Francisco Lopes Suasso
Francisco Lopes Suasso | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1657 Amsterdam, Dutch Republic |
| Died | 22 April 1710 The Hague, Dutch Republic |
| Occupation(s) | Financier, banker |
| Known for | Loan to William of Orange during the Glorious Revolution; Baron d'Avernas le Gras |
Francisco Lopes Suasso, second Baron d'Avernas le Gras (approximately 1657 – 22 April 1710) was a distinguished financier and banker within the Dutch Republic, recognized as Abraham Israel Suasso among the Sephardic Jewish population.
Background and early life
After being expelled from the Iberian Peninsula, numerous Sephardic Jews resettled in commercial centers such as London and Antwerp. By the late 1500s and throughout the Dutch Golden Age, they firmly established communities in Amsterdam and The Hague. The Lopes Suasso family belonged to a prosperous Sephardic lineage of Marranos—Jews compelled to convert during the Portuguese Inquisition but who openly resumed practicing Judaism once in Amsterdam.
Francisco was born in Amsterdam as the eldest child of merchant-banker Antonio Lopes Suasso (1614–1685), also known as Isaac Israel Suasso. The family descended from one of Amsterdam’s wealthiest Portuguese-Jewish commercial dynasties. Antonio, originally from Bordeaux, conducted extensive trade in Málaga and Hamburg and resided along Jodenbreestraat and Groenburgwal. Francisco’s birth is estimated between 1657 and 1660.
He had four sisters—Ribca (1655–1695), Rachel (1659–1685), Elisheba (1663–1746), Esther (1669–1679)—and a younger brother Jacob, who died in childhood.
The Lopes Suassos maintained connections with Spain; on 3 January 1676, Francisco’s father was granted the title Baron d'Avernas le Gras by Charles II of Spain in recognition of diplomatic services. This noble title referred to their seigneurie located in the Duchy of Brabant. Additionally, the family sustained close relations with the Stadtholders, often providing financial backing through their banking enterprise.
Life
Francisco became involved in his father’s banking firm and, upon inheriting half of Antonio’s estate in 1685—largely composed of shares in the Dutch East India Company (Middelburg Chamber)—he carried on a prosperous career.
In 1682, he wed Judith Francisco Teixeira in Hamburg, daughter of Manuel Teixeira, a prominent Portuguese-Jewish merchant-banker influential across Northern Europe. This marriage was intended to strengthen capital ties within their financial network but ended without heirs when Judith passed away in 1689.
A notable financial transaction occurred in 1688 when Suasso extended a loan amounting to two million guilders to William of Orange, aiding William’s invasion during the Glorious Revolution. Through his Hamburg connections, Suasso also coordinated the movement of Swedish and Pomeranian forces, supporting William’s military efforts. The chest containing William’s repayment is exhibited at Amsterdam’s Willet-Holthuysen Museum.
Following Judith’s death, Francisco remarried on 23 February 1694 in The Hague to Leonora (Rachel) da Costa (1669–1749). Together they had ten children who expanded the family’s commercial influence. Their sons included Antonio (1695–1775), Alvaro (1696–1751), Manuel (1698–1773), among others; daughters were Leonora, Sara, and Hanna.
Francisco Lopes Suasso died in The Hague on 22 April 1710 and was interred at the Portuguese-Jewish cemetery Beth Haim in Ouderkerk aan de Amstel. His eldest son Antonio inherited both his business interests and the title Baron d'Avernas le Gras.
Further reading
- Daniël Swetschinski and Loeki Schönduve, De familie Lopes Suasso, financiers van Willem III (1988)
- Loeki Schönduve, 'Antonio en Francisco Lopes Suasso: joodse baronnen in Holland', featured in Holland: regionaal-historisch tijdschrift 20 (1988)
External links
- Genealogy of the Suasso de Lima de Prado family on stamboomsijbrands.nl (Dutch)