Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Reflecting on German-Jewish History
- Part I The Legacy of the Middle Ages: Jewish Cultural Identity and the Price of Exclusiveness
- Part II The Social and Economic Structure of German Jewry from the Fifteenth through the Eighteenth Centuries
- 5 Aspects of Stratification of Early Modern German Jewry: Population History and Village Jews
- 6 Jewish Economic Activity in Early Modern Times
- 7 Comparative Perspectives on Economy and Society: The Jews of the Polish Commonwealth - A Comment
- Part III Jewish-Gentile Contacts and Relations in the Pre-Emancipation Period
- Part IV Representations of German Jewry Images, Prejudices, and Ideas
- Part V The Pattern of Authority and the Limits of Toleration: The Case of German Jewry
- Part VI Through the Looking Glass: Four Perspectives on German-Jewish History
- Index
6 - Jewish Economic Activity in Early Modern Times
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 January 2013
- Frontmatter
- Reflecting on German-Jewish History
- Part I The Legacy of the Middle Ages: Jewish Cultural Identity and the Price of Exclusiveness
- Part II The Social and Economic Structure of German Jewry from the Fifteenth through the Eighteenth Centuries
- 5 Aspects of Stratification of Early Modern German Jewry: Population History and Village Jews
- 6 Jewish Economic Activity in Early Modern Times
- 7 Comparative Perspectives on Economy and Society: The Jews of the Polish Commonwealth - A Comment
- Part III Jewish-Gentile Contacts and Relations in the Pre-Emancipation Period
- Part IV Representations of German Jewry Images, Prejudices, and Ideas
- Part V The Pattern of Authority and the Limits of Toleration: The Case of German Jewry
- Part VI Through the Looking Glass: Four Perspectives on German-Jewish History
- Index
Summary
I originally planned to contribute an essay to this volume on the occupational structure of Jews in Germany from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries. It may be more stimulating, however, to focus on Jewish economic activity generally. Whereas the occupational structure of the Jews in this period changed relatively little, their economic activity during the era of absolutism took on, at least in part, completely new dimensions. Examples include the multifarious tasks that were transferred to the court Jews (Hoffaktoren) and the early capitalist manufacturers who experimented with previously unknown forms of production.
Furthermore, the assertion that the great majority of Jews supported themselves by means of moneylending and commodity trading, through pawnbroking or as intermediaries, does not reflect the variety of their presence in economic life. From the legal regulations governing Jewish residence or settlement, we know which trades the Jews were allowed to take part in and which trades were barred to them. We know about their exclusion from craft guilds and from corporately organized trade; we also know about their confinement to a small number of trade activities. But we need to know much more about how actual economic activity was carried out in everyday life. I shall first attempt to explore this question using petitions filed by Christian complainants who desired to combat the competition that they saw coming from the Jews.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- In and out of the GhettoJewish-Gentile Relations in Late Medieval and Early Modern Germany, pp. 91 - 102Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1995