Whitehall Conference

Historical Context and Millenarian Foundations

The Whitehall Conference of December 1655 was a pivotal assembly of English civic leaders, clergy, lawyers, and merchants convened by Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell to deliberate on the readmission of Jews to England.

The Jewish population had been formally expelled from the realm in 1290 AD by a royal edict of King Edward I, a decree precipitated by economic restrictions and criminal activity such as coin-clipping. By the mid-seventeenth century, a shift in Protestant thought, particularly within Puritanism, fostered a new interest in the Hebrew Bible and the role of the Jewish people in divine providence.

This interest was driven by millenarianism, a heretical interpretion of biblical prophecy to mean that the restoration of the Jews was a necessary precursor to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Puritan intellectuals believed that the global dispersion of the Jews must be completed before their eventual conversion and the inauguration of the millennial reign. England, situated at the western extremity of the known world, was viewed as the final geographic location where Jews must reside to satisfy these scriptural requirements.

Parallel to these religious motivations was a pragmatic economic interest. Oliver Cromwell sought to leverage Jewish mercantile networks to bolster English trade and counter the commercial dominance of the Dutch Republic.

The Jewish community in Amsterdam was known to handle a significant portion of global commerce, and their presence in London was expected to address the prevailing deficiency of bullion in England.

The Mission of Menasseh ben Israel

The formal catalyst for the conference was the arrival in London of Menasseh ben Israel, a prominent Sephardic rabbi and scholar from Amsterdam. Menasseh ben Israel arrived in October 1655 to present a petition to the Lord Protector titled The Humble Addresses. This document argued for readmission on both theological and practical grounds. He asserted that the Jewish people would bring utility to the nation through their international trade connections and their loyalty to the state.

Deliberations and Legal Rulings

Cromwell convened the conference at Whitehall Palace on 4 December 1655, inviting approximately twenty-eight eminent delegates to consider the proposals.

The assembly included judges such as Chief Justice John Glynne and Chief Baron William Steele, as well as influential Puritan divines like Thomas Goodwin, Philip Nye, and Henry Jessey. Cromwell formulated two core questions for the body: whether it was lawful to receive the Jews, and if so, upon what terms they should be admitted.

The legal experts provided a foundational ruling early in the proceedings, stating that there was no law in England that forbade the return of the Jews. They determined that the expulsion of 1290 was an exercise of the royal prerogative of King Edward I and did not constitute an act of Parliament or enduring statute.

This established that the readmission did not require new legislation but could be achieved through executive permission. Despite this legal opening, the conference struggled to reach a consensus on the terms of admission, knowing the threat of usury, and the risk of Jews subverting Christian citizens.

Oppositional Remonstrance and Merchant Concerns

The proposal met with significant public and institutional resistance. William Prynne, a prominent parliamentarian and lawyer, published a zealous remonstrance titled A Short Demurrer to the Jewes Long Discontinued Remitter into England.

Prynne argued that the readmission was highly criminal and an affront to Jesus Christ. He maintained that the original banishment was a permanent judgement for grievances such as the crucifying of children and the forging of money. Prynne alleged that the Jews were a malicious people who plotted the subversion of the Christian Gospel and that their presence would lead to the apostasy of the English people.

Merchant aldermen and trade authorities similarly protested against any concessions. They feared that Jewish competition would harm native trade and manufacture. This commercial anxiety was coupled with clerical fears that the public practice of Judaism would be a scandal to the Protestant faith. Even within the Council of State, there was a sense of caution, with some advisors suggesting that the state should proceed by degrees and impose stringent regulations to prevent proselytising or blasphemy against Christ.

Executive Action and the De Facto Settlement

The Whitehall Conference ended on 18 December 1655 without a formal resolution or consensus. Cromwell, frustrated by the lack of clear guidance from the clergy and the selfishness of the merchants, dismissed the assembly. He noted that the preachers had failed to satisfy his conscience on the matter and that he would proceed according to the needs of the state. Despite the failure to secure a legislative mandate, Cromwell effectively bypassed the impasse by granting informal assurances and de facto permissions.

Rather than a formal recall of the entire Jewish nation, the readmission took the form of a pragmatic authorisation for a community of crypto-Jews who were already resident in London. These individuals, primarily Sephardic merchants of Spanish and Portuguese origin, had been living in England as Spanish merchants to evade the medieval bans.

Following the Robles affair in 1656, in which a Jewish merchant faced the forfeiture of his goods as an enemy alien, Cromwell allowed the community to drop their public persona and reside openly as Jews. He granted them the right to worship privately in their homes and to acquire land for their own purposes.

Establishment of the Sephardic Community

The actual and material founder of the modern London Hebrew community was Antonio Fernandez Carvajal. Carvajal was a wealthy Portuguese merchant who had been granted denizenship by Cromwell in 1655. His extensive trade networks in the West Indies and the Canary Islands provided intelligence and bullion to the Commonwealth. Carvajal, alongside other leaders of the Marrano group, presented a second petition in March 1656, which Cromwell endorsed.

This endorsement resulted in the granting of two vital privileges: the establishment of a religious meeting place and a burial ground. A large house in Creechurch Lane was converted into a private synagogue, and by 1657, a lease was secured for a cemetery at Mile End.

These institutions marked the official beginning of organised Jewish life in England since the Middle Ages. While Menasseh ben Israel remained a symbolic and spiritual figurehead whose mission paved the theological way, he ultimately felt disillusioned and friendless, as the community was built upon the pragmatic mercantile interests of the resident Sephardim rather than his millenarian dream. The privileges granted under Cromwell were preserved after the Restoration by King Charles II, establishing a lasting settlement that relied on the peaceable demeanour and economic utility of the Jewish community.