Joseph Ottolenghe (c. 1711–1775) was an Italian-Jewish

catechist Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the ...

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a ran ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, and slaveholder. Born in Casale, Italy, to a Jewish family, Joseph Ottolenghe received license to work as a shohet, or ritual butcher, right before moving in with his uncle in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1732. The pair relocated to

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

after a failed attempt to have Ottolenghe marry his uncle’s daughter.

Conversion to Christianity

After learning English, he read the New Testament and converted to Christianity. This furthered the growing divide between him and his uncle that ultimately landed Ottolenghe in debtor’s prison. Luckily, his fellow Anglicans learned of his plight and secured his release. Ottolenghe then established himself in Exeter and lived there for a number of years. In 1751 he answered the call to work in the colony of Georgia as a catechist to the Black

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

living there. While his catechist work saw little success due to his own prejudices and the transitory nature of life in enslavement, Ottolenghe quickly established himself in other arenas of colonial life.

Silk production in Georgia

By 1753 he owned 500 acres of land and became superintendent at the newly established silk filature, he entered the Georgia General Assembly in 1755, and began serving as Justice for the Peace for

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

and Christ Church Parish in 1756. Through his influence, the high quality of Georgian silk became known throughout the British empire, and Ottolonghe’s writing on silk-manufacturing appeared in London and Philadelphia. He also influenced countless fundamental pieces of Georgian legislature until being dismissed in 1766 for his contemptuous behaviour and disobedience. He was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1771.{{Cite web, title=APS Member History, url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Joseph+Otolenge&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced, access-date=2021-07-12, website=search.amphilsoc.org His jealousy and paranoia also delayed his taking of an apprentice in the silk business for many years. Despite this, Joseph Ottolenghe died an influential figure in multiple fields of Georgian life, and with a successor to carry on his work in the filature until the Revolutionary War disrupted the business.

References

1775 deaths Silk production Members of the American Philosophical Society 18th-century Italian Jews Converts to Christianity from Judaism 18th-century American businesspeople Shochtim People from Savannah, Georgia