Jewish settlement in Corfu in the aftermath of the expulsions from Spain and southern Italy, 1492–1541

Abstract

The migration and resettlement of Jewish exiles after 1492 and the successive expulsions of the early sixteenth century was a long and drawn-out process. In fact, the majority of the exiles did not go directly to the Ottoman Empire, and even those who finally reached it as first-generation immigrants did so by staggered waves of migration. The Venetian colonies in the Mediterranean played an important role in this process, both as relatively safe destinations and as ports of transit on the way eastward. Nevertheless, Venetian attitudes towards the arrival of Sefardi, Sicilian, Apulian, and Portuguese Jews in the Stato da Mar have rarely been considered in this context, independently from the topic of Jewish presence in the colonies in general. Corfu offers the opportunity for a case study. The present article examines Venetian policies towards Jewish refugees, immigrants, and conversos who came to Corfu in the aftermath of the expulsions from the Iberian Peninsula and southern Italy. It also attempts to tackle some questions related to the chronology of the successive waves of Jewish settlement on the island in this period.