JEWS AND BLACKS IN THE EARLY MODERN WORLD
Book Description
This comprehensive scholarly work examines a complex and often overlooked chapter in religious and cultural history, exploring the intersection of Jewish communities and African peoples during the early modern Atlantic world. Drawing from extensive primary sources in multiple languages, many previously untranslated and unexplored, Jonathan Schorsch presents a nuanced investigation into the relationships, attitudes, and behaviors that shaped interactions between these two communities during a pivotal period in history.
The study delves into fundamental questions about how Jewish religious law and cultural traditions influenced daily practices and social relationships within the context of Atlantic slavery. Through careful analysis of both textual sources and archival materials, the author examines whether Jewish legal traditions provided specific guidance regarding treatment of enslaved people, and how these religious teachings may have shaped actual behavior and social dynamics.
Rather than engaging in contemporary debates or taking partisan positions, this work focuses on constructing an authentic portrait of primarily Sephardic Jewish communities within their broader socio-economic environment. The research reveals how these communities, despite their religious distinctiveness, often operated within the same social and economic frameworks as their non-Jewish contemporaries.
For readers interested in understanding how religious identity intersects with historical social structures, this detailed examination offers valuable insights into the complexities of human relationships across cultural and religious boundaries during a transformative period in world history.
Who Is This For?
📖 Reading Level: Long (> 400 pages) (~15 hours)
📄 Length: 546 pages
What You'll Discover
- ✓ Explore Race relations
- ✓ Explore Jewish slave traders
- ✓ Explore Judaism
- ✓ Explore Race relations, religious aspects
- ✓ Explore Slavery, caribbean area
- ✓ Explore Black people
- ✓ Explore Religious aspects
- ✓ Explore Slavery (Jewish law)
