Baron Diego Lopes Pereira d'Aguilar (born 1699 Portugal; died 10 August 1759, London) was a Portuguese-born London-based Jewish businessman, community leader and philanthropist, originally a Portuguese

converso A ''converso'' (; ; feminine form ''conversa''), "convert", () was a Jew who converted to Catholicism in Spain or Portugal, particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries, or one of his or her descendants. To safeguard the Old Christian po ...

, who lived in the 18th century. He was created a baron of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

by Empress

Maria Theresa of Austria Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg monarchy, Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' ( ...

Biography

In 1722 he went from

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

to London, and then to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. From 1725 to 1747 he held the tobacco monopoly in Austria, and had the power to establish factories and regulate prices. When in 1747 he asked the government to return to him a part of the money that he had deposited on account of the revenues, the empress

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...

replied: "This appears to me just. I owe him much more; therefore, return it to him." D'Aguilar was a great favorite with the empress, who commissioned him to rebuild and enlarge the imperial palace at Schönbrunn, and he advanced 300,000

florin The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...

s for the work. In recognition of his services Maria Theresa made him a

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

and

privy councillor A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

to the crown of the (Austrian) Netherlands and Italy. He was a Baron of the

. D'Aguilar, who together with his family enjoyed the greatest freedom of belief, was the founder of the Spanish or Turco-Jewish community in Vienna, and succeeded in obtaining many concessions for the relief of his oppressed fellow worshippers. As a result of his efforts the

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

s of

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

were protected from pillage in 1742, and the intention of Maria Theresa to expel the Jews from the whole of the Austrian empire, in 1748 or 1749, was abandoned. He left Vienna suddenly in 1749, because the Spanish government demanded his extradition. He went to London. Before leaving Vienna he presented the community which he had founded, as well as the Spanish-Jewish community of Temesvar, with beautiful silver crowns for the scrolls of the

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

, upon which his name was inscribed. On the

Day of Atonement Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day's ...

a prayer was said for the repose of his soul by the Turco-Jewish community of Vienna. He matriculated his arms: Gules an eagle Or beneath a plate, on a chief Argent three hillocks Vert on each a pear Or slipped Vert. The crest is a demi-lion proper, wearing a castellation Azure on its head and holding a sprig of leaves Vert in its right paw.

Personal life

He married, 1722, Donna Simha da Fonseca (died 1755) and had issue including his main heir

Ephraim Lópes Pereira d'Aguilar, 2nd Baron d'Aguilar Ephraim Lópes Pereira d'Aguilar (1739 in Vienna – 1802 in London) was the second Baron d'Aguilar, a Barony of the Holy Roman Empire. Early life He was a son of Donna Simha da Fonseca, who died 1755, and Baron Diego Pereira d'Aguilar, a ...

. # Aron d'Aguilar (born 1725) # Sarah d'Aguilar (1728—12 December 1801), married Isaac Jesurum Alvares and had issue. # Rachel d'Aguilar (1730—October 1789) # Rebecca d'Aguilar (1732—10 January 1803) # Hannah d'Aguilar (1734—25 January 1763) # Esther d'Aguilar (1739-30 September 1791), married

Isaac Henriques Sequeira Isaac Henrique Sequeira (1738-1816) was a Portuguese Sephardic Jewish doctor. Early life Sequeira was born in Lisbon, and educated at Bordeaux and Leiden. Career Sequeira served as physician extraordinary to the Portuguese Embassy at the Court ...

and had issue. # Baron Ephraim Lópes Pereira d'Aguilar (1739—16 March 1802), married Simha Mendes da Costa and had issue. # Leah d'Aguilar (1742—11 November 1808), married Raphael Franco and had issue. # David d'Aguilar (1744—1790), married Rebecca Baruh Lousada # Judith d'Aguilar (8 May 1747—19 November 1821), married Isaac Baruh Lousada, one of their sons was Emanuel Lousada, who owned slave plantations in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

and

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

. Retrieved on 20 March 2019. # Abigail d'Aguilar (12 May 1749—1822) # Joseph d'Aguilar (1750—31 July 1774) # Solomon d'Aguilar (1752—28 October 1817), married Margaret Gillmer and had issue included George Charles d'Aguilar # Benjamin d'Aguilar (1753—12 July 1813), issue included George Thomas d'Aguilar # Hananel d'Aguilar (1754—28 November 1809), married Rebecca Treves and had issue. Relocated to Jamaica as slave plantation owner at the Carlisle and Knights Estates. Retrieved on 20 March 2019.

References

External links

* . Retrieved 2 May 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Pereira Daguilar, Diego 1699 births 1759 deaths 18th-century English Jews 18th-century Sephardi Jews Barons of the Holy Roman Empire English Sephardi Jews Portuguese Jews Jewish philanthropists English people of Portuguese descent