## *Fintas, Promesas, Imposta,Taxing the Portuguese*## *Nation in Early Modern Amsterdam*## *Ton Tielen*## *Sephardic World, 25 May 2025* Fintas, Promesas, Imposta: Taxing the Portuguese Nation in Early Modern AmsterdamIn early modern Amsterdam, the Jews of the Portuguese Nation were allowed to govern much of their communal life—building a synagogue, running schools, administering poor relief, and maintaining a Beth Din with power to fine or exclude. To fund this autonomy, the community levied taxes: fintas, promesas, and possibly uniquely Sephardic, imposta. These were imposed on members. ***Ton Tielen*** will show how these taxes offer an insight into the economic and social fabric of Amsterdam’s Sephardic Jews. ***Ton Tielen*** is a well-known personality in the world of Sephardic genealogy. He co-founded this series of meetings, the Sephardic Genealogical Society, the Sephardic Research Foundation, and The Sephardic Diaspora group on Facebook. He is also a trustee of A Nação Hebraica. He formerly served as archivist of the Netherlands Red Cross. Patrons can join us live on Sunday 25 May 2025, at 11 noon in LA, 2pm in NYC, 7pm in London, 8pm in Paris/Amsterdam, 9pm in Jerusalem, and 4am the next morning in Sydney. Patrons will receive a link in a separate email. Everyone else is invited to watch the YouTube premiere the next week.[[https://www.youtube.com/c/SephardicGenealogyAndHistory](https://www.youtube.com/c/SephardicGenealogyAndHistory)](https://www.youtube.com/c/SephardicGenealogyAndHistory) If you are not yet a patron and would like to support our work, you can join us here: https://www.patreon.com/sephardi. Even $5 a month makes a meaningful difference and gives you the chance to put your questions directly to leading experts in the field. [[https://www.patreon.com/c/sephardi](https://www.patreon.com/c/sephardi)](https://www.patreon.com/c/sephardi) ***27th New York Sephardic Film Festival***If you are in New York, two standout films at the 27th NY Sephardic Jewish Film Festival highlight Iberian Jewish history: Songs of the Sephardim in Izmir explores Ladino music and heritage in Turkey, while Giado: Holocaust in the Desert uncovers a Libyan Jew’s wartime diary, revealing the Sephardi experience under Italian Fascist persecution.Link: [[https://nysjff.com/](https://nysjff.com/)](https://nysjff.com/) ***Fun with Autosomal DNA***If you missed Julian Land’s excellent presentation on using autosomal DNA for deeper family research, you can now watch it on YouTube. Julian’s work represents a valuable step forward in genetic genealogy, and offers a glimpse into the future of the field.[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDfqnnaG6O0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDfqnnaG6O0)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDfqnnaG6O0)If you haven’t yet subscribed to the YouTube channel, please do. It helps us a lot and costs nothing. Also, remember to click ‘Like’ on the videos you watch. ***Can you speak to Sephardic World?***Every Sephardic family has a unique story to tell. Do you want to share yours? If you would like to speak but haven’t given a presentation before, we are happy to provide support and to practice with you. If you don’t want to talk for a full 45 minutes, we can have a series of shorter presentations. If you are very nervous about public speaking, we can pre-record. Our only requirement is that you have archival evidence to support what you say. Send us an email at [society@sephardicgenealogy.com](mailto:society@sephardicgenealogy.com) ***Can you Volunteer or Donate?***The Sephardic Genealogical Society is looking for volunteers. If you have skills and time to spare, please complete our questionnaire. We are particularly looking for people with video editing, fundraising and web design experience.[[https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1aFsubxSY_PtauwOJzlayxBmLTKjXL8kTzz50jmmRiHA/viewform?edit_requested=true](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1aFsubxSY_PtauwOJzlayxBmLTKjXL8kTzz50jmmRiHA/viewform?edit_requested=true)](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1aFsubxSY_PtauwOJzlayxBmLTKjXL8kTzz50jmmRiHA/viewform?edit_requested=true)We rely on the support of our patrons. If you can support our work by donating as little as $5/month, please visit our Patreon page. We have a number of projects that require more substantial support. Please let us know if you can help.[[https://www.patreon.com/c/sephardi](https://www.patreon.com/c/sephardi)](https://www.patreon.com/c/sephardi) ***Join our new WhatsApp channel***We have set up a WhatsApp channel to better help communication with supporters. If you have WhatsApp, please follow the channel.[[https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaHxAjhJ93wTMhWkTF0i](https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaHxAjhJ93wTMhWkTF0i)](https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaHxAjhJ93wTMhWkTF0i) ***From the Sephardic Archives***Rabbis with Inky Fingers - Making 18th Century Hebrew Books. Many examples of early modern Hebrew books survive in libraries and collections around the world, but little has been known about the process of their creation. A newly-identified manuscript, which was used in a Jewish printing house in Amsterdam to typeset a Hebrew book in 1739, now provides a rare glimpse into this material world. A talk by Dr. Noam Sienna to Sephardic World group on 2nd August 2020.[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgOw3gqN5Cg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgOw3gqN5Cg)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgOw3gqN5Cg) *Best wishes**Ton and David **Sephardic World *