tury by king Casimir the Great, whose friendship for the Jews is attributed to the love he bore a Jewish mis- tress of his. For many years the whole trade of the country was in their hands. During the 17th and the greater part of the 18th centurj', however, they were much persecuted, and sank into a state of great igno- rance and even poverty. The French Revolution— which, in spite of the severity and barbarism of Russian intolerance, affected more or less the Polish peojile — also greatly benefited the Jews of Poland. See below.
7. The Modem Period. — The appearance of IMoscs Mendelssohn (q. v.), the Jewish philosopher, on the stage of European history greath' improved the status of the Jews not only in Germany, but all over FZurope, and we might say the world. Various other causes, among which, especially, the American and French revolutions, and the great European war of 1812-15, also contributed to this change. Efforts to ameliorate the condition of the Jews, indeed, began to be manifested even before these important events. In Italy, as early as 1740, Charles of Naples and Sicily gave to the Jews the right to resettle in his kingdom, with the privileges of unre- stricted commerce. In England we notice as early as 1753 a Jews' Naturalization BiU pass the houses of Par- liament, and m Austria the emperor Francis published his celebrated toleration edict, which gave the Jews a comfortable standing in his dominions, in 1782. With this last date virtually opens the new £era.
The low ebb to which Rabbinism had sunk about the middle of the 18th century made a Jewish Reformation not only possible, but necessary. In the preceding cen- turies, before and even after the Christian Reformation, again and again false Messiahs had come forward, and sought to impose themselves upon the unfortunate leaders as embassadors from on high to ameliorate their condi- tion, and to fulfil the law and the prophets. See Sabba- THAi Zewi ; Chasidiji ; Jacob Frank. The people, in their forlorn condition, had gravitated with their teach- ers, and had fallen deep in the slough of ignorance and superstition. No man was better qualified to raise them up from this low estate, and transform the Jewish race into a higher state, than the " third Moses," who— bom in Germany (m 1729), an ardent disciple of the great Moses of the 12th century [see Maiwonides], the as- sociate of the master minds of Germany of the last half of the 18th century, and the bosom friend of Lessing — eminently possessed every quality necessary to consti- tute a leader and a guide; and it is to Moses Mendels- sohn that pre-eminently biloiig the honor and glory of having transformed the Jewisli race all over the world to a position of equality with their fellow-beings of the Christian faith, not only mentally and morally, but po- litically also. It is true the change was slowly wrought, and there is even yet much to be accomplished. Still, in Germany, there is hardly an avenue of temporal pur- suit in which the Jew is not found occupying the first positions. In the rostrum of the best German universi- ties he is largely represented; on the bench, however great the obstacles that might seem to bar him from promotion, he has secured the most honorable distinc- tions. As physicians, the Jew-s are among the elite of the profession ; and so in all the other vocations of life they have proved that they are worthy of the trust re- posed in them. The country in Europe, however, in which the Jew holds the highest social position is France. There Napoleon, in 1806, conferred upon them many privileges, and they have since entered the high- est offices in the government, in the army, and navy. At present they enjoy like privileges in England also. The progress in removing "Jewish disabilities" was rather slow, but it was finally effected in 1860, when the Jew was admitted to Parliament. In Holland and Belgium all restrictions were swept away by the revo- lution of 1830. In Russia, which contains about two thirds of the Jewish population of Europe, their condi- tion has been very variable since the opening of the present centurj-. In 1805 and 1809 the emperor Alex-
JEW
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JEW, THE WANDERING
ander issued decrees granting them liberty of trade and commerce, but the barbarous Nicholas deprived them of all these, and treated them quite inhumanly, especially in Poland, where they were known to be in sympathy with the Revolutionists. Since the accession of Alex- ander II their condition has been improving, and there is reason to hope for still further amelioration of their circumstances. In Italy they were subject, more or less, to intolerance and oppression until the dethronement of the papal power. Since the establishment of a united kingdom they enjoy there the same high jjrivileges as in France. In Spain, too, the establishment of a repub- lican government, so lately remodelled into a monarchy, brought "glad tidings" to the Jews. They had sulfcr- ed under tlie yoke of Romanism the general fate of the heretic; the downfall of the Bourbon dynast}-, and the establishment of a popular government, at once secured for all religious toleration, and it has since been ascer- tained that Spain contains many adherents to the Jew- isli faith among the attendants of the Romish service. In Denmark they were granted equality with other na- tives in 1814. In Norway they were excluded until 18G0, and in Sweden their freedom is as yet limited. In Aus- tria, as in other countries Avhere Roman Catholicism has so long swayed the sceptre with mediaeval barbarity, the political changes of late years have placed the Jew on an equality with his Christian. neighbor, and not a few of the higher positions of the state are filled by Jews. Our notice of their condition in other countries (aside from the United States of America, lor which see no- tice below) must be necessarily brief on account of our limited space. In Turkey, in spite of the exaction of pashas, the insolence of janizaries, and the miseries of war, they are quite numerous and thriving. In Pal- estine, where they are rapidly increasing, they are very poor, and depend mainly on their European brethren for assistance. See Jerusalem. In Arabia their num- ber is small, and they enjoy much independence. In Persia they are quite numerous, but their condition is rather pitiable. They exist also in Afghanistan, a country whose importance will now be more realized since the occupation of Turkistan (June, 1871) by Rus- sia leaves Afghanistan the only independent country separating the Russian empire from the wealth of India. The Jews here thrive as traffickers between Cabul and Cliina. Jews are likewise found in India and Cochin- China, where they are both agriculturists and artisans ; as a tiourishing colony in Surinam ; in Bokhara, where they possess equal rights with the other inhabitants, and are skilled in £he manufacture of silks and metals ; in Tartary and China, where, however, their number is believed not to be adequately known. In Africa, also, they exist in large numbers; especially numerous are they all along the North-African coast, where, indeed, they have had communities for perhaps more than a thousand years, which were largely re-enforced in con- sequence of the- great Spanish persecutions. They are numerous in Fez and Morocco, are found in small num- bers in Egypt and Nubia, more numerous in Abyssinia, and it is ascertained that they have even made their way into the heart of Africa ; they exist in Sudan, and are also found further south. America, too, has invited their spirit of enterprise. In the United States, as in Great Britain, they enjoy absolute liberty. (See, for further particulars of the history of the Jews in our country, the article Judaism.) They have been in Brazil since 1625, and in Cayenne since 1639, and are also settled in some parts of the West Indies.