ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the economic activities of Jews, particularly as they related to some of the social, communal, and demographic changes. and as they reflected the position of Jews in the larger societies in which they lived and the general conditions and changes in those societies. It considers the political position of the Jews, governed as it was by a range of external authorities and levels of governance—from the decisions of local town and city councils to imperial-wide decrees. Jewish occupations varied by individual and location, by internal dynamics and external restrictions. In many places, Jews were involved primarily in financial and service professions—from pawnbroking and money lending to various management, procurement, and retail operations. Jewish settlement in the early modern period was dictated by local, regional, and sometimes national or imperial conditions. At times, strict limitations were placed on Jewish settlement and travel. Jews regularly had to secure safe conduct letters.
