The diaspora of Portuguese Jews and New Christians, known as Gente da Nação (People of the Nation), is considered the largest European diaspora of the early modern period. Portuguese Jews not only founded the first congregations and synagogues in Brazil (Recife and Olinda), but when they left Brazil they played an imperative role in establishing the first Jewish communities in Suriname, throughout the Caribbean, and in North America. Drawing on nearly twenty thousand digitized dossiers of the Portuguese Inquisition, this volume offers a comprehensive, critical overview informed by both relatively inaccessible secondary sources and a significant body of primary sources.

The diaspora of Portuguese Jews and New Christians, known as Gente da Nação (People of the Nation), is considered the largest European diaspora of the early modern period. Portuguese Jews not only founded the first congregations and synagogues in Brazil (Recife and Olinda), but when they left Brazil they played an imperative role in establishing the first Jewish communities in Suriname, throughout the Caribbean, and in North America. Portuguese Jews and New Christians and their descendants were deeply involved in the colonial enterprise in Brazil. They were among the New World’s first sugarcane-industry experts, skilled laborers, merchants, rabbis, calligraphists, playwrights, poets, writers, pharmacists, medical doctors, real estate brokers, and geographers—a fact that remains largely unknown in most public and academic spheres. Drawing on nearly twenty thousand digitized dossiers of the Portuguese Inquisition, this volume offers a comprehensive, critical overview informed by both relatively inaccessible secondary sources and a significant body of primary sources.

Professor Russell-Wood’s detailed studies of Brazilian social history in the colonial era have long been recognised as model contributions to the history of class, race, gender and religion. This collection combines work on particular persons and groupings with survey articles on the role of the port and the frontier in colonial Brazil and on its historiography. The author describes the administration and structure of government, and the realities of royal power, with examples drawn from the port cities and the mining townships of the interior, then moves on to examine the interplay of class, religion and race with reference to brotherhoods of persons of African descent and the racially exclusive Third Orders. One group who overcame legal, physical and social constraints were women who, whether of European or African descent, contributed decisively to the economy and society of Brazil. To conclude, there are accounts of three individuals, each of whose experiences illustrate facets of the judicial system, governance and education in Portugal’s richest colony. Les études détaillées du professeur Russell-Wood sur l’histoire sociale brésilienne durant la période coloniale ont longtemps été reconnues comme un modèle de contribution à histoire des classes, des races, des genres et des religions. Cette collection allie des travaux au sujet d’individus spécifiques et de groupements à des résumés d’enquête sur la rôle du port et de la frontière dans le Brésil colonial et dans son historiographie. L’auteur décrit l’administration et la structure gouvernementale, ainsi que les réalités du pouvoir royal, s’appuyant d’exemples tirés des cités portuaires et des communes minières de l’intérieur. Il passe ensuite à l’examen de l’interaction des classes, des religions et des races en faisant référence aux liens de fraternité qui unissaient les personnes de descendance africaine, ainsi qu’aux Troisièmes Ordres qui pratiq

Antisemitism is a topic on which there is a wide gap between scholarly and popular understanding, and as concern over antisemitism has grown, so too have the debates over how to understand and combat it. This handbook explores its history and manifestations, ranging from its origins to the internet. Since the Holocaust, many in North America and Europe have viewed antisemitism as a historical issue with little current importance. However, recent events show that antisemitism is not just a matter of historical interest or of concern only to Jews. Antisemitism has become a major issue confronting and challenging our world. This volume starts with explorations of antisemitism in its many different shapes across time and then proceeds to a geographical perspective, covering a broad scope of experiences across different countries and regions. The final section discusses the manifestations of antisemitism in its varied cultural and social forms. With an international range of contributions across 40 chapters, this is an essential volume for all readers of Jewish and non-Jewish history alike.

Amsterdam Jews appeared up to the mid-17th century as Braudelian “great Jewish merchants.” However, the New Christians, heretic judaizantes in the eyes of the Inquisition, dispersed around the world group sui generis, were equally crucial. Their religious identities were fluid, but at the same time they and the “new Jews” from Amsterdam formed a part of economic modernity epitomized by the rebellious Netherlands and the developing Atlantic economy. At the height of their influence they played a pivotal, albeit controversial, role in the rising slave trade. The disappearance of New Christians in Latin America had to be contextualised with inquisitorial persecutions and growing competition in mind.

This book provides an indispensable resource for high school and college students interested in the history and current status of gender identity formation and maintenance and how it impacts LGBTQ rights throughout the world. Gender and Identity around the World explores a variety of gender and LGBTQ experiences and issues in countries from all the world's regions. Guided by more than 50 recognized academic experts, readers will examine how gender and LGBTQ identities are developed, fought for, perceived, and policed in countries as diverse as France, Brazil, Russia, Jordan, Iraq, and China. Each chapter opens with a general introduction to a country or group of countries and flows into a discussion of gender and identity in terms of culture, education, family life, health and wellness, law, work, and activism in that region of the world. A section on contemporary issues specific to the country or group of countries follows this discussion.

Comprehensive history of crypto-Jewish beliefs and social customs.

Ideal for high school and undergraduate students, this one-stop reference explores everything that makes up modern Brazil, including its geography, politics, pop culture, social media, daily life, and much more. Home to the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games—and one of the world's fastest-growing economies—Brazil is quickly becoming a prominent player on the international stage. This book captures the essence of the nation and its people in a unique, topically organized volume. Narrative chapters written by expert contributors examine geography, history, government and politics, economics, society, culture, and contemporary issues, making Brazil an ideal one-stop reference for high school and undergraduate students. Coverage on religion, ethnicity, marriage and sexuality, education, literature and drama, art and architecture, music and dance, food, leisure and sport, and media provides a comprehensive look at this giant South American country—the largest nation in Latin America as well as the fifth largest nation in the world. Students will be engaged by up-to-the-minute coverage of topics such as daily life, social media, and pop culture in Brazil. Sidebars and photos highlight interesting facts and people, while a glossary, a chart of holidays, and an annotated bibliography round out the work.

Relates the history of Portuguese Conversos who settled in Brazil at the beginning of the 16th century, after they had been forced to convert in Portugal in 1497. States that most of them continued to maintain Jewish customs secretly in Brazil, as they had in Portugal. Ch. 2 (p. 12-42) describe the activities of the Inquisition in Brazil between 1591-1618, due to the intensification of these activities after the unification of Portugal and Spain in 1580. The Inquisition was never formally introduced in Brazil, but about 1580 the Bishop of Bahia acquired Inquisitorial authority which permitted him to prepare judicial proceedings against heretics and to hand over violators of the law to the court of the Inquisition in Lisbon. Pp. 143-167 describe cases of persecution endured by specific Conversos between 1654-1822, until Brazil's independence from Portugal.

Prior to 1492, Jews had flourished on the Iberian Peninsula for hundreds of years. Marked by alternating cooperative coexistence and selective persecution alongside Christians and Muslims, this remarkable period was a golden age for Iberian Jews, with significant and culturally diverse advances in sciences, arts and government. This work traces the history of the Sephardic Jews from their golden age to their post-Columbian diaspora. It highlights achievements in science, medicine, philosophy, arts, economy and government, alongside a few less noble accomplishments, in both the land they left behind and in the lands they settled later. Several significant Sephardic Jews are profiled in detail, and later chapters explore the increasing restrictions on Jews prior to expulsion, the divergent fates of two diaspora communities (in Brazil and the Ottoman Empire), and the enduring legacy of Sephardic history.