Disclaimer
This entry contains information known to us from a variety of sources but may not include all the information currently available. Please be in touch if you notice any inadvertent mistakes in our presentation or have additional knowledge or sources to share. Thank you.
Archive
Azemmour Mellah, Morocco
Mellah in Azemmour, Morocco
Description
The port town of Azemmour developed a vibrant Jewish community in the years following the Portuguese acquisition of the port in 1486 (Jane S. Gerber, Jewish Society in Fez 1450-1700: Studies in Communal and Economic Life, 23). After Jewish families were expelled from Spain en masse in 1492, many took up residence in Moroccan towns, and a sizable Jewish population emerged in Azemmour. This minority, which included members of wealthy Iberian trading families, played a significant role in the long-distance trade of the region due to their knowledge of multiple languages and commercial experience overseas. Relations between Muslim and Jewish merchants were quite good, but their collaboration on a cartel proved so effective as to threaten the interests of Portuguese colonizers. The King of Portugal responded by banning all overseas trade with the town for the next two years (Vincent J. Cornell. “Socioeconomic Dimensions of Reconquista and Jihad in Morocco: Portuguese Dukkala and the Sadid Sus, 1450-1557” International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 22, No. 4 (1990), 385).
