18th-Century Judeo-Arabic Documents from the Prize Papers Collection

Abstract

The Prize Papers Collection held at the National Archives in Kew contains more than 280 letters and documents in Judeo-Arabic (Arabic written in Hebrew script) taken from the British cartel ship Venus in 1800. Most of the letters and documents belonged to Shlomo Bū Shaʿra, an Algerian Jewish merchant who travelled between Algeria and Europe on business during the late 18th century. This article introduces the Judeo-Arabic documents from the Prize Papers Collection. It applies a linguistic analysis to a sample of 15 letters and documents, and transcribes and translates three documents written in Arabic and Judeo-Arabic scripts.