Camondo family
Encyclopedia
The Camondo family was a prominent Europe
an family of Jewish
financier
s and philanthropist
s.
Part of the Sephardic community
in Spain
, after the 1497 Spanish decree that ordered the expulsion of all Jews who refused conversion to Catholicism
, the Camondo family settled in Venice
. There, some of its members became famous by their scholarship and by the services which they rendered to their adopted country. Following the Austria
n takeover of Venice in 1798, members of the Camondo family established themselves in İstanbul
. Despite the many restrictions and sumptuary laws imposed on all minorities, the family flourished as merchants in the business section at Galata
at the outskirts of the city. They branched into finance in 1802 with the founding of their own bank, Isaac Camondo & Cie. On Isaac's death in 1832 his brother Abraham Salomon Camondo
inherited the bank. He prospered greatly and became the prime banker to the Ottoman Empire
until the founding of the Imperial Ottoman Bank
in 1863.
In 1866, the year Venice became part of Italy
after a peace treaty ended the Austro-Prussian War
, Abraham Salomon Camondo's son Raphaël died. In 1869, the eighty-six-year old patriarch followed his grandsons Behor Abraham Camondo and Nissim de Camondo
to Paris
, France
, a city the family had previously frequented and where they had established business connections. In recognition of his contributions and financial assistance to the liberation of Venetia from the Austrian Empire
, in 1870 Abraham Salomon Camondo was created a hereditary count
by King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
. Abraham died three years later in Paris but in accordance with his wishes his remains were returned to Constantinople for burial there in the Jewish cemetery at Hasköy
, a neighbourhood on the Golden Horn
in Istanbul
. His two grandsons remained in Paris and continued to successfully expand their banking business.
This family is now extinct; the last descendants, Nissim de Camondo
was killed in aerial combat during World War I
in 1917, his father Moïse de Camondo
died in 1935, his daughter (and sister of Nissim) Béatrice de Camondo
, and her two children Fanny and Bertrand as well as her husband Léon Reinach were deported and murdered in Auschwitz from 1943 to 1945 during World War II
.
Principal members of the Camondo family include:
See also: History of the Jews in Turkey
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an family of Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
financier
Financier
Financier is a term for a person who handles typically large sums of money, usually involving money lending, financing projects, large-scale investing, or large-scale money management. The term is French, and derives from finance or payment...
s and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
s.
Part of the Sephardic community
Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, after the 1497 Spanish decree that ordered the expulsion of all Jews who refused conversion to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
, the Camondo family settled in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. There, some of its members became famous by their scholarship and by the services which they rendered to their adopted country. Following the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n takeover of Venice in 1798, members of the Camondo family established themselves in İstanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. Despite the many restrictions and sumptuary laws imposed on all minorities, the family flourished as merchants in the business section at Galata
Galata
Galata or Galatae is a neighbourhood in the Beyoğlu district on the European side of Istanbul, the largest city of Turkey. Galata is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn, the inlet which separates it from the historic peninsula of old Constantinople. The Golden Horn is crossed by...
at the outskirts of the city. They branched into finance in 1802 with the founding of their own bank, Isaac Camondo & Cie. On Isaac's death in 1832 his brother Abraham Salomon Camondo
Abraham Salomon Camondo
Count Abraham Camondo was a Jewish Ottoman-Italian financier and philanthropist and the patriarch of the Camondo family....
inherited the bank. He prospered greatly and became the prime banker to the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
until the founding of the Imperial Ottoman Bank
Ottoman Bank
The Ottoman Bank was founded in 1856 in the Galata business section of İstanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, as a joint venture between British interests, the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas of France, and the Ottoman government.The opening capital of the Bank consisted of 135,000 shares,...
in 1863.
In 1866, the year Venice became part of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
after a peace treaty ended the Austro-Prussian War
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the...
, Abraham Salomon Camondo's son Raphaël died. In 1869, the eighty-six-year old patriarch followed his grandsons Behor Abraham Camondo and Nissim de Camondo
Nissim de Camondo
Nissim de Camondo was a French banker. Named for his grandfather, he was born into the Camondo family of Paris, the son of the prominent and wealthy Jewish banker, Moïse de Camondo. As the only son of two children, Nissim de Camondo was expected to take over the family business...
to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, a city the family had previously frequented and where they had established business connections. In recognition of his contributions and financial assistance to the liberation of Venetia from the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
, in 1870 Abraham Salomon Camondo was created a hereditary count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
by King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
Victor Emanuel II was king of Sardinia from 1849 and, on 17 March 1861, he assumed the title King of Italy to become the first king of a united Italy since the 6th century, a title he held until his death in 1878...
. Abraham died three years later in Paris but in accordance with his wishes his remains were returned to Constantinople for burial there in the Jewish cemetery at Hasköy
Hasköy
Hasköy is a:* District of Muş Province of Turkey.* Also the Turkish name for Haskovo, Bulgaria.* A neighborhood of Istanbul, Hasköy, Istanbul...
, a neighbourhood on the Golden Horn
Golden Horn
The Golden Horn is a historic inlet of the Bosphorus dividing the city of Istanbul and forming the natural harbor that has sheltered Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and other ships for thousands of...
in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. His two grandsons remained in Paris and continued to successfully expand their banking business.
This family is now extinct; the last descendants, Nissim de Camondo
Nissim de Camondo
Nissim de Camondo was a French banker. Named for his grandfather, he was born into the Camondo family of Paris, the son of the prominent and wealthy Jewish banker, Moïse de Camondo. As the only son of two children, Nissim de Camondo was expected to take over the family business...
was killed in aerial combat during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1917, his father Moïse de Camondo
Moïse de Camondo
Count Moïse de Camondo was an Ottoman Empire born Italian origin French banker. As a child, Camondo moved with his family, from their home in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire, to Paris where he grew up and continued his father's career as a banker...
died in 1935, his daughter (and sister of Nissim) Béatrice de Camondo
Béatrice de Camondo
Béatrice Reinach was a French socialite and a Holocaust victim.- Life :Born into the Camondo family of Paris, she was the daughter of Moïse de Camondo and Irène Cahen d'Anvers, both of whom were from prominent Jewish banking families...
, and her two children Fanny and Bertrand as well as her husband Léon Reinach were deported and murdered in Auschwitz from 1943 to 1945 during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Principal members of the Camondo family include:
- Abraham Salomon Camondo (1781-1873), Jewish-Turkish banker and philanthropist
- Salomon Raphaël Camondo (1810-1866)
- Behor Abraham Camondo (1829-1889)
- Isaac de Camondo (1851-1911)
- Nissim Camondo (1830-1889)
- Moïse de CamondoMoïse de CamondoCount Moïse de Camondo was an Ottoman Empire born Italian origin French banker. As a child, Camondo moved with his family, from their home in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire, to Paris where he grew up and continued his father's career as a banker...
(1860-1935), French banker and art collector- Nissim de CamondoNissim de CamondoNissim de Camondo was a French banker. Named for his grandfather, he was born into the Camondo family of Paris, the son of the prominent and wealthy Jewish banker, Moïse de Camondo. As the only son of two children, Nissim de Camondo was expected to take over the family business...
(1892-1917), French banker and World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
pilot - Béatrice de CamondoBéatrice de CamondoBéatrice Reinach was a French socialite and a Holocaust victim.- Life :Born into the Camondo family of Paris, she was the daughter of Moïse de Camondo and Irène Cahen d'Anvers, both of whom were from prominent Jewish banking families...
(1894-1944), French socialite
- Nissim de Camondo
- Moïse de Camondo
- Behor Abraham Camondo (1829-1889)
- Salomon Raphaël Camondo (1810-1866)
See also: History of the Jews in Turkey
History of the Jews in Turkey
Turkish Jews The history of the Jews in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey covers the 2,400 years that Jews have lived in what is now Turkey. There have been Jewish communities in Asia Minor since at least the 5th century BCE and many Spanish and Portuguese Jews expelled from Spain were welcomed to the...