Mediterranean Jewries and Global Commerce in the Modern Period: On the Trail of the Jewish Feather Trade
Year: 2007
Type: article
Abstract: This article writes Jews into the intertwined histories of colonial economics and modern consumption.It explores the involvement of Mediterranean and North African Jews in the global trade of a single, highly valued luxury good-the ostrich featherwhose exchange linked the economies of the Sahel, Sahara, and Central and North Africa with one another and the fashion worlds of Europe and the United States.Situating the global ostrich feather trade within a larger story of imperial competition over colonial commodities, this article argues that Mediterranean and North AfricanJewries played an important role in transnational and transoceanic commerce in the modern period; contrary to received wisdom, their involvement in global networks was on occasion weakened rather than strengthened by the process of colonization.Key words: Sephardim, Mediterranean Jews, North African/
Source: Jewish Social Studies
Author: Sarah Abrevaya Stein
Language: English
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2158743485