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Country
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NL
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Name of institution (English)
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Amsterdam City Archives
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Language of name of institution
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dut
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Contact information: postal address
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Vijzelstraat 32, 1017 HL Amsterdam
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Contact information: phone number
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0031 202511511
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Contact information: email
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stadarchief@amsterdam.nl
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Reference number
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5072
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Type of reference number
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Archival reference number
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Title (English)
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Archives of the Governors of the Insolvent Estates Office
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Title (official language of the state)
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Archief van de Commissarissen van de Desolate Boedelkamer
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Language of title
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dut
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Creator / accumulator
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Commissarissen van de Desolate Boedelkamer
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Date(s)
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1617/1897
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Language(s)
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dut
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Extent
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7,570 storage units
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Type of material
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Textual Material
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Physical condition
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Good
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Scope and content
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The Archief van de Commissarissen van de Desolate Boedelkamer comprises documents related to the activities of this office, which managed insolvent estates. The fonds is organised into three sections: Archief van de Desolate Boedelskamer, comprising documentation from the Insolvent Estates Office; Stukken behorende tot andere archieven (Documents belonging to other archives); and Stukken afkomstig uit het Archief van de Notarissen ter Standplaats Amsterdam (Documents from the archives of the notaries of the Amsterdam City Council). The first section is divided into several subsections, one of them comprising inventories and balance sheets (Inventarisatie en Balans), including registers of inventories of movable property (Registers van inventarissen van roerende goederen) dating from 1643 to 1780. These records contain indexes on bankrupts, including some insolvent Amsterdam Sephardim. Thus, it is possible to find in this fonds some interesting details on the material history of these individuals. Tirtsah Levie Bernfeld (2012a) mentions a few examples, such as the following:
570: Inventory of the estate of Manuel Duarte Brandes, in which a portrait of the stadtholder Frederik Hendrik and his wife Amalia von Solms-Braunfels is registered. December 31, 1643 (fol. 30v).
573: Inventory of the estate of Jerónimo Henriques, referring to four paintings based on Ancient Greek literature. July 21, 1647 (fol. 200).
576: Inventory of the estate of Samuel Cardoso, mentioning a painting of a Roman hero, Marcus Curtius. October 25, 1651 (fol. 265).
591: Inventory of the estate of Abraham Rodrigues Carion, mentioning six history paintings. October 10, 1662 (fol. 63).
597: Inventory of the estate of Isaac Uziel Cardoso, mentioning a French history painting. April 27, 1669 (fol. 148).
599: Inventory of the estate of Moses and David Juda Leon, mentioning a painting depicting a battle. July 10, 1672 (fol. 232v).
605: Inventory of the estate of Simon Correa (Simão Correia), mentioning several paintings with Jewish themes. September 3, 1677 (fol. 143v).
Further relevant material related to Sephardic Jews who fell in ruin can be found in other subseries of this fonds. For instance, one of the volumes of inventory statements by which the assignee relinquishes property (692) includes information about Fernando Cardoso, a merchant reduced to poverty due to harassment from the Inquisition. He had to escape suddenly from Toulouse to save his life, abandoning his family, goods, and chattels. He went to Amsterdam, where he was declared bankrupt in 1690. All his goods in Toulouse were confiscated by the king of France. On this case, see Bernfeld (2012b): 27.
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Archival history
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Since its establishment, the Desolate Boedelkamer (Insolvent Estates Office) was located in the Town Hall on Dam Square in Amsterdam. When the building burned down in 1652, part of the archive was saved, albeit with damage. Then, the Westindisch Huis (West India House) on Herenmarkt served as temporary accommodation until the new Town Hall building was completed. In 1795, the first bookkeeper, Jan Hendrik Lunin, made an inventory of the documents he had taken over from his predecessor, C. Pennewart. In 1800, a house on the Singel (one of the Amsterdam canals), known as De Witte Molen (The White Mill), was explicitly bought to store the Desolate Boedelkamer archive. There, documents were made available for consultation. The archive was transferred to the Amsterdam City Archives in 1852. A few decades later, in 1892, J.J. Loeff compiled an inventory of the fonds. In that same year, an index of family names in the agreements and reports was completed. In 1958, P. Boeykens made a description of this documentation. At present, all entries from these registers are included in the inventory, with information if the record is missing.
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(source: Inventaris van het Archief van de Commissarissen van de Desolate Boedelkamer)
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Administrative / Biographical history
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On January 30, 1627, the City Council decided to establish the Commissarissen van de Desolate Boedelkamer (Governors of the Insolvent Estates Office). However, their actual establishment only took place in 1643 and their first meeting was held on November 12, 1643.
The proceedings before the Desolate Boedelkamer began with the declaration of bankruptcy or when creditors reported payment difficulties. The president or senior governor appointed one or two "gedeputeerde commissarissen" (deputy governors) under whose supervision the estate was placed. These deputy governors were expected to gather information on the conditions of the estate. When there was a confirmation of difficult financial conditions, the deputy governors would directly manage the estate or appoint officials to whom the management of the estate was entrusted. After all goods and properties were inventoried, the inventory was co-signed by the bankrupt person and submitted to the Desolate Boedelkamer. If necessary, a guardian of the estate was appointed. The bankruptcy was also reported to the Wisselbank (Bank of Amsterdam).
After the introduction of the French Code of Commerce on April 30, 1811, the Desolate Boedelkamer became unnecessary. The existing governors were instructed by the burgomaster to complete all matters and to liquidate all estates still pending as soon as possible. In August 1835, they presented their accounts to the City Council and were given an honourable discharge. However, it was only in 1852 that all matters were actually settled.
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(source: Inventaris van het Archief van de Commissarissen van de Desolate Boedelkamer)
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Access points: persons, families
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Brandes, Manuel Duarte
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Cardoso, Fernando
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Cardoso, Isaac Uziel
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Cardoso, Samuel
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Correia, Simão
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Delmonte, Isaac
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Franco Drago, Jacob
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Henriques, Jerónimo
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Gabay Isidro, Moses
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Leon, David Juda
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Leon, Moses
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Nunes Bernal, Isaac
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Prado, Samuel de
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Rodrigues Carion, Abraham
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Silva Solis, Jacob de
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Ximenes Cardoso, David
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System of arrangement
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The fonds is divided into three sections. The first section, concerning documentation of the Archief van de Desolate Boedelskamer, is organised by document types and arranged chronologically. The other two sections are organised chronologically.
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Author of the description
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Joana Rodrigues, 2022
