Prof. José Alberto Tavim
About
tavim.jose@gmail.com
José Alberto Tavim is a Senior Researcher and Professor at the University of Lisbon and Chair of the Seminar “The Jews in Portugal and in the Diaspora.”
His extensive research focuses on the history of Sephardic Jews and minority groups in the Mediterranean and Portuguese Empire.
Tavim has published widely on the transference of goods, minorities, and the concept of "homesickness" among displaced communities.
His work spans from the medieval period to the 20th century, exploring the cultural and economic roles of Jews in the diaspora and their enduring connections to the Mediterranean world.
Lecture Abstract:
The Goa Inquisition was founded in 1560. However, the first trials against converts concern a reality that dates back to the 1530s, and offer important information about the business practices of Jews who never converted to Christianity. Primarily benefiting from the private coastal voyages of New Christian businessmen based in Cochin and Goa, some of these Jews ventured into the trade of Indian cloth and Chinese porcelain in the east, and also with Ceylon. On the other hand, we know of the investment of the Jews of Hormuz, at the "mouth" of the Persian Gulf, in trade with Portuguese India: these are the so-called "cap Jews," in the Portuguese sources, who even established a Jewish quarter in Goa until the mid-16th century. A significant part of their commercial activity took place within Portuguese colonies themselves, such as in the Portuguese city of Santa Cruz de Cochim, where some Jews residing in the Hindu city had rented commercial premises. But it is also true that other sources offer us information about the involvement of Jewish merchants in the spice trade outside Portuguese circuits, towards the Islamic markets of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf – something that intensifies in the 17th century. Our intention is to establish a framework for the business activities of Jews operating within the Portuguese Empire in the Indian Ocean, in the 16th century, based on Portuguese sources, whether those activities took place within that context or beyond.