Els Jueus de Barcelona i el comerç marítim amb la Mediterrània oriental

L'autor remarca la important participació que els jueus tingueren en la vida econòmica de Catalunya: en el préstec de diners, en la percepció d'impostos i també en el comerç nacional i internacional. La participació dels jueus en el comerç marítim amb la Mediterrània oriental demostra que les activitats econòmiques dels jueus només foren possible quan les autoritats i la societat cristianes els ho permeteren perquè els afavoria. L'article ofereix una imatge general de l'expansió político-comercial catalana vers la Mediterrània oriental, el paper que els jueus van fer en el desenvolupament del comerç marítim, els mètodes comercials utilitzats en el segle XIII, les rutes marítimes que anaven cap al Pròxim Orient, les dificultats amb què topaven els jueus, els sistemes de finançament i de capitalització, els impostos, els productes amb què es comerciejava i els diferents tipus de societats mercantils que existien en aquells temps.The Jews of Barcelona in the maritime trade with the eastern Mediterranean The 13th century was the golden age of the Jews who lived in the Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. Apart from their far-reaching philosopical and scientific creations, which are not the aim of the present article, it should be pointed out that their involvement in the economic life of those kingdoms was of vast proportions. In lending, in tax-collecting, in home and foreign trade, Jews showed a strength that aroused wonderment and envy. Towards the close of the 13th century, a remarkable increase in these activities took place in Catalonia, sparking off the opposition of the new urban class that dominated Barcelona's Consell de Cent (Council of One Hundred). Even though some steps were taken with the intention of hindering the activities of Jewish lenders, their activity continued for a long time, as it was beneficial to a society that was always in need of ready money. Jews met with success wherever and whenever the Christian authorities and society required their services and made a profit on their trading activities. Moreover, they contributed a huge revenue to the royal treasury. Further proof that the economic activities of the Jews were only possible if Christian authorities and societies allowed it is found in the participation of the Jews in the maritime trade with the eastern Mediterranean. Towards the end of the 13th and the beginning of the 14th century, Catalan Jewish merchants tried to win a share in the trade that was being carried out between Barcelona and Alexandria. This trade developed as the Crown of Catalonia-Aragon expanded its political and commercial power throughout the Mediterranean basin. The attempt had a fair chance of being successful. Jews had the capital, the contacts, the skill and the will to succeed in their endeavours. But the enterprise failed. One of the main obstacles that the Jewish initiative ran up against was the emergence of a new middle class that viewed maritime trade as an allimportant way to develop and to strengthen its social status. This early middle class, typical of Catalonia, was probably an essential factor in the creation of the infrastructure necessary for the growth of commercial activities that ran parallel to, or rather sustained, the political expansion of the country. Catalan merchants established commercial settlements (called Consulats de mar, ‘Sea Consulates') in the main towns of the Levant, both in Moslem and in Christian countries — Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Syria, and even the Crimean Peninsula. There was no reason why they should share with the Jews the profit they expected to make on that ramified trade... Town councils repeatedly voiced their hostility towards these Jewish merchants, because they were seen as dangerous competitors. The article gives an overall picture of the Catalan politico-commercial expansion towards the eastern Mediterranean, the role played by the Jews in the development of that maritime trade, the commercial methods prevailing in the 13th century, the sea-lanes to the Levant, the difficulties put in the way of the Jews in this sector, the financing and capitalization systems, the taxes, the goods that were the object of the trade, and the various kinds of trading companies that were in existence at that time. From this chapter of the history of the Jews in the Crown of Catalonia- Aragon, one cannot but draw a conclusion of considerable historical scope. In spite of the fact that Jews were always harshly criticized as moneylenders and subjected to many restrictions, they filled a gap and therefore their activities never stopped. Christians did not succeed in creating a substitute for the Jewish moneylender. However, what happened in the maritime trade with Moslem countries was quite the contrary. Thanks to the skills of the Jews and to their being wellconnected merchants, their participation in such a trade was initially possible. But as soon as Christians became aware of the possibility of holding sway over that trade without having to resort to the Jewish merchants and without having to share the profits with them, that participation was not only curbed but stopped altogether

Diplomàtics jueus de la Corona catalanoaragonesa en terres musulmanes (1213-1327)

La participació dels jueus en la vida política, administrativa i financera de la Catalunya del segle XIII fou més important del que un gosaria esperar del pes demogràfic que hi tingueren. Llur participació en missions diplomàtiques, sobretot com a intermediaris entre cristians i musulmans, va ser força destacada. La raó d'aquest èxit s'explica pel valor que els reis catalans donaven a la coneixença que els jueus tenien de la llengua aràbiga i així mateix a llur familiaritat amb la mentalitat musulmana i als contactes estrets que mantenien amb els jueus del nord d'Àfrica. A més d'encomanar-los missions diplomàtiques, els jueus feien de torsimanys, de recaptadors d'impostos i de batlles arreu dels nous territoris conquerits al llarg de la frontera sud de la Corona de Catalunya-Aragó, i així mateix de funcionaris reials en diverses tasques

Les Activitats de Hasday Cresques en pro de la reconstrucció de les comunitats jueves arran dels avalots de 1391

The riots which broke out in Seville on 4th June, 1391 as a result of the vitriolic anti-Jewish propaganda spread by Ferrand Martínez, the archdeacon of Ecija, ripped through the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, wreaking havoc among the Jewish communities there. Many Jews were killed and numerous others were forced to be baptised, yet others fled to places of safety, including North Africa. In July, 1391 the rioters attacked the Jews of Valencia, leaving no community standing save that of Morvedre. The Jews of Majorca suffered a similar fate. The month of August brought the end of the Jewish community of Barcelona, one which was to disappear for ever. Those Jews who survived but failed to find refuge were forced to begin a new life as Christians, that is, as converted Jews or conversos. Although numerous details concerning these events are known to us from many sources and various archives, the most reliable overall picture is gained from the letter dated 19th October, 1391 that was sent by Hasday Cresques, at that time a rabbi living in Saragossa, to the Jewish community in Avignon. The massacres of 1391 were the first tragic sign of a growing tendency towards the eradication of the Jews in western Europe, a mood which, having begun in England in 1290 and spread to France in 1306, was soon to flare up in the Christian kingdoms of the Iberian peninsula. Many Jews realized that it was the beginning of the end. It was both logical and inevitable that, despairing of a future in Spanish territory but spurred on by their Messianic dreams, they should depart for the land of Israel, the longed-for homeland of all Jews throughout the ages. We have some fascinating accounts of how the emigration of the Jews of Castile led them through Aragon to the coastal ports of Catalonia and Valencia. The Aragonese and Castilian Jews set out with letters of recommendation from the community in Saragossa, where Cresques was a rabbi. We know from various documents that the emigration from Castile was a popular movement, led by ordinary country people who were driven by a powerful Messianic zeal; the route by which they arrived at the ports of Barcelona or Valencia passed through Saragossa. The tireless activity of the Jewish community of Saragossa on behalf of those who wished to immigrate to Israel continued for some five years. After carefully weighing up their prospects of becoming established in the land of Israel, Hasday Cresques embarked on the search for safer political solutions that would enable the Jews to cope with adversities such as the persecutions of 1391. The letter that Cresques sent to the community in Avignon describes the sequence of events in minute detail. Recent research has proved the accuracy of his account. A man of shrewd political judgement, Hasday Cresques was able to grasp the significance of the events which had taken their toll on the Jews of western Europe, while in the territory governed by the head of the Church, Jews continued to live in safety, albeit in a position of inferiority. Cresques’s letter might well have been part of a daring groundplan to find a safe territory where the Aragonese Jews could take refuge in advance of the trouble that was brewing. However, when Cardinal Pedro de Luna ascended to the papacy in 1394 under the name of Benedict XIII, Cresques was foiled in his attempt to carry out his plan. As already observed, Jews living in the small kingdom of Navarre went virtually unharmed at the time of the persecutions. Charles II and particularly Charles III (1387-1425) had striven to attract Jewish emigrants from Castile and encourage them to settle in Navarre, although their endeavours bore little fruit until the massacres of 1391. After the massacres, conditions were ripe for a renewed effort to welcome Jews into the kingdom, and it is logical to suppose that it was at that time that Jews from neighbouring territories were encouraged to move to Navarre. In 1401 Hasday Cresques visited Navarre. Charles III and Cresques had a great interest in common. The king was willing to pay all the expenses incurred by Cresques on his journey, while for his part, Cresques was manifestly enthusiastic regarding the project. The most likely plan, which must have been the reason for Cresques’s journey, was the orderly emigration of the Jews of Aragon to Navarre, a seemingly safe territory at the time. Ten years after Hasday Cresques visited Navarre, shortly before the rabbi’s death, Jewish emigrants from Aragon paid the king the considerable sum of 900 florins in exchange for permission to settle in Tudela. They fled Aragon as a result of the unrest and outbreaks of violence following the death of the king. In all probability, therefore, Hasday Cresques’s visit was an eminently political mission whose purpose was to take stock of the situation and pave the way for the Aragonese Jews’ resettlement in Navarre

Jewish Altitudes to Christian Power in Medieval Spain

The attitude of the Jews to Christian power in Medieval Spain is deeply influenced by two factors: The traditional Jewish attitude to the non-Jewish government in Exile and the changing conditions in the position of the Jews in any given land and period. The important role played by the Jews in the two major Iberian kingdoms of Castile and Aragon brought the Jews closer than ever to the Christian courts. Hebrew legal sources reflect the respect and friendship that Jewish leaders felt towards kin¡ship and kings ip the Iberian peninsula.La actitud de los judíos frente al poder cristiano en la España medieval está profundamente influenciada por dos factores: la tradicional actitud judía hacia los gobiernos no judíos en el exilio y las condiciones cambiantes de la posición de los judíos en cualquier tierra o periodo dados. El importante papel desempeñado por los judíos en los dos grandes reinos de Castilla y Aragón los acercó más que nunca a las cortes cristianas. Las fuentes legales hebreas reflejan el respeto y amistad que sentían los líderes judíos hacia la realeza y los reyes en la peninsula ibérica

Characterizing Efficient Referrals in Social Networks

Users of social networks often focus on specific areas of that network, leading to the well-known "filter bubble" effect. Connecting people to a new area of the network in a way that will cause them to become active in that area could help alleviate this effect and improve social welfare. Here we present preliminary analysis of network referrals, that is, attempts by users to connect peers to other areas of the network. We classify these referrals by their efficiency, i.e., the likelihood that a referral will result in a user becoming active in the new area of the network. We show that by using features describing past experience of the referring author and the content of their messages we are able to predict whether referral will be effective, reaching an AUC of 0.87 for those users most experienced in writing efficient referrals. Our results represent a first step towards algorithmically constructing efficient referrals with the goal of mitigating the "filter bubble" effect pervasive in on line social networks.Comment: Accepted to the 2018 Web conference (WWW2018