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Anna M. Rosner
The Image of the Jewish Street Seller
in Nineteenth Century London
Jews in England
While discussing the history of the perception of Jews in England, it is impor¬
tant to remember that the history of Anglo-Jewry differs greatly from the history
of Jews in other parts of Europe. The presence of Jews on the British Isles dates
back to the times of the Battle of Hastings—1066. It was then that the Jews, fol¬
lowing the troops of William the Conqueror, first settled in England, inhabiting
mostly cities or big villages and making a living by trade or minor craft. By the
thirteenth century, English Jews had started to deal in money lending, and since
the Christians, limited by the religious laws, were forbidden to make money on
their brothers in faith, the Jews had hardly any competition in that field. In 1290,
under the influence of the church and nobility, Edward I of England signed the
Edict of Expulsion. It answered the calls of both the nobility, who opposed the
Jewish money lending system,' and the church, who wanted to dispose of the non¬
Catholic population. The Jews were forced to leave England before 1291 under the
threat of death penalty. Those who wished to stay had to relinquish their faith and
go through a complicated process of conversion. Their belongings had been confis¬
cated and new restrictions placed upon them (Endelman 2002: 15-16).
The change of the anti-Jewish policy came during the times of Sir Oliver Crom¬
well, Lord Protector of England. The readmission of the Jews was a long-lasting
process, connected both to international politics and the personal beliefs of Crom¬
well and members of the Parliament (MP3). It is impossible to give a precise date,
but researchers agree that the readmission permit should be dated at around 1655
(Ibidem: 19-27). It did not bring a massive flow of Jewish population but gave the
legal basis for migrations of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
In the eighteenth century, England became a place of residence for approxi¬
mately 7,000 Sephardim? and Ashkenazim? (Ibidem: 41). The next century brought
! At that time England had witnessed many internal conflicts. Noble families feared the Jews would
lend money to the people who could later use it to gather or call military reinforcements or to arm them.
> Sephardim, or Sephardi Jews, is a general name referring to the descendants of Jews who lived in
the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in 1492. The name comes from the word “Sfarad” (1750)
meaning Spain in Hebrew (for more information see Tomaszewski 2001: 410-411).
> Ashkenazim, or Ashkenazi Jews, is a general name referring to Jews living in Central and Eastern
Europe and has been in use since the eleventh century. It comes from “Ashkenazi” (123WX), the word
derived from the name of a biblical figure—Ashkenazi (for more information see Tomaszewski 2001:
28-29).