Treatment of Jews in Early Modern England
Readmission of Jews to Britain
2006 marked the 350th anniversary of one of the most remarkable
turning points in English history: the readmission of Jewish people to
England in 1656, after they had been banned from the country some 366
years earlier. Their surprising ally in this was Oliver Cromwell.Background to the expulsion
Jews have been living in England since Roman and Anglo-Saxon times, but they did not become an organised community until William the Conqueror arrived in 1066. He encouraged Jewish merchants and artisans to move from northern France to England.Over the next few centuries Jews faced increasing persecution until, in 1290, they were banished altogether.
Blood libel
In 1144, Jews in Norwich were accused of a ritual murder. A rumour sprung up that a Christian child had been kidnapped by Jews, tied to a cross and stabbed in the head to simulate Jesus' crown of thorns.While the Norwich account did not contain the accusation that the child's blood was drained and was then ritually drunk at Passover, and so does not constitute the full blood libel, it is a story of the same type and is generally seen as the entry point into England of such accusations.
The rumour was false - for one thing, the Torah forbids the eating and drinking of any form of blood - but it became the first recorded case in Europe of 'blood libel'. The accusation was enough to get Jewish leaders in the town executed.
The other main charge that early 11th-century Christians levelled at Jews was that of host desecration. The host is the wafer used during Christian communion; England was Catholic at this time and to Catholics the host is literally Jesus's flesh, so mistreating it was an incredibly serious thing to do.
Jews were variously accused of stabbing the host wafer with pins, stepping on it, stabbing it with a knife until Jesus' blood flowed out and nailing it in a symbolic re-enactment of the crucifixion.
Jews were also accused by their Christian neighbours of poisoning wells and spreading the plague. Each fresh claim gave rise to new massacres.
Accusations of blood sacrifice continued in the 12th and 13th centuries:
- 1181 - accusations were made in Bury, St Edmunds, Suffolk
- 1183 - accusations were made in Bristol
- 1192 - accusations were made in Winchester
- 1244 - London Jews were accused of ritual murder
The Jewish community was vindicated by four more Popes but accusations, trials and executions continued to rise.
Banishment
The Jews were banished from England by Edward I. His motivation was partly financial: once they were banished, their possessions became property of the crown.England was short of money and illegal coin-clipping was on the rise. The Jews became Edward's scapegoat. He banned them from usury (money-lending at interest) in 1275. 1278 brought widespread arrests of Jewish men; many were hanged and 600 imprisoned in the Tower of London.
In 1290 Edward banished the Jews outright. He issued writs to the sheriffs of all English counties ordering them to enforce his Edict of Expulsion, a decree which required all Jews to be expelled from the country by All Saints' Day (1st November) that year.
They were only allowed to carry with them their portable property. Apart from a few exceptions, houses and properties were passed to the king.
This made England the first European country to expel Jews, and they remained banned for 366 years. Some Jews stayed in England by hiding their identity and religion but the majority settled in France and Germany.
It wasn't until the 17th century that Jews were allowed back to Britain.
Readmission
It was Oliver Cromwell who orchestrated the Jews' return after he came to power. He was influenced in this by Rabbi Menasseh ben Israel of Amsterdam, the Jewish ambassador to the Gentiles. On 31 October 1655, Cromwell submitted a seven-point petition to the Council of State calling for Jews to return to Britain.Cromwell met with resistance at the Whitehall Conference in December that year but resolved to authorise an unofficial readmission.
At that time, the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish community had been expelled from Spain. Many exiled Jews headed to Amsterdam, helping to turn it into one of the world's busiest ports. Cromwell saw that the return of the Jews would bring great financial benefits to England.
In 1656 Cromwell made a verbal promise, backed by the Council of State, to allow Jews to return to Britain and practise their faith freely.
As a result, Jews from Holland, Spain and Portugal came to Britain. They became more and more integrated into British society.
For a time, England was one of the most religiously tolerant countries in Europe. But it wasn't until 1858 that English Jews received formal emancipation.
After resettlement
Jewish resettlement in Britain marked the beginning of a new era in Jewish/Christian relations, putting an end to centuries of estrangement.It also paved the way for the setting up of the Council of Christians and Jews during the Second World War in 1942, bringing new hope to Jews suffering terrible persecution at the hands of Nazi Germany.
During 2006, 350 years after their return to the UK, Jewish communities throughout the country celebrated "Three and a Half Centuries of British Jewish Life".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/history/350.shtml
London — Britain is divided as never before. The country has turned its back on Europe, and its female ruler has her sights set on trade with the East. As much as this sounds like Britain today, it also describes the country in the 16th century, during the golden age of its most famous monarch, Queen Elizabeth I.
One of the more surprising aspects of Elizabethan England is that its foreign and economic policy was driven by a close alliance with the Islamic world, a fact conveniently ignored today by those pushing the populist rhetoric of national sovereignty.
From the moment of her accession to the throne in 1558, Elizabeth began seeking diplomatic, commercial and military ties with Muslim rulers in Iran, Turkey and Morocco — and with good reasons. In 1570, when it became clear that Protestant England would not return to the Catholic faith, the pope excommunicated Elizabeth and called for her to be stripped of her crown. Soon, the might of Catholic Spain was against her, an invasion imminent. English merchants were prohibited from trading with the rich markets of the Spanish Netherlands. Economic and political isolation threatened to destroy the newly Protestant country.
Elizabeth responded by reaching out to the Islamic world. Spain’s only rival was the Ottoman Empire, ruled by Sultan Murad III, which stretched from North Africa through Eastern Europe to the Indian Ocean. The Ottomans had been fighting the Hapsburgs for decades, conquering parts of Hungary. Elizabeth hoped that an alliance with the sultan would provide much needed relief from Spanish military aggression, and enable her merchants to tap into the lucrative markets of the East. For good measure she also reached out to the Ottomans’ rivals, the shah of Persia and the ruler of Morocco.
The trouble was that the Muslim empires were far more powerful than Elizabeth’s little island nation floating in the soggy mists off Europe. Elizabeth wanted to explore new trade alliances, but couldn’t afford to finance them. Her response was to exploit an obscure commercial innovation — joint stock companies — introduced by her sister, Mary Tudor.
The companies were commercial associations jointly owned by shareholders. The capital was used to fund the costs of commercial voyages, and the profits — or losses — would also be shared. Elizabeth enthusiastically backed the Muscovy Company, which traded with Persia, and went on to inspire the formation of the Turkey Company, which traded with the Ottomans, and the East India Company, which would eventually conquer India.
In the 1580s she signed commercial agreements with the Ottomans that would last over 300 years, granting her merchants free commercial access to Ottoman lands. She made a similar alliance with Morocco, with the tacit promise of military support against Spain.
As money poured in, Elizabeth began writing letters to her Muslim counterparts, extolling the benefits of reciprocal trade. She wrote as a supplicant, calling Murad “the most mighty ruler of the kingdom of Turkey, sole and above all, and most sovereign monarch of the East Empire.” She also played on their mutual hostility to Catholicism, describing herself as “the most invincible and most mighty defender of the Christian faith against all kind of idolatries.” Like Muslims, Protestants rejected the worship of icons, and celebrated the unmediated word of God, while Catholics favored priestly intercession. She deftly exploited the Catholic conflation of Protestants and Muslims as two sides of the same heretical coin.
The ploy worked. Thousands of English traders crossed many of today’s no-go regions, like Aleppo in Syria, and Mosul in Iraq. They were far safer than they would have been on an equivalent journey through Catholic Europe, where they risked falling into the hands of the Inquisition.
The Ottoman authorities saw their ability to absorb people of all faiths as a sign of power, not weakness, and observed the Protestant-Catholic conflicts of the time with detached bemusement. Some Englishmen even converted to Islam. A few, like Samson Rowlie, a Norfolk merchant who became Hassan Aga, chief treasurer to Algiers, were forced. Others did so of their own volition, perhaps seeing Islam as a better bet than the precarious new Protestant faith.
English aristocrats delighted in the silks and spices of the east, but the Turks and Moroccans were decidedly less interested in English wool. What they needed were weapons. In a poignant act of religious retribution, Elizabeth stripped the metal from deconsecrated Catholic churches and melted their bells to make munitions that were then shipped out to Turkey, proving that shady Western arms sales go back much further than the Iran-contra affair. The queen encouraged similar deals with Morocco, selling weapons and buying saltpeter, the essential ingredient in gunpowder, and sugar, heralding a lasting craving and turning Elizabeth’s own teeth an infamous black.
The sugar, silks, carpets and spices transformed what the English ate, how they decorated their homes and how they dressed. Words such as “candy” and “turquoise” (from “Turkish stone”) became commonplace. Even Shakespeare got in on the act, writing “Othello” shortly after the first Moroccan ambassador’s six-month visit.
Despite the commercial success of the joint stock companies, the British economy was unable to sustain its reliance on far-flung trade. Immediately following Elizabeth’s death in 1603, the new king, James I, signed a peace treaty with Spain, ending England’s exile.
Elizabeth’s Islamic policy held off a Catholic invasion, transformed English taste and established a new model for joint stock investment that would eventually finance the Virginia Company, which founded the first permanent North American colony.
It turns out that Islam, in all its manifestations — imperial, military and commercial — played an important part in the story of England. Today, when anti-Muslim rhetoric inflames political discourse, it is useful to remember that our pasts are more entangled than is often appreciated.
The Globe Theatre
The Old Globe
Theater History
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The Globe Theater is a huge success
The Globe Theatre was a huge success and as it had been built in close proximity to the Bear Garden. The profits of the Bear Garden slumped and in 1614 Henslowe and Edward Alleyn (the most famous actor in Elizabethan England ) had it demolished and replaced with a new playhouse which they called The Hope Theatre (aptly named!). Edward Alleyn returned to the stage in an attempt to lure the crowds from The Globe Theatre.
The Globe Theatre was a huge success and as it had been built in close proximity to the Bear Garden. The profits of the Bear Garden slumped and in 1614 Henslowe and Edward Alleyn (the most famous actor in Elizabethan England ) had it demolished and replaced with a new playhouse which they called The Hope Theatre (aptly named!). Edward Alleyn returned to the stage in an attempt to lure the crowds from The Globe Theatre.
The Globe Theater - the PlaysPlays
were big!! There was money to be made!! There was a constant demand for
new material!! Rivalry between Theatres Playhouses was enormous!! As
soon as a play had been written it was immediately produced - printing
followed productions! So the actors initially used 'foul papers' or
prompts. Rival theater companies would send their members to attend
plays to produce unauthorised copies of plays - notes were made and
copied as quickly as possible. In Shakespeare’s time copyright did not
exist. Alternative versions of Shakespearean plays were produced! These
unauthorised and inferior text copies of Shakespeare's plays are called
Quarto Texts. The success of the Elizabethan theaters, including the
Globe, was such that other forms of Elizabethan entertainment were being
seriously affected. In 1591 the growing popularity of theatres led to a
law closing all theaters on Thursdays so that the bull and bear bating
industries would not be neglected!
The Globe Theater - the EventDays
out at the Globe Theater would have been an exciting event. The grounds
surrounding the Globe Theater would have been bustling with people.
There would be Stalls selling merchandise
and refreshments creating a market day atmosphere. Non playgoers would
flock to the Globe Theater to go to the market stalls and 'soak in ' the
holiday-like atmosphere. The Globe would have particularly attracted
young people and the were many complaints of apprentices avoiding work
in order to go to Theater. A trumpet was sounded to announce to people
that the play was about to begin at the Globe Theatre in order for
people to take their final places.
Elizabethan Advertising!Towering
above the Globe was a small tower with a flag pole. Flags were used as a
form of Elizabethan Advertising! Flags were erected on the day of the
performance which sometimes displayed a picture advertising the next
play to be performed. Colour coding was also used - a black flag meant a
tragedy , white a comedy and red a history. Elizabethan and
Shakespearean Advertising !
The Globe Theatre's crest and mottoTo
announce the arrival of the new playhouse, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men
flew a flag featuring the figure of Hercules carrying a Globe on his
shoulders to announce the imminent performance of their first
performance, Julius Caesar. This theme was displayed above the main
entrance of the Globe Theater. A crest displaying Hercules bearing the
globe on his shoulders together with the motto "Totus mundus
agit histrionem" ( the whole world is a playhouse ). This phrase was slightly re-worded in the William Shakespeare play As You Like It - "All the world’s a stage" which was performed at the Globe Theater.
agit histrionem" ( the whole world is a playhouse ). This phrase was slightly re-worded in the William Shakespeare play As You Like It - "All the world’s a stage" which was performed at the Globe Theater.
The Globe Theater - the ProductionsThe
purpose built Globe theatre allowed stage productions to become quite
sophisticated with the use of massive props such as fully working
canons, although it would of course had to be left on stage for the
entire performance of the play. Special effects at the Globe were also a
spectacular addition at Theater allowing for smoke effects, the firing
of a real canon, fireworks (for dramatic battle scenes) and spectacular
'flying' entrances from the rigging in the 'heavens'. The stage floor
had trap-doors allowing for additional surprising incidents. Music was
another addition to the Globe productions. It was no wonder that the
Globe Theater and this form of Elizabethan entertainment was so popular.
The sight of Shakespearean actors apparently flying must have been
quite amazing to the diiscerning Elizabethan Theater audiences.
The Globe Theater - the ActorsThe
Globe Theater audience never had time to get bored. In just two weeks
Elizabethan theaters could often present “eleven performances of ten
different plays”. The Shakespearean Actors generally only got their
lines as the play was in progress. Parts were often allocated on the
day of the performance. Many times the actors didn't even get their own
lines. They did "cue acting ", which meant that there was a person
backstage who whispered the lines to the actor just before he was going
to say them. This rapid turnover led to another technique called “ cue
scripting ”, where where each actor was given only his own lines. The
complete scene of the play was not explained to the actors until it was
actually being performed. This technique allowed for zero rehearsal
time, thus enabling a fast turnover in terms of new productions at the
Globe Theater and a huge portfolio of different roles. There were no
actresses. Female characters had to be played by young boys. The acting
profession was not a credible one and it was unthinkable that any woman
would appear in a play. Two of the most notable actors of the
Elizabethan era were Edward Alleyn and Will Kempe. Edward Alleyn became
immensely wealthy due to stake holding in a theatre company (the
Admiral's men).
The Globe Theater audiences
The Elizabethan general public (the Commoners) referred to as groundlings would pay 1 penny to stand in the 'Pit' of the Globe Theater. The gentry would pay to sit in the galleries often using cushions for comfort! Rich nobles could watch the play from a chair set on the side of the Globe stage itself. Theatre performances were held in the afternoon, because, of course, there was no artificial lighting. Men and women attended plays, but often the prosperous women would wear a mask to disguise their identity. The plays were extremely popular and attracted vast audiences to the Globe. The audiences only dropped during outbreaks of the bubonic plague, which was unfortunately an all too common occurrence during the Elizabethan era. This happened in 1593, 1603 and 1608 when all theaters were closed due to the Bubonic Plague (The Black Death). The Shakespearean actors were therefore temporary out of work and left London to stay in other parts of England. William Shakespeare no doubt used these periods of closure to write more plays and go home to Stratford.
The Elizabethan general public (the Commoners) referred to as groundlings would pay 1 penny to stand in the 'Pit' of the Globe Theater. The gentry would pay to sit in the galleries often using cushions for comfort! Rich nobles could watch the play from a chair set on the side of the Globe stage itself. Theatre performances were held in the afternoon, because, of course, there was no artificial lighting. Men and women attended plays, but often the prosperous women would wear a mask to disguise their identity. The plays were extremely popular and attracted vast audiences to the Globe. The audiences only dropped during outbreaks of the bubonic plague, which was unfortunately an all too common occurrence during the Elizabethan era. This happened in 1593, 1603 and 1608 when all theaters were closed due to the Bubonic Plague (The Black Death). The Shakespearean actors were therefore temporary out of work and left London to stay in other parts of England. William Shakespeare no doubt used these periods of closure to write more plays and go home to Stratford.
The 'Box Office'
Globe audiences had to put one penny in a box by the door which would pay for a view of the play by standing on the ground, in front of the stage. To sit on the first gallery would cost another penny in the box which was held by a collector on the front of the stairs. To sit on the second gallery, you put another penny in the box held by the man at the second flight of stairs. Then when the show started, the men went and put the boxes in a room backstage - the Elizabethan box office. Profits there were shared between members of the Globe company as such and the owners of Theatre (called "housekeepers"), who included the James and his son the actor Richard Burbage and five others, one of them was William Shakespeare. Shakespeare received approximately 10% of the profit although he had a 20% stake holding in the troupe as James Burbage owned the lease for the land that the Globe theater was built on.
Globe audiences had to put one penny in a box by the door which would pay for a view of the play by standing on the ground, in front of the stage. To sit on the first gallery would cost another penny in the box which was held by a collector on the front of the stairs. To sit on the second gallery, you put another penny in the box held by the man at the second flight of stairs. Then when the show started, the men went and put the boxes in a room backstage - the Elizabethan box office. Profits there were shared between members of the Globe company as such and the owners of Theatre (called "housekeepers"), who included the James and his son the actor Richard Burbage and five others, one of them was William Shakespeare. Shakespeare received approximately 10% of the profit although he had a 20% stake holding in the troupe as James Burbage owned the lease for the land that the Globe theater was built on.
Shakespeare the ActorWilliam Shakespeare had a stake holding in the Globe Theatre and also acted in some of the productions of the plays. It
is not known exactly how many roles Shakespeare played himself,
although we do have some documented information. Shakespeare had began
his career on the stage by 1592, because there is a surviving document
by Robert Greene' Groatsworth. It is probable that Shakespeare played
the title role in Edward I (a play by Edward Peele) in 1593. It is also
assumed that Shakespeare played smaller roles in a variety of his own
plays, including As You Like It (Adam), Macbeth (King Duncan), Henry IV
(King Henry), and Hamlet (Hamlet's father). Shakespeare's first
biographer, Nicholas Rowe, referring to a role by William Shakespeare as
"the Ghost in his own Hamlet" and was "the top of his performance".
Plays and Propaganda Strolling
players of actors had been popular for centuries in England but as
there were no initial regulations it was possible to use plays as a
vehicle for propaganda. Plays could be used to encourage criticism of
the state and freedom of thought in terms of both religion and politics.
Queen Elizabeth, ever concerned about her popularity with the people,
realised that although it would be prudent to enforce some regulations
that it would be foolhardy to apply too many restrictions. She had
controlled the troupes of strolling players in 1572 by granting a
license by royal patent to organised acting companies, thus initiating
legitimate troupes such as Earl of Leicester's Men. Any Elizabethan
players might at any time be required to show their credentials. And
under Queen Elizabeth political and religious subjects were forbidden on
the stage. Plays still however often led to heated debates in Theaters
and arguments erupted. The subject matter of the plays would often be
vulgar and bawdy. The behaviour of some the audience was the worse!
Theatres didn’t just show plays. Some also served as a bear pit, brothel
and gambling house. Crime increased at Theaters and following the
performances the crowds were noisy and unruly. The vast crowds and the
popularity of the London Theaters needed some additional controls.
Published plays soon required a licence, which provided a form of
censorship by the state.
Theaters are banned from London City LimitsThe
objections to Theaters escalated and the Church, London Officials and
respectable citizens raised even more objections to Theatres. Theaters
were not only used to show plays. There was gambling and in some there
was even bear baiting. Not only were there objections about the bawdy
nature of some of the plays, the rise in crime but there was also the
real risk of the crowded theatres encouraging the spread of the plague.
The reputation of actors was remained disreputable, a legacy from the
rogues and vagabonds who had previously roamed the country putting on
plays and their classification as “vagabonds and sturdy beggars,” in a
1572 act of Parliament. In December 1574 the Common Council of London, under the influences of puritanical factions, issued a statement describing:
" great disorder rampant in the city by the inordinate haunting of great multitudes of people, especially youth, to plays, interludes, namely occasion of frays and quarrels, evil practices of incontinency in great inns having chambers and secret places adjoning to their open stages and galleries, inveigling and alluring of maids, especially of orphans and good citizens' children under age, to privy and unmeet contracts, the publishing of unchaste, uncomely, and unshamefast speeches and doings . . . uttering of popular, busy, and seditious matters, and many other corruptions of youth and other enormities . . . [Thus] from henceforth no play, comedy, tragedy, interlude, not public show shall be openly played or showed within the liberties of the City . . . and that no innkeeper, tavernkeeper, nor other person whatsoever within the liberties of this City shall openly show or play . . . any interlude, comedy, tragedy, matter, or show which shall not be first perused and allowed . . . "
The outcry continued and grew so much that in 1596 London's
authorities banned the public presentation of plays and all theaters
within the city limits of London. All theaters located in the City were
forced to move to the South side of the River Thames.
The Globe Theater - the Fire and the re-building of the Globe Theatre
The Globe was only in use until 1613, when on June 29 a fire broke out at the Globe Theatre . The canon used for special effects, such as heralding great entrances, was loaded with gunpowder and wadding. The thatched roof caught on fire and the Globe Theatre burned to the ground. It is not known whether there were any casualties but there must have been some panic. In 1614 the Globe Theatre was rebuilt (referred to as Globe 2).
The Globe Theater - the Fire and the re-building of the Globe Theatre
The Globe was only in use until 1613, when on June 29 a fire broke out at the Globe Theatre . The canon used for special effects, such as heralding great entrances, was loaded with gunpowder and wadding. The thatched roof caught on fire and the Globe Theatre burned to the ground. It is not known whether there were any casualties but there must have been some panic. In 1614 the Globe Theatre was rebuilt (referred to as Globe 2).
The End of the Globe Theater - the PuritansIn
1642, under the force of the Puritans, the English Parliament issued an
ordinance suppressing all stage plays in Theatres. The Puritans were a
religious faction and the term came into general usage at the end of the
reign of Queen Mary I (Bloody Mary). A broad definition of the puritans
is 'those who wanted to completely change the Church of England, with
its Roman Catholic type of structure and traditions, for another
reformed and plain church model'. This strict religious view spread to
encompass many social activities within England moving to a stricter
code of conduct which deplored any kind of finery or flippant
behaviours. 1642 was a truly eventful year for England. The Puritans,
lead by Oliver Cromwell, who had been elected to Parliament came into
total conflict with the Royalists lead by King Charles I. The English
Civil war broke out. In 1644 the Globe Theatre was demolished by the
Puritans. In 1647
Even stricter rules were passed regarding stage plays and theatres.
This culminated in 1648 when all playhouses were ordered to be pulled
down. All players were to be seized and whipped, and anyone caught
attending a play to be fined five shillings. In 1649 the Civil War
finally lead to the terrible execution of King Charles I . In 1653 Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of England. In 1658 Cromwell dies and
the power of the Puritan starts to decline. In 1660 King Charles II is
restored to the throne of England. With the Restoration of the English
monarchy and , and the demise in the power of the Puritans in 1660
Theatres finally open again. But the Globe is never re-built. Please
click the appropriate link to access a Timeline of the old Globe
Theatre.
The site of the old Globe theatre was rediscovered in the 20th century and a reconstruction of a New Globe Theatre has been built near the spot.
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