Naphtali Busnash was Chief of the

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

n Jews and statesman; born in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

in the middle of the eighteenth century; assassinated June 28, 1805. He was engaged — first alone, and later with the firm Bakri Brothers — in the

grain trade The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals and other food grains such as wheat, barley, maize, and rice. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike other ...

, of which the

Dey Dey (Arabic: داي), from the Turkish honorific title ''dayı'', literally meaning uncle, was the title given to the rulers of the Ottoman Algeria, Regency of Algiers (Algeria), Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli,Bertarelli (1929), p. 203. and Ottoman Tu ...

Ḥasan, with whom Busnash was on friendly terms, granted him a monopoly. The firm of Bakri & Busnash soon attained a wide reputation, and Busnash became (according to some) the most influential man in Algeria. In 1800 he was appointed by the dey Mustapha—whom he had helped to attain to power—chief of the Algerian Jews, a post to which was attached the office of broker to the dey, and the consul-generalship of

Ragusa Ragusa is the historical name of Dubrovnik. It may also refer to: Places Croatia * the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa * Cavtat (historically ' in Italian), a town in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Cro ...

. In this position Busnash displayed so much ability that he won the entire confidence of the dey, who practically left the government in his hands. It was he who received the consuls and settled differences between Algeria and foreign countries. His power did not, however, last. The

Janissaries A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...

and Muslim extremists reluctantly submitted to the domination of a Jew; but Busnash, after having escaped several attempts on his life, was at last shot dead by a janissary at the gate of the dey's palace.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bushnash, N 1805 deaths Assassinated Algerian people Algerian Jews People from Algiers People murdered in Algeria Deaths by firearm in Algeria Year of birth unknown 19th-century Jews Assassinated Jews Jewish merchants 1800s murders in Africa Murder in 1805