[219] Baron Rothschild, by his private agencies, was enabled to inform the British Government of the escape of Napoleon from Elba, and Wellington’s victory at Waterloo.
[220] These questions were: 1, 2, 3. Are polygamy, divorce, and intermarriage with Christians allowed by Jewish law? 4, 5, 6. In what light are Frenchmen regarded by Jews, and do the Jews feel themselves bound by the laws of France? 7, 8, 9. In what manner, and by whom, are the Rabbins elected, and what are their powers? 10, 11, 12. Are there any professions forbidden to Jews? Is usury, with their own people, and with strangers, permissible? The Jews answered: that polygamy was forbidden; divorce allowed, if in accordance with the law of the land; intermarriage legal, but not celebrated by any religious rite; that the Jews regarded Frenchmen as their brethren, and acknowledged French law; that any profession was lawful; that the Rabbins were elected according to custom, and had no judicial authority; that legal interest was permitted, but usury forbidden.
[221] In a return made in 1808, scarcely more than a year after Napoleon’s edict, it is declared that there were then 80,000 Jews in France, of whom 1,232 were landed proprietors, 250 were manufacturers, and 797 military men, among whom were officers of all ranks, up to field-marshals.
[222] The Ghetto had been thrown open during the French possession of Rome; but in 1815, when Italy returned to its old masters, the former state of things was resumed.
[223] Since the complete consolidation of the Italian kingdom under Victor Emmanuel, the Jews in all parts of Italy have enjoyed the rights of citizenship without any restriction. They are free to live wherever they like, follow any trades or professions, and are entitled to hold the same offices and perform the same duties as all other Italian citizens. The Ghettoes are everywhere abolished—that is, every one who chooses is permitted to live in them, and no one who does not choose is required to reside there.
[224] Israel and the Gentiles, p. 597.
[225] Zunz is the author of a masterly review of Jewish ethics, and two works on the poetry of the mediæval Jews. He also wrote a notice of the celebrated Rashi, and other works.
CHAPTER XLIII.
A.D. 1800-1885.
THE JEWS IN OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES.
In Spain, until quite within the last few years, there was no material change in the condition of the Jews from what it had been during the eighteenth century. In 1808, when Spain fell under the authority of Napoleon, the Inquisition was suppressed. It was revived again when the country returned, in 1814, to the dominion of its native sovereigns, but only to last for a few years, being finally put down by the Cortes in 1820. The old intolerance, however, the iron legislation of Ferdinand and Isabella, still continued virtually in force. Jews, as such, could not reside with any safety in Spain, until—as it has been before observed—quite recently, when the example shown everywhere in civilized Europe has at last had its effect, and the Jews have been permitted to return to a country for which, notwithstanding the persecutions of many generations, they have ever cherished a warm attachment. In 1881, the Spanish Ambassador at Constantinople so far reversed the traditional policy of his country, as to offer a shelter in Spain for some Jewish fugitives from Russia; and in some of the principal Spanish towns Jewish worship is now publicly celebrated.
The same is the case in Portugal. In 1821 the Cortes abolished the Inquisition, restored the ancient rights possessed by the Jews previously to the reign of King Emmanuel, and decreed that Jews might everywhere settle in Portugal.