“For the Profit of Our Subjects:” The Jews of Mantua and the Counter-Reformation State, 1550-1650

“For the Profit of Our Subjects:” The Jews of Mantua and the Counter-Reformation State, 1550-1650 details the close relationship between the Jews of Mantua and the ruling Gonzaga dynasty. Using Jews’ letters to the court, I argue that the Jews of Mantua participated in cross-cultural trade not only under the aegis of the state but with the state. In addition to seeking profit, Mantuan Jews partnered with the Gonzaga to negotiate for better living conditions in the Duchy. My dissertation reassesses the Jewish experience of Baroque Catholicism by moving away from models of Jewish victimhood and instead highlighting Jewish agency and savviness.