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Diversae terminationes et notae Officii navigationis; Diverse terminazioni e note dell'Offizio della navigazione (Various provisions and notes of the Office for Maritime Affairs)

The series consists of two volumes of various decisions of the Maritime Office made between 1746 and 1811. These decisions are primarily permits for navigating beyond the Adriatic, permits for navigating in times of war, as well as different decisions, and/or regulations for the construction of new ships, decisions on legalizing the purchase of ships in foreign countries, decisions on payment of various maritime taxes, decisions on regulation of financial obligations between sea captains and ship co-owners, decisions on debt collection, or decisions on maritime insurance policies, etc.


There are only some references to Jews in the series, and the data can be used to analyse their involvement in maritime affairs. The Jews referenced in these documents appear in the role of co-owners of ships, owners of marine insurance policies, maritime lenders, and debtors. Certain members of Ragusan Jewish families such as Ambonetti, Cittanova, Curiel, Levi Mandolfo, Luzzena, Pardo are mostly referenced in the series (e.g., vol. 1, f. 41).

Dohana (Customs duties and taxes)

The series consists of various books that can be divided into following groups according to the content of registers: registers of customs duties on merchandise (including name of the trader and the amount of customs; avere and dare), registers of collection of fees for the use of warehouses on the premises of the Customs House (name of the trader and the amount of fee per month; avere and dare), registers of debtors to the Customs House (name of the trader and the amount of the debt; avere and dare), registers of taxes on meat (gabella di carne); registers for the collection of duties and fees to owners of pubs, registers of goods disembarked from ships (including data on the port from which the ship sailed, the list of goods, the amount of customs duty), registers of customs duties on money deposits in Italian banks, registers of trade of goods stored in the warehouses of the Customs House, registers of collection of fees for selling ship shares, books of investigations kept by customs officers and judgements that were reached, books of expenditures of the Customs House, and various indexes made according to the first name of the person involved in the case (with a reference to the page number, but without information on the book these indexes refer to). Most registers contain documents on collection of customs, lists with names of debtors to the Customs House and documents providing data on collection of fees for the usage of customs warehouses. The first volume of this series is the Customs Statute of the Dubrovnik Republic from 1277.


The series is very important for researching trade affairs of Jews and for reconstructing their business network in the Balkans and on the Mediterranean Sea. References to Jewish merchants can be found in most of the above-mentioned registers of the series. The data provided in the registers of the series are very diverse: identifying the type of goods, ports, and cities from which the goods were delivered, amounts of customs duties, and amounts of collected fees for the use of warehouses, as well as the names of traders. There are many references to Jewish traders, especially in the documents that date from the 60s of the 16th centuries, and among various Jewish families referenced to in this period there are families such as Abeatar, Abensaxen, Abenun, Abuaff, Amariglo, Baruch, Cabiglio, Catinella, Cidi, Cussi, Coen, Danon, Del Rei, Dios, Ergas, Esperiel, Finzi, Lindo, Maestro, Miranda, Membre, Moscato, Oef (Ohev), Pappo, Pardo, Rodriga, Samaria, Sasso, Zacharia. Notable Jews from that period also referenced to in the series are Daniel Rodriga, Didacus Pyrrhus (Isaiah Coen) (e.g., vol. 10, ff. 108v, 109), Isac Ergas (the legal representative of Gracia Mendes) and his brother Samuel. An important fact that needs to be pointed out regarding this fonds is that some members of the Jewish community in Dubrovnik are identified in these documents as leaseholders of the warehouses belonging to the Customs House since the end of the 16th century. The community paid an annual rent in the amount of 750-770 perpers for these premises (e.g., vol. 21, f. 34). The data revealed in another study on Jewish families living in that period (1546-1940) also confirm that some Jewish families cease to be referenced, and names of other Jewish families begin to be referenced in the 17th century. The data of this series from the 17th century thus show references to Jewish family surnames (last names) such as Abeatar, Abenun, Abudente, Baruch, Coen, Consolo, Danon (Bendanon), Esperiel, Lanciano, Luzzena, Oef, Macchioro, Maestro, Miranda, Pappo, Penso, Ribera, Sages, Saralvo, Senior, Zevi. Very notable Jewish merchants among the above mentioned were Aaron, David, Elazar and Raphael Coen, and Jacob and Tsadik Danon. The name of a Jewish merchant Isaac Jeshurun (vol. 22, f. 81v) particularly stands out: he was a merchant who was accused in 1622 of committing a ritual murder of a girl from Dubrovnik. The records show that the books of this series from the 18th century provide multiple data on different members of some other Jewish families such as Ambonetti, Baraffael, Campos, Costantini, Fermi, Janni, Levi, Levi Mandolfo, Luzzena, Maestro, Nahas, Pardo, Penso, Russo, Valenzin, Vitali.

Dona Turcarum (Presents given by the Ottomans)

There is no reference to Jewish people in this series.
The series contains registers with entries of presents, most often in live stock such as cattle, which the authorities of the Republic had received from Ottoman dignitaries, mostly from Dubrovnik hinterland. The data shows that donors received monetary compensation from the Dubrovnik authorities in accordance with the value of the gift.

Fides et attestata; Fedi ed attestati (Certificates and testimonies)

The series contains various documents such as statements proving kinship, legal incapacity, certificates of residence, certificates of citizenship in the Dubrovnik Republic, or certificates issued to sea captains in which it was stated that they, their crew, and their ships had withstood the prescribed quarantine, etc. The registers of the series date from the early 20s of the 17th century to the beginning of the 19th century.


There are not many references to Jewish people in this series. The documents in the series are primarily certificates of citizenship, i.e., documents that state the identity of a bearer, as an identity card or passport, issued by the Dubrovnik Republic to Jewish people that were either born in Dubrovnik or permanently resided there. The fonds contains approximately 15 of similar documents issued to members of Jewish families from the Republic such as Cittanova, Cohen, Janni, Levi Mandolfo, Luzzena, Pardo, Russi, Terni, Vitali (i.e., vol. 2, f. 80v).

Giumruch (Advance fees paid by the Dubrovnik Republic to the Ottomans)

There are no references to Jewish people in the series.
Starting in 1521, the Dubrovnik Republic paid customs duties at a flat rate (i.e. in advance) to the Ottomans on behalf of Dubrovnik merchants who traded in the European part of the Ottoman Empire. This customs duty was called giumruch (Turkish: gümrük) and amounted to 100,000 akches (aspers) per year. Special customs officers, so-called giumruchi, would travel around the trading settlements and colonies to collect this duty giumruch. The series consists of books that were kept based on the reports done by these officials and each book contains lists of merchants and the amounts of customs duties these merchants paid, or were obliged to pay, in several ten-year periods of the 16th and the 17th centuries.

Intentiones navigationis; Intenzioni della Navigazione (Evidentiary proceedings in maritime disputes)

The series contains only two volumes covering the period from 1767 to 1811. The documents in the series relate to evidentiary proceedings based on lawsuits in maritime disputes. Prosecutors presented their allegations through one or more charges, and for each charge they would list a witness or witnesses, who would then be heard. These proceedings were conducted by hearing witnesses (intenzione). The introductory formula of the evidentiary procedure was: Reuben Vita Ambonetti nei nomi come al Libro dei Comandamenti della Navigazione del 1801 f. 28 d'innanzi li Signori Senatori Officiali intende provare gl'infrascritti Capitoli ad ogni buon fine ed effetto ... (vol. 2, f. 163).


In this series there is a smaller number of references to Jews, which could be relevant for the research of their involvement in maritime affairs during the Dubrovnik Republic. The names referenced in the series indicate mostly members of some Ragusan Jewish families such as Ambonetti, Costantini, Levi Mandolfo, Luzzena, Pardo, Volterra. The Jews referenced appear in these documents in multiple roles: as prosecutors, defendants and as witnesses.

Iudicatus et sententiae Officii navigationis; Giudicati e sentenze dell'Offizio della Navigazione (Presude Magistrata za pomorstvo/Judgements of the Office of Maritime Affairs)

Judgments of the Maritime Court have been preserved for the period from the 40s to the 60s of the 18th centuries. They were reached by senators who managed the Maritime Office (Signori Senatori Officiali alla Sopraintendenza della Navigazione). Their authorities were limited to civil lawsuits, which were mainly related to conflicts between co-owners of the ships, conflicts between crew members and the captain or the owners of the ships, conflicts between the captain and co-owners of the ships, or conflicts concerning the construction of new ships.


In this series, which consists of only one volume, there is only a small number of references to Jews. The data provided in the series are deemed suitable for the research of the involvement of Ragusan Jews in the maritime affairs of the Republic in the 18th century. The references to the Jewish population are primarily to members of Ragusan Jewish families such as Levi Mandolfo and Tolentino. In disputes cited these Jews are referenced as co-owners of ships (e.g., vol. 1, f. 58v-62v).

Lamenta de criminali (Criminal complaints)

The series contains registers of criminal cases recorded during the period of five years in the 15th and 16th centuries. Criminal cases mainly relate to physical violence, murder, verbal violence, and property crimes. Each case consists of a lawsuit filed by a private person or by the state (ex officio). Witnesses are listed in the case and, if necessary, their written testimonies are also added. It is a characteristic of the Dubrovnik Criminal Court that it rarely rendered judgements, most likely because most disputes were settled in conciliation of the warring parties. The mark "fatta" entered on the margins of the documents indicates that a judgment was pronounced. Some judgements (legal decisions) were written at the end of the case, and, in most cases, judgements were registered in special books kept in the fonds Criminalia (HR-DADU-23).


The series Lamenta de criminali is a first-rank source for the research of everyday life of the Dubrovnik Jewish community in the broadest sense of the word. Also, the archival material provides an opportunity to analyse the relations of Dubrovnik Jews with both: their fellow citizens and the authorities of the Republic. The series does not contain a lot of documents, and there are approximately twenty references to Jewish people. The most notable Jews referenced in the series are Isaac Ergas, the representative of Gracia Mendes, who, according to the records, was very prone to conflict, and Isaac, the son of a surgeon Abraham. The data show that Isaac, the son of Abraham, sued Isaac Ergas in 1575 for repeatedly insulting him, having stated Didacus Pyrrhus as a witness (vol. 4, f. 32). According to the records, conflicts over the performance of religious rites, especially in the 16th century, were one of the characteristics of Dubrovnik's Jewish community. In this sense, there is a very interesting record dating to 1575, which describes in Latin a conflict over the manner of ritual slaughter of chickens: Graciadio hebreo di Ghetto fa querella contra et ad. Salamon hebreo di Ghetto dicendo, che hoggi havingndo in la mano un polastro, et volendo quello amazarlo, all'usanza di hebrei, dissi a esso Salamon che lo dovesse tenir cosci, et lui di subito mi dette molti pugni, poi mi prendi per la testa, con quella dette nel muro, rupendomele in la orechia sinistra, effusione di sangue, mostrando il capo tutto insanguinato ...; Testes: Hebrew venture; Iacob hebreo (vol. 4, f. 141).

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