’s rulers. Further the negative accounts of the Jews are untrue. He concluded by asking for the Jews to be allowed to settle in the commonwealth.|group=note}} (When ben Israel began his stay in London it is reckoned that there were about 20 [[New Christian]] families living in the city.)<ref>Edelman, Todd M. (2002). [https://books.google.com/books?id=RNyvgPAuvhAC&pg=PA26 ''The Jews of Britain, 1656 to 2000'']. University of California Press. {{ISBN|9780520935662}} p. 26</ref>  As a consequence, a [[Whitehall Conference|national conference was summoned at Whitehall]] in the early part of December, which included some of the most eminent lawyers, clergymen, and merchants in the country. The lawyers declared no opposition to the Jews' residing in England, but both the clergymen and merchants were opposed to readmission, leading Cromwell to stop the discussion to prevent an adverse decision.<ref>Sigal, Philip (1986). [https://books.google.com/books?id=KM1JAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA175 ''The Emergence of Contemporary Judaism, Volume 3: From Medievalism to Proto-Modernity in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries'']. Wipf and Stock Publishers. {{ISBN|9780915138579}} p. 175</ref>{{refn|Judges [[John Glynne (judge)|John Glynne]] and [[William Steele (Lord Chancellor of Ireland)|William Steele]] declared that "there was no law which forbade the Jews’ return to England" because their original expulsion had been by royal decree, rather than parliamentary vote.<ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Menasseh ben Israel |last=Abrahams |first=Israel |volume=18}}</ref><ref>Green, David B (18 December 2016)/ [http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/this-day-in-jewish-history/1.759284 ''On This Day in Jewish History''] haaretz.com</ref>|group=note}} Nonetheless, some change to official policy must have occurred, because the diarist [[John Evelyn]] wrote in his [[John Evelyn's Diary|diary]] on 14 December, "Now were the Jews admitted".{{refn|John Evelyn’s diary entry for 14 December 1655.<br />
I visited [[Thomas Hobbes|Mr. Hobbes]], the famous philosopher of [[Malmesbury]], with who I had been long acquainted in France.<br />
Now were the Jews admitted.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/diaryofjohnevely01eveliala ''The diary of John Evelyn''] ed. Bray, William. p. 307</ref>|group=note}} Ben Israel stayed in England until September 1657, during which time he met and engaged with a number of influential people.<ref>Katz, David S. (1989). [https://books.google.com/books?id=4v5wRSYnT0kC&pg=PA117 ''Menasseh Ben Israel’s Christian Connection: Henry Jessey and the Jews''] pp. 117–119 in eds. Qaplan, Yosef; Popkin, Richard Henry; Mechoulan, Henry ''Menasseh Ben Israel and His World'', Brill, {{ISBN|9789004091146}}</ref> Although he did not achieve a legal ruling on the resettlement of the Jews, his presence gave prominent Englishmen a positive impression of learning and virtue among Jews.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=KM1JAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA182 Sigal (1986)].</ref>

=== The Robles case ===

Early in the following year (1656), the question came to a practical issue through the declaration of [[Anglo-Spanish War (1654–1660)|war against Spain]], which resulted in the arrest of [[Antonio Rodrigues Robles]], one of the community of Iberian New Christians who traded between London and the Canary Islands.<ref>{{cite ODNB|id=71429|title=Robles, Antonio Rodrigues|first=Edgar|last=Samuel}}</ref> Robles petitioned for the return of his seized property on account of his being ‘of the Hebrew nation’ rather than Spanish. At the same time six leading members of the New Christian community petitioned Cromwell for permission to gather to worship and acquire a burial ground. Although no formal permission was granted, some assurances must have been given because in the summer Menasseh asked for the Torah scroll to be sent over from Amsterdam, and in the autumn Moses Athias moved from Hamburg to act as religious preceptor. By December 1656 they had rented a house for use as a synagogue, and services began in January of 1657.<ref>[http://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/London/city_creechurch/index.htm Jewish Community and Records – Creechurch Lane Synagogue] http://www.jewishgen.org/</ref> In February of 1657 the new community, represented by [[Antonio Fernandez Carvajal]] and [[Simon de Caceres]], acquired land near [[Mile End]] for use as a Synagogue. Historian Todd Endelman makes the point that it is unlikely this activity could have happened without Cromwell’s permission that they could live as professing Jews. The informal nature of the resettlement also meant the forces ranged against it had no target and never united to form any significant opposition. Further, at a later date it meant there were no restrictive laws to repeal when Jews wanted fuller citizenship rights. By the end of the decade the number of Jewish families had risen to thirty five.<ref>Edelman, Todd M. (2002). [https://books.google.com/books?id=RNyvgPAuvhAC&pg=PA26 The Jews of Britain, 1656 to 2000]. University of California Press. {{ISBN|9780520935662}} pp. 26–27, 29</ref> In 1657 [[Solomon Dormido]], a nephew of Menasseh Ben Israel, was admitted to the [[Royal Exchange, London|Royal Exchange]] as a duly licensed broker of the City of London, without taking the usual oath involving a statement of faith in [[Christianity]] (when he was finally sworn in<!--not a mistake--> in 1668, the oath was changed for him).<ref name=AngloJewishDict /> Carvajal had previously been granted letters of [[denization]] for himself and his son, which guaranteed certain rights of citizenship.

== Debating the return of the Jews ==
During the years 1655–56 the question of the return of Jews to England was fought in a [[pamphlet war]]. Conservative opponents including [[William Prynne]] opposed the return while the Quaker [[Margaret Fell]] was in favour. Christian supporters believed the conversion of Jews was a sign of the [[Eschatology|end times]] and the readmission to England was a step towards that goal.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Debate over the Resettlement of Jews in England, 1655–56|url=https://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/17century/topic_4/debate.htm|work=The Norton Anthology of English Literature}}</ref>

This method of debate had the advantage of not raising [[antisemitism|antisemitic]] feelings too strongly; and it likewise enabled [[Charles II of England|Charles II]], on his [[Restoration (1660)|Restoration]] in 1660, to avoid taking any action on the petition of the merchants of London asking him to revoke Cromwell's concession. He had been assisted during his exile by several Jews of royalist sympathies, such as Andrea Mendes da Costa ([[Chamberlain (office)|Chamberlain]] of [[Catherine of Braganza]], wife of Charles II), Antonio Mendes (the physician brother of Andrea, who had cured Catherine of [[erysipelas]] while in Portugal) and Augustine Coronel-Chacon. In 1664 a further attempt was made by the [[Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Berkshire|Earl of Berkshire]] and [[Paul Ricaut]] to bring about the expulsion of the Jews, but the [[King-in-Council]] assured the latter of the continuance of former favour. Similar appeals to prejudice were made in 1673, when Jews, for meeting in Duke's Place for a religious service, were indicted on a charge of rioting, and in 1685, when thirty-seven were arrested on the Royal Exchange; but the proceedings in both cases were put a stop to by direction of the [[Privy Council]]. The status of the Jews was still very indeterminate, with the [[Attorney-General]] declaring that they resided in England only under an implied licence. As a matter of fact, the majority of them were still legally aliens and liable to all the [[Disabilities (Jewish)|disabilities]] that condition carried with it.

== Help from and to Jews abroad ==
[[William III of England|William III]] is reported to have been assisted in his ascent to the English throne by a loan of 2,000,000 [[guilders]] from [[Francisco Lopes Suasso]] (1614–1685) (of the well-known [[Lopes Suasso]] family), later made first Baron [[d'Avernas le Gras]] by [[Charles II of Spain]]. William did not interfere when in 1689 some of the chief Jewish merchants of London were forced to pay the duty levied on the goods of aliens, but he refused a petition from [[Jamaica]] to expel the Jews. William's reign brought about a closer connection between the predominantly Sephardic communities of London and Amsterdam; this aided in the transfer of the European finance centre from the Dutch capital to the English capital. Over this time a small [[German people|German]] [[Ashkenazi]] community had arrived and established their own [[synagogue]] in 1692, but they were of little mercantile consequence, and did not figure in the relations between the established Jewish community and the government. One of the rabbis was [[Solomon Ayllon]].

Early in the eighteenth century the Jewish community of London comprised representatives of the chief Jewish financiers in northern Europe; these included the [[Mendez da Costa]], [[Abudiente]] (later known as Gideon and Eardley), [[Joseph Salvador|Salvador]], [[Lopez]], Fonseca, and [[Seixas]] families. The utility of these prominent Jewish merchants and financiers was widely recognised. [[John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough|Marlborough]] in particular made great use of the services of Sir [[Solomon de Medina]], and indeed was publicly charged with taking an annual [[subvention]] from him. The early merchants of the resettlement are estimated to have brought with them a capital of £1,500,000 into the country; this amount is estimated to have increased to £5,000,000 by the middle of the 18th century.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

As early as 1723 an act of Parliament, the [[Papists Act 1723]] ([10 Geo. 1]]. c. 4), allowed Jews holding land to omit the words "on the true faith of a Christian", when registering their title.<ref>[[Cecil Roth]], ''A History Of The Jews In England'' (1941), [http://www.iamthewitness.com/books/Cecil.Roth/A.History.of.the.Jews.in.England/P.09.The.Jews.under.Anne.and.the.First.Hanoverians.1702-60.htm accessible here] "An Act of 1722, which added to Roman Catholic disabilities by enforcing the Oath of Abjuration on all landowners, was followed the next year by a further measure (10 Geo. 1. c. 4) exempting Jews from the necessity of including in it the words 'on the true faith of a Christian';"</ref> Only once more would this allowance be made<ref name="Henriq-PREJ">{{cite journal |last=Henriques |first=H. S. Q. |date=Jan 1907 |title=The Political Rights of English Jews |jstor=1451130 |journal=[[The Jewish Quarterly Review]] |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=298–341 |doi= 10.2307/1451130}}</ref> in the passage of the [[Plantation Act 1740]], but more significantly the act allowed Jews who had or would have resided in [[British America]] for seven years to become naturalised British subjects.

Shortly afterwards a similar bill was introduced into the [[Parliament of Ireland|Irish Parliament]], where it passed the [[Irish House of Commons|Commons]] in 1745 and 1746, but failed to pass the [[Irish House of Lords|Lords]] in 1747; it was ultimately dropped.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}} Meanwhile, during the [[Jacobitism|Jacobite]] rising of 1745 the Jews had shown particular loyalty to the government. Their chief financier, [[Samson Gideon]], had strengthened the stock market, and several of the younger members had volunteered in the corps raised to defend London.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

== In popular culture ==
The meeting between Menasseh Ben Israel and Oliver Cromwell was painted by [[Solomon Alexander Hart]] in 1873 and bought by [[Francis Goldsmid|Sir Francis Goldsmid]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=uEUPAQAAIAAJ Report & Transactions 1881 – Art in Devonshire]. The  Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature and Art. Vol 13. pp. 234–235</ref><ref>[https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/work-of-art/study-for-manasseh-ben-israel-before-oliver-cromwell Study for 'Manasseh ben Israel before Oliver Cromwell', by 1873]. RA Collection: Art. Royal Academy of Art.</ref>
The historical figure of Menasseh Ben Israel and the admission of Sephardic Jews from the Netherlands into England are featured in the novel ''The Weight of Ink'' by Rachel Kadish (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://daily.jstor.org/summoning-17th-century-scholars-researching-the-weight-of-ink/|title = Summoning 17th-Century Scholars: Researching the Weight of Ink|date = 10 October 2017}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[History of the Jews in England]]
* [[History of the Jews in England (1066–1200)]]
* [[History of the Marranos in England]]
* [[Jewish Naturalization Act 1753]]
* [[Influences on the standing of the Jews in England]]
* [[Emancipation of the Jews in England]]
* [[Early English Jewish literature]]
* [[History of the Jews in Scotland]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=note|2}}

== External links ==
*[[Menasseh ben Israel]]. [https://archive.org/details/menassehbenisrae00manauoft/page/n9/mode/2up ''Menasseh ben Israel’s Mission to Oliver Cromwell: being a reprint of the pamphlets published by Menasseh ben Israel to promote the re-admission of the Jews to England, 1649–1656''], edited with an  introduction and notes by [[Lucien Wolf]]. London, [[Jewish Historical Society of England]], 1901. At [[Internet Archive]]
*[[Joseph Jacobs|Jacobs, Joseph]]. [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/5764-england ''England''], from the [[Jewish Encyclopedia]]. New York, Funk & Wagnalls, [1903]. Vol.5, pp. 161-174. At jewishencyclopedia.com
*Hessayon, Ariel. [https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/5793/1/Hessayon%2C%20A.%20%27Jews%20and%20crypto-Jews%27%2C%20Cromohs%2C%2016%20%282011%29%2C%201-26.pdf ''Jews and crypto-Jews in sixteenth and seventeenth century England'']. Cyber Review of Modern Historiography, 16 (2011), pp.  1-26
*[[David S. Katz|Katz David S.]]. [https://archive.org/details/philosemitismrea0000katz ''Philo-Semitism and the Readmission of the Jews to England, 1603–1655'']. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1982. ISBN 0-19-821885-0
*[[David S. Katz|Katz David S.]]. [https://archive.org/details/jewsinhistoryofe0000katz/mode/2up ''The Jews in the History of England, 1485–1850'']. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994. ISBN 0-19-822912-0
*Levine, Menachem. [https://www.jewishpress.com/sections/features/features-on-jewish-world/rabbi-menashe-ben-israel-the-chacham-who-opened-england-to-jews/2021/02/04/ ''Rabbi Menashe Ben Israel: The Chacham Who Opened England To Jews'']. ''[[The Jewish Press]]'', 22 Shevat 5781 – February 4, 2021

[[Category:Jewish English history]]
[[Category:Sephardi Jews topics]]
[[Category:Jewish emancipation]]
[[Category:Interregnum (England)]]
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