The Portuguese Jews of Hamburg : the history of a merchant community in the seventeenth century The political and economic rise of this small but influential community of New Christian bankers and merchants is analysed against the backdrop of its institutional dynamics in an overall perspective never before conceived. The political religious economic legal charitable and disciplinary history of the community is thus explored through the analysis of the richly detailed protocol books written between 1652 and 1682. This is the intimate and fascinating journey of their everyday lives hopes and challenges as brought to us by their leaders