David Pacifico
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David Pacifico, known as
Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name * Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a village and hill station in Dang district, Gu ...
Pacifico (1784? – 12 April 1854), was a Portuguese Jewish merchant and diplomat. He was considered a
British subject The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...
by birth and was the central figure in the Anglo–Greek dispute of 1850 known as the Don Pacifico Affair.


Biography


Early life

Pacifico was a
Sephardic Jew Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...
of
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
descent. Pacifico's grandfather, of the same name, was born in
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
eventually settled down in Gibraltar. His family had been expelled from Spain with the rest of the Jews in 1492. His ancestors reached Italy, particularly
Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...
, first Leghorn and then
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
. As Pacifico grew up in Portugal because of his father's work, he was speaking fluent
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
. That led to the myth of Portuguese descent for the Pacificos, who were actually of Spanish descent.Roy Jenkins, ''Gladstone: A Biography'' (Random House, 2002). Pacifico's parents were married in
Bevis Marks Synagogue Bevis Marks Synagogue, officially Qahal Kadosh Sha'ar ha-Shamayim (), is an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Judaism, Jewish congregation and synagogue, located off Bevis Marks, Aldgate, in the City of London, England, in the United Kingdom. The congr ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in 1761. He gave varying accounts of his birth, placing it either in
Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...
, which belonged to
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
at the time, or in
Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
, which was a British possession. He once claimed to be a Spanish subject.David Steele
"Pacifico, David [Don Pacifico
/nowiki> (1784?–1854)"">on Pacifico">"Pacifico, David ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 1 February 2017. A Liberalism">liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...
living in Portugal during the Civil War of 1828–34, he was persecuted by the Miguelist">Liberal Wars">Civil War of 1828–34, he was persecuted by the Miguelists. In 1835, after the war, he was rewarded by the victorious liberals with a consulship in Morocco and Portuguese citizenship. From 1837 to 1842, he served as consul-general in Athens, during which time he also engaged in commerce and became prominent in the local Jewish community.


Greece

Pacifico continued residing in Greece after he was stripped of his position for repeatedly overstepping his authority in 1842.Giannis Kairofylas, ''The History of Psiri District'' ιστορία της συνοικίας του Ψυρή(Athens: Filippotis Editions, 2000), p. 102 In April 1847, in order not to offend a visiting French Jewish financier, a member of the
Rothschild family The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Jewish noble banking family originally from Frankfurt. The family's documented history starts in 16th-century Frankfurt; its name is derived from the family house, Rothschild, ...
, the government banned the traditional burning of
Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot (; ; died AD) was, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. Judas betrayed Jesus to the Sanhedrin in the Garden of Gethsemane, in exchange for thirty pieces of sil ...
in effigy during Greek Orthodox Easter celebrations. An angry mob sacked Pacifico's house as police looked on. Pacifico then enlisted the aid of the British legation in claiming £32,000 in compensation from the Greek government for damage to his property, plus 10% interest and £500 for physical violence against Pacifico himself. The claim was approved by
Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865), known as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman and politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1855 to 1858 and from 1859 to 1865. A m ...
, then
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs may refer to: * Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Spain) *Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (UK) The secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs, also known as the fore ...
. He also claimed compensation for land of his that had been acquired by the state. While this latter claim was accepted, the Greek government ignored his claims relating to the riot. The affair came to a head in January 1850, when the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are ...
d Athens to force Greece to settle Pacifico's claims and others'. Through French and Russian intervention, his claims were reduced, the blockade lifted and Greece agreed to pay.


London

The Don Pacifico affair provoked a debate in
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
. Palmerston justified his actions in a speech to the house on 25 June 1850, using the phrase, '' Civis romanus sum'', translated as "I am a Roman citizen", the declaration by a Roman to protect him from harm anywhere in the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
. He railed against the anti-Semitic prejudice that "because a man is of the Jewish persuasion, he is fair game for any outrage." In a vote on an opposition motion, the right of a British subject to appeal for aid anywhere in the world was affirmed by the house with a majority of forty-six. Despite his international prominence, Pacifico was unpopular with London's Jews. He died at 15 Bury Street in London on 12 April 1854 and was buried two days later at the Spanish and Portuguese Jews' cemetery at Mile End Road. In an obituary published 21 April, ''
The Jewish Chronicle ''The Jewish Chronicle'' (''The JC'') is a London-based Jewish weekly newspaper. Founded in 1841, it is the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world. Its editor () is Daniel Schwammenthal. The newspaper is published every Fri ...
'' called him an "individual who … caused so much sensation in the political world."


See also

*
List of Gibraltarians The Gibraltarians (also called '' Llanitos/as'', ) are a cultural group or nation from the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The following is a list of notable Gibraltarians or people born in Gibraltar, listed in alphabetical order wi ...


References


External links

*

' *
voll. 18, 19, Jewish Historical Society of England, 1958, p. 1
', "( ... ) The Pacifico family is of Italian Jewish origin ( ... )" *

' "(..) Pacifico, the Elder, Joshua's son, was born in 1707 in Italy and arrived in Gibraltar in 1726 (...)"

Roy Jenkins, Gladstone: A biography, Random House, 2002, "(...) Pacifico was a Spanish jew (...)"



( ... )Don Pacifico, the hero of the 1847–48 claims, was a naturalized British subject ( ... )", House Documents - Vol. 1-2;Vol 270 - Page 1339 Congress House of Representatives - 1874

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pacifico, Don 1780s births 1854 deaths Gibraltarian Sephardi Jews Greek Sephardi Jews 19th-century Portuguese Jews Portuguese people of Italian descent Gibraltarian emigrants to Greece History of Greece (1832–1862) Antisemitic attacks and incidents in Europe Victims of antisemitic violence