Mercanti ebrei naufraghi sulle coste pugliesi dopo il 1541

Abstract

Shipwrecked Jewish merchants and goods along the Apulian coasts after 1541

The paper presents and analyses seven unpublished documents mentioning Jewish merchants or goods belonging to Jews, shipwrecked in different times along the Apulian coasts between the 16^th and 17^th century: therefore, witnessing the presence of Jewish in the Kingdom of Naples after the 1541, the year of their expulsion. A short outline of the roles and responsibilities of the various institutional figures mentioned in the texts is allowed. It facilitates the understanding of the various reasons behind the many disputes that in such circumstances arose between  different institutional bodies ‒ the Sovereign, the Royal Chamber of the Sommaria and the royal tax office, the Grand Admiral, the Sacred Royal Court, the portolan, the captain, the judge, the lieutenant ‒ and the Jewish merchants, whose interest were protected by the privileges  monarchs and popes granted them, such as those related to the Ragusan vessels or the Levantines merchants.