Sunday, November 09, 2014

"Ask, and it shall be given you" - The Thirty Years War and Judaists



A Tokyo Railroad Line




The Thirty Years War and Judaists

More than 100 years after Columbus reached America, European Judaists got a chance to expand their scopes of activities in Europe.

They had accumulated big money till the Thirty Years War that lasted from 1618 to 1648.  And their money was wanted by an emperor and kings who got engaged in this War so as to cover costs of the War.  In exchange of providing financial services for these rulers of Europe, Judaists experienced improvement of their status toward some freedom, if any, in the Christian society in Europe.  .
The Jews were reintegrated into European Society as a result of the financial burden of the Thirty Years War. 
The Thirty Years War lasted from 1618 to 1648. It began as a renewal of religious warfare in the provinces of Germany, but quickly spread throughout Europe. As it spread it began to take on a more political meaning rather than a religious one. Thus, it became a struggle for dominance between European powers.
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England had expelled its Jewish population in 1290 and France and Spain followed suit in 1394 and 1492 respectively. Where Jews were allowed to live, they were still restricted to certain arts of the cities called ghettos. Thus, Jews were extremely isolated from European society in the years before the Thirty Years War.
This trend of isolationism was reversed by the Thirty Years War. The largest reason for the reintegration of the Jews into society was the development of a good relationship with the Holy Roman Emperor. To explain this unlikely match we must look at the advancements of Jews in the economic sphere.
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As the Thirty Years War raged on, The Holy Roman Emperor began to run out of money. Fighting a war against three large European powers that had vast monetary resources was incredibly expensive. The Holy Roman treasury was struggling to provide the added expenses of the war. In Italy at this time there were an incredible amount of Jews. These Jews lived harsh lives. They were confined to ghettos and were legally recognized as a race inferior to Christians. However, they were extremely prosperous merchants, bankers, and traders. Thus, they had incredible monetary resources at their disposal. The Emperor saw a golden opportunity in the plight of the Jews. Because they lived such hard lives they could provide loans in exchange for certain freedoms that Christian bankers took for granted. In this way the treasury would be refilled without having to repay expensive loans.

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In 1623, in exchange for a large, no interest loan to the Holy Roman Emperor, Jews in Italian cities were allowed to trade in wine, cloth, and grain. Christian merchants had previously monopolized this activity. This policy of freedom in exchange for money was not just practiced in the Empire. As the war continued and the other participants began to run out of money they too developed this strategy.

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They had been systematically banished from all trade fairs because they were competition for Christian merchants. They were allowed back into the fairs because it increased their financial security, and thus. More money could be extracted from them. Thus, as a result of the cost of the war, Jews were reintegrated into society.

http://www.essortment.com/jews-30-years-war-21585.html
The status of Judaists was further upgraded and expanded when Napoleon ruled a major part of Europe through wars in the early 19th century.

But, it was all smashed to pieces when Nazis got power in Germany before WWII.

Nonetheless, the Thirty Years War is so crucial to the fate of Judaists.  Without it, there should have been no Holocaust, and hence no Israel today.


During Thirty Years' War (1618-48; religious war between Catholics and Protestants and for political hegemony in Europe), Jewish financiers and provisioners provided essential services to central European monarchs (seen as neutral). 
Court Jews continued after war to serve as financial, commercial, and diplomatic agents for rulers; useful because of their liquid capital, lack of political demands and vulnerability; amassed great wealth and connections (which often used to benefit Jewish communities) but their fortunes and protection dependent upon monarch
http://www.yorku.ca/lockshin/courses/huma2850/lectures/lecture15.html


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Luk 11:9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.