Mocatta

Mocatta (also de Mattos Mocatta, Lumbroso de Mattos Mocatta and Lumbrozo de Mattos Mocatta). 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 Mocatta & Goldsmid 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. 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,[3] the de facto Anglo-Jewish aristocracy.[4]

The Mocatta firm

In 1671, Moses Mocatta established a business in London that became Mocatta & Goldsmid. This was the foundation of the modern gold and silver market.[5] The Mocatta business was the world's leading bullion broker through the 18th century, and first traded with India in 1676 and with China in the 1720s.[6] Licensed at the Royal Exchange from 1710, for more than a century, the family firm acted as exclusive bullion brokers to the Bank of England.

Mocatta was later involved in market stabilisations. Edgar Mocatta had a notable role in ending the Indian silver crisis of 1913.[7] In the late 20th century, the Mocatta firm was closely involved in providing liquidity and stability following the Hunt silver corner of 1980.[8] In association with NM Rothschild, in 1897 and 1919 respectively, Mocatta & Goldsmid established the price discovery mechanisms for silver and gold used into the 21st century.[9] Between 1671 and the 1970s, the Mocatta firm was headed by just seven men.[10]

Involvement in charitable and Jewish institutions

The family was involved in the establishment of Bevis Marks, the UK's oldest synagogue (1701), the Board of Deputies of British Jews (1760), and the West London Synagogue (1840). The family were active in the struggle for Jewish parliamentary emancipation.[11]

Ten members of the family have served as Chairman or President of the West London Synagogue of British Jews. Moses Mocatta served as President of the Board of Deputies, and family members have participated in communal leadership positions such as the Board of Shechita,[12] Chairman of Jews’ College,[13] Elders of Bevis Marks. The family also participated in the Oxford and St George's Club (Bernhard Baron St George's Jewish Settlement)[14] and other such initiatives for the relief of the poor.

The family led the Jewish community's efforts for the relief of famine in Ireland in the mid-19th century.[15]

David Mocatta donated funding for major parts of the building of the Royal Marsden, the first hospital in the world dedicated to the study and treatment of cancer.[16]

Frederic Mocatta was a founder of the Industrial Dwellings Society, which provided the London poor with adequate housing. Today it provides low-income key workers with low-cost housing.[17]

Eponyms

Mount Mocatta[18]

Mocatta House, Brighton[19]

Mocatta House, a London social housing project managed by the Industrial Dwellings Society[20]

Mocatta Street[21]

Mocatta Way[22]

Mocatta Mews[23]

Mocatta Place, Queensland[24]

Mocatta Place, ACT[25]

Mocatta Creek[26]

Dendrobium Manon Mocatta, a Singapore orchid named in 1965[27]

Mocatta Committee (Treasury Committee on Cheque Endorsement)[28]

The Mocatta President's Cup Trophy at the Brisbane Golf Club[29]

The Mocatta Library at UCL (the UK's Jewish Studies Library, a collection of 185,000 items of Jewish history)[30]

The Mocatta Haggadah, a 13th Century Castilian manuscript[31]

David Mocatta, a bus named by the City of Brighton[32]

Broker's Token, 1824-34, a coin struck with the face of NM Rothschild "The Bull" and Moses Mocatta "The Bear", the leading London financiers of the day[33]

Notable members

The family features prominently in the Anglo-Jewish "Cousinhood", the aristocracy of related, socially-prominent Jewish families that includes the Rothschilds, the Goldsmids, the Montagus, the Montefiores and the Samuels.[34] Prominent people with the surname Mocatta include:

  • David Mocatta (1806–1882), a British architect, the first Jewish member of a profession in Great Britain
  • Frederic David Mocatta (1828–1905), a prominent philanthropist, bibliophile, patron of the arts, and bullion broker. Mocatta retired from his active role at Mocatta & Goldsmid and dedicated the second part of his life to public work, particularly working for better housing for the working classes.[35] He is noted for his successful work to implement corporate governance and accountability in charities (Chairman, Charity Voting Reform Association). President, Home for Aged Jews, promoter and sponsor of poverty relief and education.[36] Mocatta served as Chairman of the 1882 Mansion House Fund on Behalf of Russian Jewry.[37] On his seventieth birthday, he was presented with a book containing signatures of the Empress Frederick and of 8000 other representatives of 250 public bodies to which Mocatta had given his support. Author of The Jews of Spain and Portugal and The Inquisition (1877).[38] Mocatta was the patron of his nephew, the Sinologist and translator, Arthur Waley.[39] After his death, a fountain was erected in his memory, funded by public subscription, "in grateful memory." The fountain stands prominently outside Aldgate East Station.[40]
  • Dr. (Annie) Mildred Mocatta (1887–1984), a medical doctor and art collector in South Australia
  • Sir Alan Abraham Mocatta, OBE QC (1907–1990), an English judge and leader of the Spanish & Portuguese Jewish Community of London, President of the Restrictive Practices Court, Chairman of the Mocatta Committee on Cheque Endorsement,[41] joint editor of Scrutton on Charter Parties (14th–17th editions)[42]
  • William Hugh Mocatta (1861-1959), a Judge of the District Court of NSW
  • Rachel Mocatta, mother of Sir Moses Montefiore[43]
  • Laura Mocatta, wife of Sir Elly Kadoorie, mother of Lord Kadoorie and Sir Horace Kadoorie. Lived in Hong Kong and Shanghai 1898-1918. The first woman to drive a car in China.[44]
  • Edgar Mocatta (1879-1957) Known as the "Silver King," Edgar Mocatta dominated the silver market during his partnership in Mocatta & Goldsmid (1900-57).[45]
  • Moses Mocatta. Bullion broker and scholar of Hebrew language and literature.

See also

References
  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. Bermant, Chaim (1971). The Cousinhood: The Anglo-Jewish Gentry. Eyre and Spottiswoode. ISBN 978-0-413-27330-7.
  4. Jewish Currents: "Descendants of Jacob Lumbrozzo de Mattos" by Tony Harding Spring 2010
  5. "1. Introduction". LBMA. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  6. Green, Timothy; Mocatta and Goldsmid (1984). Precious heritage: three hundred years of Mocatta & Goldsmid. London: Rosendale Press. ISBN 978-0-9509182-0-4. OCLC 24763100.
  7. Sunderland, David (2013). Financing the Raj: The City of London and Colonial India, 1858-1940. Boydell Press. ISBN 978-1-84383-795-4.
  8. Silber, William L. (2021-01-12). The Story of Silver: How the White Metal Shaped America and the Modern World. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-20869-5.
  9. "How London's gold and silver prices are 'fixed'". Reuters. 2013-03-14. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  10. Jarecki, Henry (2021-05-15). An Alchemist's Way: How to Make Luck Look Like Skill. Falconwood Corporation. ISBN 978-0-578-87051-9.
  11. Rubinstein, W.; Jolles, Michael A. (2011-01-27). The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History. Springer. ISBN 978-0-230-30466-6.
  12. England), Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregation (London (1865). Laws and regulations of Maʻasim tovim, Mahasim Tobim: for assisting the industrious and poor of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregation : instituted 5509-1749, revised 5625-1865. Waterlow and Sons.
  13. "Turmoil at Jews' College". Commentary Magazine. 1962-04-01. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  14. Bernhard Baron St. George's Jewish Settlement (1964). Fiftieth anniversary review, 1914-1964. London. OCLC 4442281.
  15. bloomsbury.com. "Charity and the Great Hunger in Ireland". Bloomsbury. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  16. "Our history | TRM Trust and Private Care". www.royalmarsden.nhs.uk. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  17. "Mocatta House". IDS. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  18. "Mount Mocatta · Rangemore QLD 4352, Australia". Mount Mocatta · Rangemore QLD 4352, Australia. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  19. "Mocatta House · Trafalgar Terrace, Brighton BN1 4DU, UK". Mocatta House · Trafalgar Terrace, Brighton BN1 4DU, UK. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  20. "Mocatta House - Industrial Dwellings Society EST 1885 · 80 Brady St, London E1 5DL, United Kingdom". Mocatta House - Industrial Dwellings Society EST 1885 · 80 Brady St, London E1 5DL, United Kingdom. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  21. "Mocatta St · Goombungee QLD 4354, Australia". Mocatta St · Goombungee QLD 4354, Australia. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  22. "Mocatta Way · Burgess Hill RH15 8UR, UK". Mocatta Way · Burgess Hill RH15 8UR, UK. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  23. "Mocatta Mews · Redhill RH1 2ND, UK". Mocatta Mews · Redhill RH1 2ND, UK. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  24. "Mocatta Pl · Adelaide SA 5000, Australia". Mocatta Pl · Adelaide SA 5000, Australia. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  25. "Mocatta Pl · Latham ACT 2615, Australia". Mocatta Pl · Latham ACT 2615, Australia. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  26. "Mocatta Creek · Queensland 4370, Australia". Mocatta Creek · Queensland 4370, Australia. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  27. "The International Orchid Register / RHS Gardening". apps.rhs.org.uk. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  28. Report of Mocatta Committee on Cheque Endorsement. 1956.
  29. "G. H. Mocatta (President's Cup)". The Brisbane Golf Club. 2021-12-05. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  30. UCL (2018-08-23). "Hebrew and Jewish Collections". Library Services. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  31. Haggadah, Castilian; Furlong, Gillian (2015), "Jewish service book of the 13th or 14th century, Spain", Treasures from UCL (1 ed.), UCL Press, pp. 27–30, ISBN 978-1-910634-01-1, JSTOR j.ctt1g69xrh.8, retrieved 2022-02-06
  32. "Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company Limited". history.buses.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  33. "The Collections ‹ Treasure of the Month :: The Rothschild Archive". www.rothschildarchive.org. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  34. Bermant, Chaim (1971). The Cousinhood: The Anglo-Jewish Gentry. Eyre and Spottiswoode. ISBN 978-0-413-27330-7.
  35. "Frederic David Mocatta | British philanthropist and historian | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  36. "MOCATTA - JewishEncyclopedia.com". www.jewishencyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  37. Rubinstein, W.; Jolles, Michael A. (2011-01-27). The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History. Springer. ISBN 978-0-230-30466-6.
  38. Mocatta, Frederic David (1877). The Jews of Spain and Portugal and the Inquisition. Longmans, Green, and Company.
  39. Laurence, Patricia (2 January 2013). Lily Briscoe's Chinese Eyes. ISBN 9781611171761.
  40. Limited, Alamy. "Frederic David Mocatta public drinking fountain (1906) set in the railings of the church of St Botolph Without Aldgate recently restored Stock Photo - Alamy". www.alamy.com. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  41. Report of Mocatta Committee on Cheque Endorsement. 1956.
  42. "Formats and Editions of Scrutton on Charterparties and bills of lading. [WorldCat.org]". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  43. Green, Abigail (2012-05-07). Moses Montefiore. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-05644-2.
  44. Kaufman, Jonathan (June 2021). Kings of Shanghai. ISBN 9780349142982.
  45. Rubinstein, W.; Jolles, Michael A. (2011-01-27). The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History. Springer. ISBN 978-0-230-30466-6.
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