ABSTRACT
Prejudices against Jews seem to have been firmly rooted in the society of the Dutch Republic. This was obvious when, along with the residences of wealthy Amsterdam burgomasters and other persons of authority, the house of the prominent banking and trading family De Pinto in Sint Antoniesbreestraat was the target of looting during what became known as the Aansprekersoproer (sometimes rendered in English as the Undertakers’ Riots) of 1696. It seems that to the angry mob of poor Amsterdammers who were protesting against measures surrounding the introduction of a new funeral tax, wealth and Jews were one and the same. In reality Jews had nothing to do with the enactment of the new legislation. The storming of the house therefore seems to point to a prejudice against Jews, who up to that point had rarely been confronted physically with such incidents.
