Economic Pursuits of the Jews in the Middle Ages :: essays research papers fc

Economic Pursuits of the Jews in the Middle AgesThe Jews in the middle ages progressed economically through and through various occupations. Their economic status was very volatile for many reasons. No area of Judaic life in Western Europe offers such(prenominal) a perpetual change as the economy does. The Jews most specifically participated in internationalist switch over, crafts, slave trade, local trade, and most popularly in money lending.The Jewish people participated in commerce in the countries of westerly Mediterranean . However, Jewish roles in commerce were rather limited because Syrian merchants in Gaul who supplied the population with luxury articles imported from the East monopolized the total commerce horizon . There would be a consistent contend between Muslim and Christian fleets at sea, which left the Jewish merchants at a neutral status. As a result, Jewish merchants who were kidnapped at sea by pirates had a better chance of getting their ransom nonrecrea tional by their co-religionists . Jewish merchants had become very competitive which supposedly perpetrate some fear on others. Consequently, in 945, the Venetian government legitimate its ship owners not to carry Jewish passengers . Jewish merchants traded in amber, textiles, hides, arms, spices, incomparable stones, and other luxury articles . Their clientele consisted mainly of royal and ducal courts and the aristocracy, twain secular and clerical . There were other groups engaged in international trade, and Jewish merchants were not the dominant role in the commerce scene . In the cities re-conquered from the Muslims in Spain, Jews played a decisive role in the revival of commerce and industry, and especially in the production and merchandising of dress . As well, Englands Jewry had a role in commerce, too . aft(prenominal) the year 1100, The Jewish role in international trade began to disdain . The Hansa cities began to replace the Jewish traders. Their ships were heavil y armed, and were no match for the Jews . Some call back that Jews controlled the slave trade . Jews were also accused of kidnapping Christian children and interchange them to Muslims in southern Spain. The proportion of Jews among the slave traders was smaller than their proportion in international trade . Jewish participation in trading Christian slaves was limited because a Christian ruler sometimes protected it . The Jewish merchants set about many unfair obstacles because of blunt discrimination. The Christian merchants were not faced with these same obstacles such as not being able to trade other Christian slaves.