The Jews of Gibraltar before the Treaty of Utrecht and the Developement of the Jewish Community since
| Autor | Tito Benady |
| Cargo | Historiador. Fellow Royal Historical Society. Instituto de Estudios Campogibraltareños. |
| Páginas | 43-66 |
43
Cuadernos de Gibraltar – Gibraltar Reports
Número 2/Issue # 2, 2016-2017, pp. 43-66
ISSN 2444-7382
THE JEWS OF GIBRALTAR BEFORE THE TREATY OF
UTRECHT AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE JEWISH
COMMUNITY SINCE
Tito BENADY1
I. THE FIRST JEWISH SETTLEMENT IN THE IBERIAN PENINSULA SINCE
1497. II. THE TREATY OF UTRECHT AND EXPULSION. III. RESETTLEMENT
1718 – 1721. IV. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY 1721
– 1779. V. THE FRENCH WARS AND THE 19TH CENTURY. VI. THE 20TH AND
21ST CENTURIES
ABSTRACT: The British occupation of Gibraltar in 1704 brought in Jewish merchants from
Tetuan to supply the fresh food required by the garrison. Although expelled under the terms of the
Treaty of Utrecht, bad relations with Spain led to them being readmitted to bring in much-needed
supplies from Morocco. They formed a large minority in the new civilian population established in
Gibraltar in the 18th century and were very infl uential in the development of Gibraltarian society.
Today the Jewish community of Gibraltar has chosen not to participate fully in Gibraltarian society
in order to protect the purity of its religious practises.
KEY WORDS: Gibraltar, Jews, Morocco, Treaty of Utrecht, Sephardi, mixed marriages, civil
society, synagogues.
RESUMEN: La ocupación de Gibraltar por los ingleses en 1704 trajo comerciantes judíos
marroquíes de Tetuán a Gibraltar para suministrar los alimentos frescos que la plaza necesitaba. En
el siglo XVIII formaban una minoría importante de la población civil e infl uenciaron el desarrollo
de la nueva sociedad civil gibraltareña. Hoy, la comunidad judía de Gibraltar ha optado no participar
en pleno en la sociedad gibraltareña para proteger la integridad de sus prácticas religiosas.
PALABRAS CLAVE: Gibraltar, judíos, Marruecos, Tratado de Utrecht, Sefardí, casamientos
mixtos, sociedad civil, esnoga (denominación en haketía, el ladino de los judíos marroquíes, de
sinagoga).
I. THE FIRST JEWISH SETTLEMENT IN THE IBERIAN PENINSULA SINCE 1497
When he was preparing the newly captured town of Gibraltar for the siege
that would inevitably follow, Prince George of Hesse who commanded the
fortress in the name of the Archduke Charles, the pretender to the Spanish
throne, was faced with the problem of keeping the garrison and those few
inhabitants who had remained behind, supplied with food.
Salt provisions arrived from England but to keep the garrison healthy he
knew he also needed fresh provisions. As supplies from the hostile surrounding
Spanish countryside were out of the question, the nearest available source
1 Historiador. Fellow Royal Historical Society. Instituto de Estudios Campogibraltareños.
CUADERNOS DE GIBRALTAR – GIBRALTAR REPORTS
Num 1,Número/Issue # 2, 2016-2017 | ISSN 2341-0868
DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.25267/Cuad_Gibraltar.2017.i2.04
44
Cuadernos de Gibraltar – Gibraltar Reports
Número 2/Issue # 2, 2016-2017, pp. 43-66
ISSN 2444-7382
The Jews of Gibraltar before the Treaty of Utrecht and the Developement of the Jewish Community since
was Morocco. The English Government2 sent Jezreel Jones, the Secretary of
the Royal Society, who knew Morocco, on an embassy3. The Prince started
a correspondence with Muley Ismael, the Emperor of Morocco who at the
time was besieging Ceuta with the Alcaide Ali ben Abdalah, the Basha of
Tetuan4.
Before sailing away, Admiral Rooke landed the supplies he could spare
from his ships and Prince George encouraged shipping from all nations to
call at Gibraltar by declaring it a free port.5 Colonel Bennet of the Engineers
reported to the Inspectors of the Army in 1712 that the reason for Queen
Anne’s declaration was that the Emperor of Morocco “would not allow timber,
lime and bricks for the fortifi cations”, because he had received complaints
from the Jews in Gibraltar. Principally among the complainants was Moses
Ben Hatar the Nagid or leader of the Jewish community of Salé who was the
Emperor’s treasurer and man of business and bought his requirements from
overseas.
The foreign trade of northern Morocco was at the time conducted from
Tetuan, as Tangier had only been recovered from the English 20 years before,
and it appears to have been mainly in the hands of the Sephardi, Spanish
speaking Jews of that city. Ben Hatar made purchases for his master from
Europe through Gibraltar although he never settled there but had an agent
Samuel Alevy ben Suffat.
John Methuen the English ambassador to Portugal also sent supplies
but on 23 October 1704, John Knox, the Commissary in charge of supplies
complained “The whole of the Garrison is about 2,600 souls including
inhabitants which I victual and have no more left than will last above 10
weeks at short allowance from this time”6.
Gibraltar had been captured on 4 August 1704, which was 27 July by
English reckoning as England did not change over from the Julian to the
2 Britain, as a United Kingdom, only came into existence after the union with Scotland in
1707.
3 HEINRICH KÜNZEL, «Leben und Briefwechsel des Landgrafen Georg von Hessen-
Darmstadt», London & Friedberg, 1859, p. 493; Dictionary of National Biography.
4 Sometimes referred to as the Alcaide Benabola.
5 HEINRICH KÜNZEL, «Leben und Briefwechsel… cit.», p. 440. This declaration was confi rmed
by Queen Anne’s Privy Council on 17 May 1705 (PC.1/31)
6 Ibidem, p. 493.
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