מעמדם ותדמיתם של בני פיג'וטו בעיני המושבה הצרפתית בחלב 1784—1850

Translated title of the contribution: The Status and Image of the Piccioto Family as Perceived by Aleppo's French Colony (1784-1850)

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The Piccioto family of Aleppo was Syria's most long-established consular "dynasty." Its scions served as the representatives of various European countries, primarily those of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, for over one hundred years. They enjoyed a distinguished, if largely one-dimensional reputation among the Jews of the Middle East and even of Europe. The aim of this paper, which is based on many documents from a variety of archives, is to present a more complex picture. It describes how the gentile population of Aleppo, particularly its French colony, entertained a negative and unflattering view of the Piccioto family and attempts to analyze the factors that contributed to this negative view on the part of the French consuls and merchants in particular. The latter had no shortage of motives for harboring hostility towards the Picciotos. The first motive was jealousy; the European merchants, particularly the French, felt threatened by the Piccioto family's commercial success. The second motive, enmity, emerged only later. The direct result of Rafael Piccioto's appointment as chargé-d'affaires of the Austrian Consular Agency in June 1784, and subsequently as Austrian Consul, this enmity was fanned by political developments in Europe, notably the political confrontation and armed conflict between France and Austria. The third motive was religiously inspired hatred, rooted in the long-standing, European Christian anti-Semitic tradition which stereotyped Jews, and hated them as such, a fortiori for being successful.
Translated title of the contributionThe Status and Image of the Piccioto Family as Perceived by Aleppo's French Colony (1784-1850)
Original languageHebrew
Pages (from-to)171-186
JournalMichael
Volume14
StatePublished - 1997

Cite this