Portrait of Don Antonio Lopes Suasso

Artist Unknown

ca. 1685

Don Antonio Lopes Suasso (1614–1685) was born in Bordeaux, one of ten children born to New Christian parents of Portuguese Jewish origin. Apparently, his parents intended for Antonio to enter the priesthood. However, under the guidance of his uncle, he embarked on a successful career as a merchant. In 1653, in Rotterdam, Antonio married the widow Rachel (Violante) de Pinto, whose parents and first husband were wealthy merchants. The couple, who had six children, subsequently settled in Amsterdam. There, Antonio, who had openly returned to Judaism, adopted the Jewish name Isaac Israel Suasso. He served in various communal roles, including intermittently as parnas, although he became estranged from the community in the mid-1670s. Antonio, among the wealthiest and most prominent Portuguese Jewish merchants of his generation in Amsterdam, traded in wool, precious stones, sugar, and other products. He also provided financial (and other) services to the Spanish Crown; indeed, he was instrumental in securing the support of the Dutch fleet against the French invasion of Sicily in 1675. In 1676, King Charles II of Spain granted him the title of Baron of Avernas de Gras in recognition of his services. Antonio spent his final years moving between The Hague, Antwerp, and Amsterdam.
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Credits

Courtesy Amsterdam Museum, legaat mevrouw S.A. Lopez Suasso-De Bruijn.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.

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