This chapter focuses on presenting the Shanghai Baghdadi Jewish community from a new angle, that of its marginal status within Shanghai’s Western community. David Sassoon established a trading firm upon his arrival in Bombay, and in less than a decade, he had become the most respected member of the local Jewish community. The chapter tries to define the Baghdadi Jewish merchants’ operating procedures in the India-China trade in the second half of the nineteenth century. It compares the commercial role of Baghdadi merchants to that of Parsi and Ismaili merchants. The chapter examines the Baghdadis’ relationship with the British, focusing on several interconnected issues like nationality, Anglicization, and social interaction. Its goal is to clarify the Baghdadis’ confusing relationship with the British and demonstrate that their marginalization did not pose a serious barrier to their stay in the Shanghai foreign settlements as a whole.
Source: https://www.manchesterhive.com/view/9781526119742/9781526119742.00011.xml
