Dubrovački Jevreji i njihova emancipacija (1808-1815)

Abstract

Historija dubrovačkih Jevreja ranijih stoljeća dobrim dijelom nam je poznata. Kasnija pak stoljeća, a naročito devetnaesto, vrlo slabo ili nikako.

U želji da se unese više svijetla u noviju historiju dubrovačkih Jevreja, odabrali smo za predmet proučavanja jedan prelomni period iz njihove historije, period francuske vladavine i početak austrijske (1808-1815), te smatramo, da naš rad neće biti bez značaja.

Prema popisu stanovništva, koji su izvršili Francuzi odmah u početku svoje vladavine u Dubrovniku, 30. aprila 1808, u Dubrovniku je bilo 227 Jevreja, 109 muških i 118 ženskih. Rezultat ovog popisa se znatno razlikuje od onog izvršenog 8 godina ranije, naime krajem 1799. godine. Prema ovom popisu u Dubrovniku je tada bio samo 171 Jevrejin, odnosno Jevrejka. Istina, tom prigodom je nabrojeno u 42 jevrejska domaćinstva 209 članova, ali je u taj broj bilo uključeno 38 kršćanskih slugu i sluškinja...

In the present paper, the author deals with a period from the history of the Jews of Dubrovnik which has not bo far been particularly investigated. This is the period immediately following the abolishment of the Republic of Dubrovnik, i.e. the period from 1808, the year when the French administration had been established on its territory to the Congress in Vienna at which Dubrovnik definitively got under the sway of Austria.

Basing himself on the rich funds of the Dubrovnik Archives, and particularly those of the French administration (Acta gallica) the author endeavors to give a summary review of the whole life and activity of the Jewish community of Dubrovnik during the above mentioned period.

In order to achieve this goal, he divided his paper into five chapters.

The first chapter deals with the statistical data. The author utilizes three censuses of the Jews of Dubrovnik, to wit those taken in 1799, in 1808 and in 1815. This last census sets forth the number of men and women, number of houses, number of inhabitants of individual houses, number of families and number of members in individual families. In addition, it gives the social structure of the Jewish population as well as its structure according to age. The second chapter treats various commercial and banking transactions of particular Jews of Dubrovnik, their associations and the establishing of commercial firms.

The inner constitution and organization of the Jewish community of Dubrovnik, its representatives and functionaries, the method by which they were elected, their rights and duties and religious confraternities mentioned in the Jewish community of Dubrovnik form the subject of author’s dissertations in the third chapter.

The fourth chapter deals with the ghetto, the paying of the rent for the ghetto, the interior arrangement of houses in the ghetto, the lower religious school - Talmud Torah and the higher one - Yeshiva - and the school of elementary education.

ln the last chapter the author treats the highly important event in the history of the Jews of Dubrovnik - their emancipation. In order to show clearly the import for the Jews of Dubrovnik of the short decree, issued by the marshal Marmont on the 22nd of June 1808 - All laws of the former Republic limiting the rights of Jews in this region are being abolished and they will enjoy the same rights as the other citizens - the author briefly expounds the situation of the Jews in the Republic of Dubrovnik immediately before the arrival of the French and sets forth the circumstances which led to the issuing of the above mentioned Marmont’s decree. He speaks, further, of the revival of anti-Jewish tendencies at the beginning of the Austrian rule and of the positive reaction of the general Milutinović in favor of the Jews of Dubrovnik. In this chapter the author treats also of the two forms of Jewish oath which were used in the ancient Dubrovnik and of the successful request of the Jews, aiming at the abolishment of one of these forms, which they considered as humiliating.

In the end, the author publishes some original documents pertaining to the history of the Jews of Dubrovnik, among which he considers as particularly important the census of the Jews of Dubrovnik, taken in 1815.