What Was The Relationship Between Jews And Christians In 15th Century Italy?
Jews did not certainly enjoy a healthy relationship in any community that they have ever lived in. Even the ancient Romans turned against Jews when they realized their manipulative nature, Jews were the ones responsible for introducing interest based lending in economics and the oldest for of accounting systems in the world. They have always been known to be manipulative and insidious in their dealings with other people. The theme presented in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice through Shylock, the character, presents a similar theme in the play. This theme similarly resonates in other cultures like ancient Rome and Arabs as well, where Jews usually almost always relied on an interest based lending system whereby the creditors always remain in the debt, as they keep on paying on the interests while the principal amount remains the same thus ensuring that the creditors family remains in debt for generations.
