In the Islands of the Sea: Geography in the Religious History of the Jews of Britain

Abstract

Britain’s Jewish community has experienced a unique religious history. This can only be explained by several factors, but one of those is Britain’s unusual geographical circumstances. It is a long, narrow island just a few miles off the coast of North Western Europe. It has long enjoyed intimate connections to the European mainland without ever being quite part of it. In the case of Anglo-Jewry this has led to a double disadvantage. It was neither part of the vigorous intellectual mainstream nor was it so detached that it was forced to rely on its own resources. Instead it was left semi-dependent, which inhibited exciting local religious developments. This seems to have been the case in both the medieval period, between Jewish settlement in the 1060s and expulsion in 1290, and again since the return of an open Jewish community in the seventeenth century. The location of London in the South East of Britain fostered a particular relationship between the capital and the provinces. Regional communities could establish their own religious identities, leading to friction as central authorities attempted to assert control. The leaders of London Jewry were also involved with overseas communities. Britain was a maritime power and developed a maritime empire. Communities in the British style, with all its idiosyncrasies, were planted around the world. This article analyses these impacts of geography on British Jewish religious life, and places them in a theoretical context using scholarship on the role of its island status in moulding British history.