Sephardic Jews in Bordeaux

Historic Timeline of Sephardic Jews in Bordeaux

  • 1550: King Henry II of France grants the Portuguese New Christians the right to settle in Bordeaux.
  • 1610s-1650s: Continued settlement of Portuguese New Christians in Bordeaux. 1604 and 1612 ordinances forbidding people from speaking ill of or doing harm to Portuguese merchants.
  • The New Christians mainly lived in the parishes of St. Eulalie and St. Eloy and claimed the right to be buried in the cemeteries of these and other parishes, as well as monasteries.
  • 1710: A portion of the Catholic cemetery was reserved specifically for the Portuguese. Some start to openly profess Judaism.
  • Their marriages were performed by Catholic priests, with notes indicating they were conducted according to Portuguese customs.
  • A charitable institution called the Sedaca was established to support those in need, including Sephardi communities in Eretz Israel, local impoverished individuals, and travelers.
  • 1723: New letters-patent were obtained, officially referring to “Portuguese merchants” as Jews for the first time.
  • Joseph Falcon was appointed as the first rabbi in 1719, followed by Jacob Ḥayyim Athias and his son David.
  • Openly self-declared Jews from Avignon and Comtat-Venaissin settled in Bordeaux, but the “Portuguese” Jews kept themselves apart from the newcomers.
  • 1730s: The community establishes synagogues and other institutions. A 1731 objection to a protection tax for Jews and a 1734 reminder about prohibiting public practice of Judaism occurred.
  • A 1753 report referred to the practice of the Jewish religion in seven private prayer rooms as a “scandal.”
  • 1753: The Portuguese Jews of Bordeaux receive letters of naturalization, granting them the same rights as other French citizens.
  • 1780s: The Jewish population in Bordeaux grows and prospers.
  • 1791: The French Revolution leads to the emancipation of Jews in France, granting full citizenship and equal rights.
  • 1800s: The Jewish community, primarily Sephardic, continues to thrive, contributing significantly to the cultural and economic life of Bordeaux.
  • 1812: The Great Synagogue of Bordeaux is inaugurated.
  • 1870: The Crémieux Decree grants French citizenship to Jews in French Algeria, influencing the broader French Jewish community.
  • 1930s: Bordeaux remains an important center for Sephardic Jews, though the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe begins to affect the community.
  • 1940-1945: Holocaust
  • 1960s-1980s: Arrival of Sephardic Jews from Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia.
Jewish cemetery, Bordeaux

Sephardic Jewish Genealogy in Bordeaux

The surviving Birth, Circumcision, Marriage, and Burial records of the Portuguese-Jewish community of Bordeaux (‘Israélites Portugais’) have been digitized and can be viewed on the Bordeaux Archives website: Bordeaux Archives

The registers for the Culte israélite are listed below Culte catholique. Many of the registers have been lost over the years. A couple of registers of the Israélites Avignonnais also survive.

Bordeaux Sephardic Jews’ Birth Register

  • BORDEAUX GG 844 – Israélites Portugais. – Registre des naissances (22 décembre 1738-27 décembre 1792)

Bordeaux Sephardic Jews’ Circumcision Registers

  • BORDEAUX GG 842 – Israélites Portugais. – Registre des circoncisions (28 février 1706-26 janvier 1775)
  • BORDEAUX GG 843 – Israélites Portugais. – Registre des circoncisions (12 septembre 1732-16 août 1793)
  • BORDEAUX GG 846 – Israélites Portugais. – Registre des circoncisions (9 juin 1750-29 juillet 1784)
  • BORDEAUX GG 847 – Israélites Portugais. – Registre des circoncisions (10 août 1773-1er mai 1793)
  • BORDEAUX GG 848 – Israélites Portugais. – Registre des circoncisions (14 janvier 1774-1er décembre 1793)
  • BORDEAUX GG 849 – Israélites Portugais. – Registre des circoncisions (2 décembre 1774-20 février 1793)
  • BORDEAUX GG 851 – Israélites Portugais. – Registre des circoncisions (9 juin 1785-26 novembre 1793)

Bordeaux Sephardic Jews’ Marriage Register

  • BORDEAUX GG 850 – Israélites Portugais. – Registre des mariages (24 décembre 1775-17 décembre 1792)

Bordeaux Sephardic Jews’ Death Register

  • BORDEAUX GG 845 – Israélites Portugais. – Registre des décès (7 janvier 1739-23 décembre 1792)

Bordeaux Portuguese Jewish Cemetery

Portuguese Jewish cemetery on Cours de la Marne

Books on the Sephardic Jews of Bordeaux

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