The Enactment of Jewish Naturalisation Act of 1753 and the Legal Status of Jewish Immigrants in the 18th Century England
The aim of this paper is to present analysis of the enactment of Jewish Naturalisation Act of 1753. It gives us some insight into several key issues of the legal status of Jewish immigrants in the 18th century England. Firstly, amongst the most of MPs there was mutual agreement that the legal status of English Jews, still rooted in the medieval common law, must be settled by acts of Parliament. Secondly, for the Whig majority the pattern of changes had been set by the naturalisation act of 1740 (Plantation Act), which provisions had not forced Jewish immigrants to take any Christian oaths. Thirdly, there were deep divisions between MPs as to the economic, social, religious and political outcomes of the proposed piece of legislation. Prized by Whigs and considered by the staunch Tories almost as an act of treason, Jewish Naturalisation Act was rejected by the English society. It was too early to make Jews natural born subjects of England.
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