Alicia Sisso Raz
Samuel Pallache (or Palache) was born in Fez, Morocco, in about 1550. His name in Dutch documents is spelled as «Palacio» and «Palatio», which indicates that «Pallache» evolved probably from the name «Palacio». His father, Isaac Pallache officiated as rabbi in Fez, and his signature appears in the Takkanot (Ordinance) composed for the Castilian community in Morocco by the rabbis of the city. Samuel’s life can serve as an example of the extreme flexibility and adaptability– two characteristics that circumstances forced upon the Jewish Diaspora, but especially on the Sephardic Jews following their expulsion from Spain. The megorashim (expelled) had to learn how to improvise and make ends meet in an utterly new and unfamiliar country. On the other hand, they benefited from their familiarity with different cultures, languages and people; from their sophistication and ability to carry on different assignments and activities; and for having family members in various countries.
Samuel Pallache worked for, or offered his skills to, all the key players of the time: the Spanish King Philip III, the Moroccan Sultans Ahmad al Mansur and Mulay Zaidan, the Dutch authorities, the French king Henri IV, and the Ottomans. He managed to work on various commercial and diplomatic ventures: an importer and exporter entrepreneur, an agent, a diplomat, and an official representative of Moroccan sultans. His various activities, travels and liaisons, contributed to his reputation as being a spy, a double agent and even a Barbary pirate. He conducted his diplomatic and commercial activities in Morocco, Madrid, Amsterdam and The Hague, but he never quite gave up his home base in Morocco, not till the last years of his life. At some point his wife and children moved from Fez to Tetuan while he continued his various operations.
Samuel and his brother spent about four yeas in Spain, from1603 – 1607, as representatives of the Moroccan Sultan in various commercial missions at the Spanish court. During this period, he made great attempts to obtain permission to live there with his family. Despite the expulsion and the Inquisition, there was a slight Jewish presence in Spain and Portugal during the years following the expulsion. These Jews were coming from Morocco, descendants of the expelled who made attempts to return to the Iberian Peninsula by even converting to the Catholic faith. They worked as informers, traders, and agents, and they were involved in all kinds of commercial and diplomatic activities. Interestingly, it is mentioned in a Spanish document from 1605 that Samuel Pallache offered King Philip III his help in the future negotiations with the Moroccan Sultan. A point was made about a detailed plan, describing ways to take over the town of Larache for the Spaniards, that he presented. It seems that similar to so many others, he hoped to be granted a permission to settle with his family in Spain by showing his usefulness to the king. However, his attempts were in vain; fear of the Inquisition forced Samuel and his brother to leave Spain in a hurry.
Samuel carried out a wide range of commercial and diplomatic missions on behalf of the Moroccan Sultan Mulay Zaidan until his death in 1616. In letters to the Dutch government, he was referred to as the agent and the troĵman (intermediary and translator) of the Sultan. He accompanied the Moroccan ambassador to the Dutch republic in 1609 for negotiating a commercial and military treaty of with the Dutch. This cooperation agreement dealt with freedom of trade between the two countries and with military collaboration against Spain. In a document to the Spanish court from a Spanish agent at the court of Mulay Zaidan, Samuel was described as having a monopoly on all the Moroccan trade with the Netherlands, which included jewels, Dutch arms and other armaments. Additionally, the document mentions that Pallache controlled the transportation of Moroccan goods to Europe, in addition of being deeply involved in Moroccan diplomacy.
The difference between piracy, privateering, smuggling, and espionage was blurry in early 17th century. While the pirate was independent, a privateer (or corsair) owned his ship, but operated under the flag of the country that backed him up. The booty was expected to be divided between the privateer and the ruler of the sponsoring country. Samuel operated as a privateer for a while and carried out attacks on Spanish and Portuguese ships. In 1610 Samuel was involved in a plan to attack Spanish ships for which the Dutch government authorized the loan of three ships to Mulay Zaidan. Later, endorsed by the Dutch prince Maurice, Pallache received a loan of 5,000 florins from the Dutch government to purchase weapons and hire crew members for his ship. The goal was to join the fight against the pirates off the Moroccan Atlantic coast. Alas, most of the crew members that he hired were pirates themselves… He failed in all his ventures. Several times he lost his ships to other privateers, and when he operated as a privateer, he lost his ships to his enemies or to storms. One of his ships was damaged by a storm, forcing him to anchor in England. Upon the request of the Spanish crown (1614), he was imprisoned and trialed for his marine skirmish against Spanish and Portuguese ships. After spending a short period in prison, he was released thanks to Prince Maurice intervention on his behalf. After this shameful event, he lost his stamina and he significantly reduced the scope of his activities. His family then left Morocco, and they all settled in Amsterdam, where he became involved in the local Jewish community. The rabbis who served the congregation came from Venice, Fez and from the Ottoman lands. One of the first rabbis in Amsterdam was Rabbi Isaac Uziel from Fez, a relative of Samuel Pallache. In the protocols of the Amsterdam congregation, he is mentioned as a valued member. Following is initiative, a new synagogue was established, «Neve Shalom», whose activities and services were conducted in his home. Samuel died in 1616, and Prince Maurice and members of Dutch Council of State showed their respect and escorted the funeral for a considerable distance. He evidently was quite well-regarded by the Dutch.
Joseph, Samuel’s brother, became the Moroccan ambassador in The Hague. His nephew Moses was employed as the translator and interpreter to the Sultan Mulay Zaydan and to several of the Sultan’s successors. Members of the Pallache family continued their involvement at the Moroccan court and carried out diplomatic missions between Morocco and the Netherland throughout most of the 17th century. Several family members went back to live in Morocco, and one branch stayed in the Dutch Republic, where they write their name as Parachi.
Bibliography
Bodian, Miriam. Hebrews of the Portuguese Nation: Conversos and Community in Early Modern Time.
Garcia-Arenal, Mercedes & Gerard Wiegers. A Man of Tree Worlds: Samuel Pallache,
a Moroccan Jew in Catholic and Protestant Europe.
Gerber, Jane. Jewish Society in Fez: 1450-1700.
Gerber, Jane. The Jews of Spain: A History of the Sephardic Experience.
Alicia Sisso Raz, New York, 2009