Description
Book SynopsisDrawing on family and communal records, diaries, memoirs, literary works, and other sources, the author reconstructs the fascinating story of how Portuguese immigrant - merchants, professionals, and intellectuals, for the most part - reasserted their Judaism, while maintaining their Iberian heritage.
Trade Review"An engaging introduction to the tortuous plight faced by exiled conversos in Amsterdam and their methods of response." -Choice "In this skilful and well-argued book Miriam Bodian explores the communal history of the Portuguese Jews ... who settled in Amsterdam in the seventeenth century." --Sixteenth Century Journal Drawing on family and communal records, diaries, memoirs, and literary works, among other sources, Miriam Bodian tells the moving story of how Portuguese "new Christian"Eimmigrants in 17th-century Amsterdam fashioned a close and cohesive community that recreated a Jewish religious identity while retaining its Iberian heritage. Winner, 1998 National Jewish Book Award in History Winner, 1998 Koret Jewish Book Award in History "In this skilful and well-argued book Miriam Bodian explores the communal history of the Portuguesse Jews...who settled in Amsterdam in the seventeenth century...[I]ncorporating a rich variety of archival sources and contextual data...Bodian's book is very engaging and an extremely useful contribution to the history of early modern Jewry."-- Sixteenth Century Journal "...a wonderful case study of a particular sub-culture within the Jewish world which came to play a decisive role in early modern Jewish history...Clearly and engagingly written, the book is an excellent introduction to the history and culture of the Western Sephardim." --Aron Rodrigue
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements
Preface
1. Introduction
2. The Forgin of a Community: Early Years in Amsterdam
3. The Dutch Context: Working Out a Modus Vivendi
4. Iberian Memory and Its Perpetuation
5. The Rejudaization of "the Nation"
6. Maintaining "the Nation" in Exile
Conclusion
Personalia
Abbreviations
Notes
Bibliography
Index
