Portugiesische Juden und Hamburger

Abstract

Since Hermann Kellenbenz’ seminal work «Sephardim an der unteren Elbe» (1958) it is widely known that a group of Portuguese Jews fleeing from the Inquisition settled in Hamburg in the 17th century. As Kellenbenz pointed out they played an important role in the town’s business life, particularly in the trade with the Iberian Peninsula. The merchants from Hamburg who went to Portugal around the same time have attracted far less attention, although their number and their economic success at least equalled those of their Portuguese counterparts. In contrast to the Portuguese Jews in Hamburg, the Hamburg merchants in Portugal integrated and assimilated themselves rapidly, learning the language of the country, adopting the religious denomination of the local population, and marrying native women. The reasons for the diverging behaviour are to be found in differing motives of migration as well as in differing attitudes of the local authorities and societies. While the merchants from Portugal in Hamburg were considerably discriminated against with regard to their social, political, and economic rights and possibilities, the merchants from Hamburg in Portugal profited from a privileged position and high social prestige.