Credit and Land: The Jews of Zaragoza 1383–1400

Abstract

The Jews of the crown of Aragon enjoyed the pinnacle of their economic and political fortunes in the second half of the thirteenth century; during that period and in the early fourteenth century, they were major providers of credit, but with only very limited evidence of mortgage lending. By the late fourteenth century, the general fortunes of the Jews had declined and the economic and social environment was generally less favourable, yet the Jews of Zaragoza are found to have been operating a high-value credit business, based primarily on the pledging of land, closely associated with lively real estate investment activity. This continued unabated in Zaragoza even after 1391, when most other Jewish communities were subjected to popular attacks and many destroyed, resulting in large-scale forced conversion. The breakdown in inter-communal trust may well have been a key factor behind the trend towards mortgage lending, with the substitution of a highly valuable asset for the previously dominant personal guarantee. Evidence of an active land market suggests that, despite the fall in population and consequent decline in the rent:wage ratio, land seems to have remained an attractive investment asset during this period.