The same but different? : inter-cultural trade and the Sephardim, 1595-1640 / / by Jessica Vance Roitman.

• Superior document: Brill's series in Jewish studies, v. 42
• Author: Roitman, J.
• Year of Publication: 2011
• Language: English
• Series: Brill's series in Jewish studies ; v. 42.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (340 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

Using cutting-edge theory regarding trade networks and diaspora, this study challenges the historiographical argument that the Sephardim, and indeed, a variety of religio-ethnic groups, achieved their commercial success by relying on geographically dispersed family members and fellow ethnics. The book’s findings challenge the reigning understanding that commercial success stemmed from endogamous business relationships and socio-cultural insularity. The book demonstrates that the most successful Sephardic merchants of early seventeenth century Amsterdam built their fortunes not thanks to familial or diasporic connections, but through “loose ties,” economic networks comprised of non-Sephardim. Focusing on three of the most prominent Sephardic merchants in Amsterdam, and a random sampling of other Sephardi merchants, the book reveals a multi-ethnic and multi-religious trade network of non-Jewish merchants.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material / J. Roitman -- Introduction / J. Roitman -- Chapter One. Inter-Culturality And The Sephardim / J. Roitman -- Chapter Two. Diaspora, Migration, And The Foundations Of Inter-Cultural Trade / J. Roitman -- Chapter Three. Merchants At Work: Opportunity, Integration, And Innovation / J. Roitman -- Chapter Four. Networks In Action / J. Roitman -- Chapter Five. The Importance Of The Occasional / J. Roitman -- Chapter Six. The 1602 Sugar Confiscation—A Case Study In Inter-Cultural Lobbying And Influence / J. Roitman -- Chapter Seven. The Same But Different / J. Roitman -- Conclusion / J. Roitman -- Appendix One. Largest Shippers To The Mediterranean, 1590–1620 / J. Roitman -- Appendix Two. Associates Of Manoel Rodrigues Vega, 1597–1613 / J. Roitman -- Appendix Three. Associates Of Manoel Carvalho, 1602–1636 / J. Roitman -- Appendix Four. Associates Of Bento Osorio, 1610–1640 / J. Roitman -- Appendix Five. Dutch Signatories Of The 1602 Petition To The Burgomasters Of Amsterdam And Their Relationships With Sephardic Merchants / J. Roitman -- Appendix Six. Data Analysis—Methods And Conclusions / J. Roitman -- Bibliography / J. Roitman -- Index / J. Roitman.