Colonia del Sacramento is also Jewish. Contributions to the study of history

COLONIA DEL SACRAMENTO

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE STUDY OF HISTORY

The historical process of Colonia del Sacramento, is a puzzle with thousands of pieces, which, who wants to build it and develop it, find hundreds of texts, and foreign national libraries around the world. Millions of documents, also in historical archives of both America and Europe. Some dozens of old maps and plans, in addition, at least in my case, only a few external image, its Portuguese colonial mighty wall. Not too pretentious engravings of 1763 approximately.

The rest are partial views and interpretations as Malaespina traveler on his journey around the world in the middle of the eighteenth century.

No, there is a particular image or actual final itself.

The same is with its history.

Like everything in life, most of these texts are partial. Subjective in terms of space-time, opinions and points of view. No mention of the capital of a country.

Not interested in showing the true impulse genesis and civilizing influence of a city contrary to prevailing culture afterwards.

Colonia del Sacramento internationalized arguably the River Plate.

And he repeated insistently, in the vast majority of known texts, a series of stories and details diplomats or military, when trade is prompting the largest gatherings and differences between the powers involved.

After searching, reading and trying to understand for years at a large number of essential authors, both domestic and foreign, who wrote the history of Colonia del Sacramento, I came to realize, from what it was that I needed to complete the puzzle so well presented.

Why they did not know, could not or simply did not want to show that reality?

A totally different reality, much more grand and important to the widespread so far.

That piece, I had constantly before me and I could not see it. He was hidden in a high percentage of texts and documents reviewed.

To be recurrent, but always in passing name or position, of course, as with guilt or wanting to avoid naming it, discuss it with special friends for months. With other for years.

And in all cases reach the same conclusion: The forces acting or participants were more than he originally thought. And in some particular cases, were much more important are the revelations that are not seen and written to date.

The presence of Portuguese Sephardic Jews, Dutch, Flemish and French until it was overwhelming.

Hidden too notorious to continue longer.

This was accompanied by interviews, reports, guided walks, coffee chats, calls, email exchanges with researchers and historians, most notably Eduardo Bueno and Fabricio Prado of Brazil, Natalio Botana, Omar Antonio Dalmasso and Mark Aguina of Argentina, Fernando Assuncao, Juan Antonio Varese, Adolfo Kunsch, Rolf Blix Nussbaun and Uruguay Diego, featuring my great friends, associates Frau tireless Omar Gonzalez, Jorge Fernandez, Ruben Collado, the three Argentines, Colonia del Sacramento lovers without forgetting many other impossible to appoint directly or indirectly guided me in the search.

Once you have found that key, fully realized that it was not the only one missing, they were many. As many as the points of view from which she was observed to Colonia del Sacramento.

And I'm not discouraged.

On the contrary, it gave me more strength and joy.

Maybe (more than insurance), many people continue to seek and investigate clues in this universe of libraries, archives and private collections.

Why at that time (1680) decided to found the city? In 1668, Portugal abandoned the Spanish rule after nearly 70 years under the rule of Felipe II, III and IV. I found an important clue to reading and analyzing Mario Javier Saban, in "The Marranos and the economy of the Rio de la Plata? of 1993. The Portuguese Sephardic leave Buenos Aires in the presence of the Inquisition in the city happened in 1679. Who promoted the idea of ​​foundation? A few years ago in Europe, the Netherlands, became independent of Spain. The "Dutch? invade Brazil and its withdrawal or expulsion coincided with these European independence, both in Portugal and the Netherlands, both of Spain. Is it coincidence that the founder of Colonia del Sacramento and one of the most important followers were Knight of Christ? Qualifications of the Prince Regent and then being brave King Portuguese Lusitanian independence fighters. Remember the link with the ancient Templars refugees in Portugal after the persecutions in Europe by the Catholic Church. How did you become a real headache for the two most important empires on the planet at the time? Portugal allied with England and Holland and Spain faced alternating French ally.

Each with its political, military and economic.

In the case of Portugal developed all the cunning and diplomatic intelligence, holding unconditionally and allowing England with Company Dutch West Indies, created, funded and directed by Sephardic Portuguese trade as to taste as if they were our own colonies.

For Spain, stubbornly seeking riches metal (gold and silver) American business trying to impose a monopoly that would result in taxes to the Crown, prohibiting districts seeking to exchange goods and unnecessarily prevent smuggling, with the aggravating circumstance that at all times had to defend military and diplomatic agree to defend his empire threatened.

Hispanic and in his face where it hurt, in the Rio de la Plata, and out into the Atlantic Ocean, Portugal appealed to the rulers, merchants, military and religious Buenos Aires and its surrounding provinces partners with immense riches, impossible to ensure their compliance with Spanish law.

Trade established in Colonia del Sacramento, which aims to present as minor contraband, for 80 or 90 years was funded not only from Lisbon or Porto, also associated large capital? Amsterdam, London and Paris, which in time were associated with large companies on the African coast, Goa in India, Calcutta and to Nagasaki in Japan.

One of the fundamental keys to understanding the history of Colonia del Sacramento gave me Prof. Raul Rossello in 1999. Thank you.

He must visualize the dynamics of historical events since 1492 without forgetting, (opposite) to the second-order intentional actors in the great stage. In the Great Story.

Were those really the Portuguese wanted, planned and completed building the new factory?

If the basic factors of discovery, conquest and European colonization of our continent were primarily economic, imperial territorial expansion and ultimately a religious character, why should I change in our case? Or perhaps there were other factors more important to Europeans than that?

We have always referred to Colonia del Sacramento as a city "Portuguese?. And it's true.

But there is a very important added value and impossible to ignore. Who were these Portuguese?

Jews from Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands with links to France, England, Italy, Turkey and northern? Africa that maintaining family ties and economic develop their businesses in the area.

In the ongoing historical research we discovered that dozens of these, and is from the very beginning of the new colony, their origin, their culture, their economic interests are directly and very strongly with the Portuguese Jewish community - Dutch emigrated (deported) of Spain and Portugal in 1492 a few years later (1497) with bases in? Amsterdam, but also with Antwerp, Flanders, Avignon, London, Venice, the Mediterranean coast of Morocco and many other items dedicated to African and Asian trade.

Based on the thousands of documents, now impossible to hide or ignore, the trade to and from the Rio de la Plata in the late sixteenth century, all the S. XVII and S. XVIII is where I found the tracks.

You can imagine how rich and wonderful it must have been primarily in Colonia del Sacramento S. XVIII.

The best example is demonstrated when performing their first 70 years (1680 - 1750), it intends to redeem, precisely in 1750, throughout the territory of the seven villages of the Jesuit Missions Eastern.

At that time, a Papal Bull, a Royal Instruction, two Treaties of Peace, an Armistice, a Collateral Pact and several international trade agreements directly involve which seeks to present as a village outsider Spanish and Portuguese territories "cave ? or "nest? lusos smugglers, English and Dutch.

In 1678, the Bull Romanus Pontifex of Innocent XI, Instructions with 36 art. D. Regent of Portugal Pedro D. Manoel Lobo for the founding of the city, Provisional Treaty of Lisbon, 1681, Treaty of Alliance and Guarantee between Portugal and France in 1696, Treaty of Alphonsa (1701) Peace, Commerce and Friendship signed by Bourbon monarch Philip V again. In 1703, pressured Portugal to England signed the Grand Alliance with Holland, Austria, Prussia, Hanover, the Holy Roman Empire and England signed with Metheum Treaty.

During the War of Succession of the Crown of Spain, Queen Anne of England signed the Pact of 1712 Collateral, delivery commitment to Portugal in Cologne. When the war ended by the Peace of Utrecht, Utrecht agreements, Rastadt and Baden, 1713 and 1715 it is returned to the Lusitanian. In 1737 the Armistice was signed the Peace of Paris, ending a two-year military siege to the citadel. On January 12, 1750 Treaty was signed in Madrid Swap.

If we add that there are several cities that Colonia del Sacramento due to the reasons for their respective foundations.

Laguna, Viamão, Rio Grande de San Pedro do Sul in Brazil.

Montevideo, Rosario, Real de San Carlos, San Carlos de Maldonado, Uruguay Jump over the fortress of Santa Teresa and San Miguel fort in the east.

And we can not forget, development in all spheres, economic, political and military de Buenos Aires, which are indisputable result of the push and influence of the disputed citadel.

All this in its first 70 years. In the years following 1750 to 1851 about the historical development of our city is a continuous back and forth between Portuguese possessions or occupations, Spanish, English, Argentine, Brazilian and even the famous Jose Garibaldi.



The Iberian Peninsula, home of sefaradismo flourishing in the Middle Ages, became a land of rising anti-Jewish or anti-Semitic persecution from the late fourteenth century. In Spain, the persecution of the Jews resulted in mass conversions and consequently in the formation of a large community of converts, almost exclusive target of the Inquisition established by the Catholic Monarchs in 1478.

In Portugal, where hitherto there had been no persecution of Jews, the arrival of thousands of them Spanish made the king D. Manuel's famous decree forced conversion in 1496, just as he did Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile years earlier. His successor, King D. John II, accounted for the establishment of the Inquisition, in 1536.

Successive waves of persecution against the Jews are either against the conversos or New Christians, made the flight an increasingly popular option chosen by individuals or families who remained faithful to their traditional religion or at least trying to escape the Inquisition . Escape routes were then structured into two main geographical areas: the Mediterranean world and northern Europe.

In the Mediterranean, mention the slow but steady emergence of Jewish communities in Morocco, the Ottoman Empire in Italy, in cities like Livorno and Venice. In northern Europe, micro Sephardic communities were structured in France, where Judaism was also banned in public, but tolerated in practice, as in Bordeaux, or permitted by law, and in Avignon. Case studies of inquisitorial documents allow to monitor the migration of Portuguese conversos through Spain, calling at Medina de Rio Seco, south of France, where he returned to the Judaism of their ancestors. The French cities and towns were often places of passage to Antwerp, which became an important center of the Sephardic Jews emigrated in the sixteenth century, and for? Amsterdam and Hamburg the next century. It is certain that the escape routes of the Sephardim in Europe followed the logic of the expansion of merchant capital, as many historians tell us, from Fernand Braudel.

On August 4, 1578 was fought the battle of Alcazarquivir, near Fez, in North? Africa.

Also known as the Battle of the Three Kings, because that Sebastian of Portugal died and al-Sultans Moulay Abd el-Mutawajil and Mlikh.

It is not Portuguese family who had no Alcazarquivir dead. They also fought and died Spanish, German and French.

Sebastian, 24, had crossed the Straits of Gibraltar with 16,000 men of the elite of the army and nobility of Portugal, to assist in Mutawajil claim to the throne of Morocco against Mlikh and protect the Sephardic Portuguese refused to forced conversion of 1497 in Lisbon and had migrated to Morocco after the persecution and massacre of 1506.

Mutawajil intended to stay a part of the kingdom and Abd al-Maghrebi Mlikh had promised to kill all the Jews of Morocco if he won the fight.

To clear away dust and silence the screams and sounds of the battle, the Moroccan Jews still celebrate his good fortune.

But the most interesting consequence of the battle of Alcazarquivir was the union of the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal. Philip II, who was the uncle of Sebastian and grandson of Manuel II of Portugal, took the throne vacant and no heirs to claim their rights and sent to Lisbon to the Duke of Alba with enough troops to secure the succession.

It was thus that, from 1580 to 1640, Spain and Portugal were a single kingdom, as he likes to Saramago.

And America was also one because during those years was erased line with the Treaty of Tordesillas.

Everything was Iberia, from the Pyrenees to Lisbon and from Oregon to Tierra del Fuego. Up the Amazon and the Land of Cinnamon, the indomitable New Andalusia, Francisco de Orellana first tried to conquer Quito and then from the Atlantic.