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Naula et securitas Notariae; Noli e sicurtà de Notaria (Maritime transportation insurances registered at the Public Notary)

The series contains records of maritime insurance for merchandise that mainly arrived from the area of the Ottoman Empire and was primarily transported to Italian ports (mostly Ancona and Venice). The records contain the following data: the name of the sales representative, the name of the merchant, i.e., the owner of the merchandise, sometimes the name of the city where the merchant lived, details of the merchandise (type and quantity), place of loading, name of ship, name of captain, place of unloading, name of insurer and price insurance. The records of the series are from the middle of the 16th century to the middle of the 18th century.


Between 1564 and 1646, the record shows that approximately 4,000 maritime insurance contracts were registered with references to Jewish population. The series is, therefore, very important for the research of business affairs of Jews and for reconstructing their business network in the Balkans and the Mediterranean. Jews appear in this series both as merchants and as trade representatives. It is also apparent that Jewish merchants who sent their goods through Dubrovnik, would choose, almost always, Jewish trade representatives. Most of these sales representatives, who were in charge of securing the goods and of shipping these from Dubrovnik, were members of Jewish families such as Abeatar, Abendana, Abenun, Azubi, Benmelech, Cabiglio, Coen, Cusi, Danon, Ergas, Maestro and Oef. Among them, Samuel Ergas, the consul of the Ragusan Jews, Aron Coen, a famous Dubrovnik rabbi, and David Coen de Herrera, the father of Abraham Coen de Herrera (vol. 49, ff. 92, 92v) stand out as famous sephardim of that period. Jewish merchants came from Ottoman cities such as Sofia, Vlora, Sarajevo, Belgrade, Skopje, Bitola. The goods that were sent via Dubrovnik to Italian ports (Ancona and Venice), were usually wool, wax, various types of leather, raw silk and spices. The significance of this series for the history of the Sephardim, can be better understood taking into consideration a doctoral thesis written by Benedetto Ligorio Le reti economiche e sociali degli ebrei nella Repubblica di Ragusa e la diaspora commerciale sefardita, 1546-1667 (Roma, Sapienza, 2017).

Patenta, Concessiones navigationis et Renovationes concessionum; Patenti, Congedi, Proroghe dei Bastimenti (Permits for navigating beyond the Adriatic Sea)

Ragusan sea captains that sailed on the ships of the Republic had to have a document called patente for legal navigation. They also needed a special license (congedo) to navigate beyond the Adriatic Sea, which was usually issued for a period of three and a half years. The consent to extend that permit was called a proroga and was usually issued for a period of six months. In the first volume of this series the records show different prorogas which were issued on the basis of congedos in the period from 1744 to 1807. On the left page of the book, congedos are recorded, and on the right page, prorogas. The format is the following: Antonio Brateglich Capitano del Brighentino nominato S. Catterina ha avuto il primo Congedo per tre anni e sei mesi di rispetto da computarsi dal adi 10 Marzo 1799 (left page); Ad istanza di Reuben Vita Ambonetti adi 27 Giugno 1802 avuta la proroga in iscritto per sei mesi dallo spirare del contranotto primo congedo, cosiche li scorrono li quatro anni (right page; vol. 1, ff. 9v, 10). The second volume of this series contains documents patenti and congedi.


The first volume of this series is important for researching the role of Jews in maritime affairs of the Dubrovnik Republic. Requests for the extension of the permit to sail outside the Adriatic were requested by the co-owners of the ships, among whom there was a large number of Ragusan Jews from different families such as Ambonetti, Costantini, Levi Mandolfo, Maestro, Pardo, Terni, Tolentino.

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.

Apolitiae onerum; Polizze di caricho (Bills of lading)

There is no reference to any Jew in the series.
The series consists of only one volume in which bills of lading are bound. The receipts are in a printed form with the following information: date of loading the goods on the ship, names of traders to whom the goods belonged, type of goods, name of the ship's captain, type and name of the ship, destination of the ship and names of traders who would receive the goods.

Diplomata navigationis (Maritime documents and certificates)

There are no references to Jewish people in the series.
The series consists of documents that were handed over to the State archives in 1941 from a legacy of a private person. These are mainly health certificates issued to Ragusan sea captains in Dubrovnik and in Dalmatian, Italian, Ottoman, French, Spanish and Portuguese cities. Other documents in this series are navigation permits (patenti), navigation permits for sailing outside the Adriatic (congedi), lists of ship's crews and shipowners (ruoli), health certificates (fedi di sanità), consignment notes, contracts on ship insurance, ship charter agreements, permits to build a new ship, etc.

Diversa de Lagosta (Various documents of the Chancellery of the Autonomous Commune of the island of Lastovo)

There are no references to Jewish people in the series.
The series contains registers of various documents of the Chancellery of the island of Lastovo from the 30s of the 15th centuries to the beginning of the 19th century. These documents include lawsuits, sentencing acts, decisions on sequestrations, documents on the selection of administrative officials such as judges, lawyers, or accountants. Other documents include decisions on the appointment of legal guardians, texts of the decisions of the Rector of the island of Lastovo which were publicly proclaimed by the criers, and other documents.

Testamenta de Lagosta (Wills and testaments registered at the Chancellery of the Autonomous Commune of the island of Lastovo)

There are no references of Jews in the series.
The series contains the wills and testaments mostly made by residents of Lastovo from the 70s of the 14th centuries to the 20s of the 15th century and from the beginning of the 16th century to the beginning of the 19th century.

Lamenta Insulae Mediae (Lawsuits registered at the Chancellery of the island of Lopud)

There are no references to Jewish people in the series.
The series contains lawsuits registered at the Chancellery of the island of Lopud in the 18th century, and one part of the documents relates to lawsuits made on the islands of Koločep and Šipan.

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