Venetian Decree Ordering the Expulsion of the Marranos, 1550 – Rare Document

Venetian Decree Ordering the Expulsion of the Marranos, 1550 – Rare Document

Parte presa nell'eccellentiss. Conseglio di Pregadi. 1550. Adì 8. Luglio. In Materia de Marani. Decree ordering the expulsion of Venice's Marrano community. [Venice (on title page: "Stampata in Calle dalle Rasse"), 1550]. Italian.
Official paper issued by the Venetian Senate – the "Conseglio dei Pregadi" (lit. "Council of the Invited") – containing a decree ordering the expulsion of "Marranos" (a term designating "crypto-Jews" in Spanish and Portuguese, i.e., those who covertly persisted in their practice of the Jewish faith, despite publicly recanting it, and adopting Christianity, under the pressure of the Inquisition in the Iberian Peninsula) who had settled in Venice. According to the decree, the Jews in question, known in Italian as "Marani" – a term derived from "Marranos" – were under order to leave the territories held by the Republic of Venice within two months. All those caught disobeying the decree would have their property confiscated and would be sentenced to two years of forced labor as galley slaves. Any Venetian citizen accused of conducting business with any of the crypto-Jewish deportees would be subject to similar punishment.
The emblem of the Republic of Venice – the Lion of St. Mark the Evangelist, grasping a sword – appears on the title page.
Rare document. Only one listing in OCLC.

Notwithstanding the fact that Jews were restricted by law to the confines of the Venetian Ghetto, in general, the attitude of the Venetian authorities to their Jewish residents was relatively tolerant, and rooted in a pragmatic approach that prioritized Venice's economic and security interests over Catholic ideology or the institutional demands of the Inquisition. Insofar as Venetian Jews functioned as moneylenders, and as merchants with worldwide contacts, the contribution of the Jewish population to the republic's economy was regarded as paramount. They were consequently awarded a measure of relative freedom, especially when compared with their status in other Catholic states.
In contrast, the Marranos who fled to Venice from persecution in Spain and Portugal were treated with far greater suspicion, and the Venice Senate adopted resolutions to have them expelled on two separate occasions, once in 1497 – a decision that was never enforced – and a second time in 1550, with a decree that was only very partially acted upon. Thanks to pressures exerted by Venetian Christian merchants and out of concern for the city's economic well-being, the Senate eventually softened the resolution and postponed its implementation.

[1] f., folded in half (four pages). Thick paper binding. 20.5 cm. Good condition. Stains, including dampstains. Few tears (minor, not affecting text). Two worming holes, not affecting text, mended with paper. Notation in ink in corner of title page.

Reference:
David Kaufmann, "Die Vertreibung der Marranen aus Venedig im Jahre 1550." The Jewish Quarterly Review, Vol. 13, No. 3 (April 1901), pp. 520-32. (German).