Mocatta

Mocatta (also de Mattos Mocatta, Lumbroso de Mattos Mocatta and Lumbrozo de Mattos Mocatta) is a surname.

The Mocatta family is a leading Anglo-Jewish family that traces its ancestry to the Sephardic Jewish communities of Spain and Portugal prior to the Inquisition. The family's forebears initially sought refuge in Amsterdam and Venice, before immigrating to England in the 1650s. They were among the first twelve Jewish families admitted by Cromwell.[1] In London in 1671, Moses Mocatta established the firm that became Mocatta & Goldsmid; for 300 years it was the world’s leading bullion broker. Although the family sold their stake in the company in the late twentieth century and exited the bullion business, the family continues its tradition of business and charity.[2]

The family became known for philanthropy, leadership and sponsorship of arts and letters, particularly in the United Kingdom.[3] Long involved in finance and the law, they are considered to be one of the principal families in the "cousinhood" of senior Anglo-Jewish families,[4] the de facto Anglo-Jewish aristocracy.[5]

  1. ^ Hyamson, Albert M (1991). The Sephardim of England: a history of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish community, 1492-1951. London: Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregation. OCLC 32588859.
  2. ^ British Academy; Oxford University Press (2004). Oxford dictionary of national biography. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. OCLC 56568095.
  3. ^ Royal Blue Book: Fashionable Directory and Parliamentary Guide. 1900. pp. 231, 1093.
  4. ^ Bermant, Chaim (1971). The Cousinhood: The Anglo-Jewish Gentry. Eyre and Spottiswoode. ISBN 978-0-413-27330-7.
  5. ^ Jewish Currents: "Descendants of Jacob Lumbrozzo de Mattos" by Tony Harding Spring 2010