A Moroccan Jew’s journey into Anglican Christianity

Abstract

This study outlines John Xeres’ journey from a traditional Jewish upbringing in Safi, a Moroccan Atlantic coastal city, to Anglican Christianity in England, in the early eighteenth century. Through a close reading of his book An Address to the Jews (London, 1710) we will follow his Sephardic origins; the advanced Jewish education he received in Safi; his encounters with Christian merchants there; the religious doubts plaguing him over the years; his travels to Spain and Portugal; and his ultimate journey to London, where he had extended conversations (possibly with David Nieto) and eventually converted under Peter Allix’s guidance. Xeres’ case challenges the current academic scholarship on conversion to Christianity in the early modern period. Furthermore, it expands the framing of the intellectual history of Moroccan Jews to a broader intellectual scene that crossed the Mediterranean, as well as exposing heterodox views in their midst.