{{Short description|English Sephardic bullion brokers}} {{more references|date=October 2011}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}} '''Mocatta''' (also ''de Mattos Mocatta'', ''Nunes Marchena Mocatta'', ''Lumbroso de Mattos Mocatta'' and ''Lumbrozo de Mattos Mocatta'') is a surname.
The Mocatta family is an [[British Jews|Anglo-Jewish]] family that traces its ancestry to the [[Spanish and Portuguese Jews|Sephardic Jewish communities of Spain and Portugal]] prior to the [[Inquisition]]. The family's forebears initially sought refuge in [[Amsterdam]] and [[Venice]], before immigrating to England in the 1650s. They were among the first twelve Jewish families admitted by [[Oliver Cromwell|Cromwell]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hyamson|first=Albert M|title=The Sephardim of England: a history of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish community, 1492-1951|date=1991|publisher=Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregation|location=London|language=English|oclc=32588859}}</ref> In London in 1671, Moses Mocatta established the firm that became [[Mocatta & Goldsmid]]; for 300 years it was the world’s leading [[bullion]] broker. Although the family sold their stake in the company in the late twentieth century and exited the bullion business, the family continues its tradition of business and charity.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=British Academy|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/|title=Oxford dictionary of national biography.|last2=Oxford University Press|date=2004|isbn=978-0-19-861412-8|language=English|oclc=56568095}}</ref>
The family became known for [[philanthropy]], leadership and sponsorship of [[arts and letters]], particularly in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kVMuAAAAMAAJ&q=mocatta |title=Royal Blue Book: Fashionable Directory and Parliamentary Guide |date=1900 |pages=231, 1093 |language=en}}</ref> Long involved in finance and the law, they are considered to be one of the principal families in the "cousinhood" of senior Anglo-Jewish families,<ref name="x4">{{Cite book|last=Bermant|first=Chaim|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AeJtAAAAMAAJ|title=The Cousinhood: The Anglo-Jewish Gentry|date=1971|publisher=Eyre and Spottiswoode|isbn=978-0-413-27330-7|language=en}}</ref> the ''de facto'' Anglo-Jewish [[aristocracy (class)|aristocracy]].<ref>[http://www.barrow-lousada.org/PDFdocs/Lousada%20Family%20Genealogy%20from%20David%20Man%202007.pdf Jewish Currents: "Descendants of Jacob Lumbrozzo de Mattos" by Tony Harding] Spring 2010</ref>
== The Mocatta firm == In 1671, Moses Mocatta established a business in London that became Mocatta & Goldsmid. This was the foundation of the modern gold and silver market.<ref>{{Cite web|title=1. Introduction|url=https://www.lbma.org.uk/publications/the-otc-guide/introduction|access-date=2022-02-06|website=LBMA|language=en-GB}}</ref> The Mocatta business was the world's leading bullion broker through the 18th century, and first traded with India in 1676 and with China in the 1720s.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Green|first1=Timothy|title=Precious heritage: three hundred years of Mocatta & Goldsmid.|last2=Mocatta and Goldsmid|date=1984|publisher=Rosendale Press|isbn=978-0-9509182-0-4|location=London|language=English|oclc=24763100}}</ref> Licensed at the [[Royal Exchange, London|Royal Exchange]] from 1710, for more than a century, the family firm acted as exclusive bullion brokers to the Bank of England. In 1810, the Mocatta firm's managing partner appeared before Parliament's Select Committee on the High Price of Gold Bullion, when asked: 'Are there any other dealers in gold but yours', he replied, 'I apprehend none of considerable amount.'<ref>{{Cite book |title=Report, together with minutes of evidence and accounts, on the high price of gold bullion : Ordered, by the House of Commons, to be printed, 8 June 1810 |publisher=House of Commons |year=1810 |location=London}}</ref>
Mocatta was later involved in market stabilisations. Edgar Mocatta had a notable role in ending the Indian silver crisis of 1913.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sunderland|first=David|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U2Ui7UKfGhwC&dq=edgar+mocatta+1913+silver&pg=PA94|title=Financing the Raj: The City of London and Colonial India, 1858-1940|date=2013|publisher=Boydell Press|isbn=978-1-84383-795-4|language=en}}</ref> In the late 20th century, the Mocatta firm was closely involved in providing liquidity and stability following the Hunt silver corner of 1980.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Silber|first=William L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZobxDwAAQBAJ&dq=hunt+brothers+mocatta&pg=PA169|title=The Story of Silver: How the White Metal Shaped America and the Modern World|date=2021-01-12|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-20869-5|language=en}}</ref> In association with [[NM Rothschild and Sons|NM Rothschild]], in 1897 and 1919 respectively, Mocatta & Goldsmid established the price discovery mechanisms for silver and gold used into the 21st century.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2013-03-14|title=How London's gold and silver prices are 'fixed'|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/gold-fix-idINDEE92D0H220130314|access-date=2022-02-06}}</ref> Between 1671 and the 1970s, the Mocatta firm was headed by just seven men.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Jarecki|first=Henry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bkZazgEACAAJ&q=henry+jarecki|title=An Alchemist's Way: How to Make Luck Look Like Skill|date=2021-05-15|publisher=Falconwood Corporation|isbn=978-0-578-87051-9|language=en}}</ref>
== Involvement in charitable and Jewish institutions == The family was involved in the establishment of [[Bevis Marks Synagogue|Bevis Marks]], the UK's oldest synagogue (1701), the [[Board of Deputies of British Jews]] (1760), and the [[West London Synagogue]] (1840). The family were active in the struggle for Jewish parliamentary emancipation.<ref name="x13">{{Cite book|last1=Rubinstein|first1=W.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_T_HCg17ufIC&dq=palgrave+mocatta&pg=PA681|title=The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History|last2=Jolles|first2=Michael A.|date=2011-01-27|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-0-230-30466-6|language=en}}</ref>
Ten members of the family have served as Chairman or President of the West London Synagogue of British Jews. Moses Mocatta served as [[Board of Deputies of British Jews|President of the Board of Deputies]], and family members have participated in communal leadership positions such as the Board of Shechita,<ref>{{Cite book|last=England)|first=Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregation (London|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3n49AQAAMAAJ&dq=mocatta+board+of+shechita&pg=RA1-PA5|title=Laws and regulations of Maʻasim tovim, Mahasim Tobim: for assisting the industrious and poor of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregation : instituted 5509-1749, revised 5625-1865|date=1865|publisher=Waterlow and Sons|language=en}}</ref> Chairman of [[Jews' College|Jews’ College]],<ref>{{Cite web|date=1962-04-01|title=Turmoil at Jews' College|url=https://www.commentary.org/articles/john-gross/turmoil-at-jews-college/|access-date=2022-02-06|website=Commentary Magazine|language=en-US}}</ref> and Elders of [[Bevis Marks Synagogue|Bevis Marks]]. The family also participated in the Oxford and St George's Club (Bernhard Baron St George's Jewish Settlement)<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bernhard Baron St. George's Jewish Settlement|title=Fiftieth anniversary review, 1914-1964.|date=1964|location=London|language=English|oclc=4442281}}</ref> and other such initiatives for the relief of the poor.
The family led the Jewish community's efforts for the relief of famine in Ireland in the mid-19th century.<ref>{{Cite web|last=bloomsbury.com|title=Charity and the Great Hunger in Ireland|url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/charity-and-the-great-hunger-in-ireland-9781441176608/|access-date=2022-02-06|website=Bloomsbury|language=en}}</ref>
The family were leaders in the protest at the persecution of Jews in [[Romania]] and [[Bessarabia]].<ref>{{Cite book |last= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TMLWY6RJwYgC&dq=mocatta&pg=PA3 |title=The Jews of Roumania. Report of Public Meeting Held at the Mansion House ... May 30, 1872 |date=1872 |publisher=Printed and published for the "Roumanian Committee" by A. Meyers, Office of "Jewish Chronicle" |language=en}}</ref>
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the family were leaders in the [[Jewish Care|Board of Guardians and Trustees for the Relief of the Jewish Poor]].<ref>{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DHlGAQAAMAAJ&dq=mocatta&pg=PA92 |title=Report of the Board of Guardians and Trustees for the Relief of the Jewish Poor |date=1886 |pages=92 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eVPO9yVJIbMC&q=mocatta |title=Annual Report, Jewish Board of Guardians |date=1918 |location=London |pages=86, 93, 101 |language=en}}</ref>
Three members of the Mocatta family served as Honorary Life Governors of the [[Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital]], [[Moorfields Eye Hospital|Moorfields]].<ref>{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r3k4AAAAMAAJ&q=mocatta |title=Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital: Report for the Year 1885 |date=1885 |publisher=M. S. Rickerby |location=London |pages=69, 70 |language=en}}</ref>
David Mocatta donated funding for major parts of the building of the [[Royal Marsden Hospital|Royal Marsden]], the first hospital in the world dedicated to the study and treatment of [[cancer]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Our history {{!}} TRM Trust and Private Care|url=https://www.royalmarsden.nhs.uk/about-royal-marsden/who-we-are/our-history|access-date=2022-02-06|website=www.royalmarsden.nhs.uk}}</ref>
Frederic Mocatta was a founder of the Industrial Dwellings Society, which provided the London poor with adequate housing. Today it provides low-income key workers with low-cost housing.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mocatta House|url=https://www.ids.org.uk/tenants/mocatta-house/|access-date=2022-02-06|website=IDS|language=en-GB}}</ref>
== Notable members == The family features prominently in the Anglo-Jewish "Cousinhood", the aristocracy of related, socially-prominent Jewish families that includes the [[Rothschild family|Rothschilds]], the [[Goldsmid family|Goldsmids]], the [[Baron Swaythling|Montagus]], the [[Moses Montefiore|Montefiores]] and the [[Viscount Bearsted|Samuels]].<ref name="x4"/> Prominent people with the surname Mocatta include: *Isaac Mocatta, a doctor in [[Leghorn (city)|Leghorn]] who in 1638 married Rachel,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wolf |first=Lucien |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ULhtAAAAMAAJ&q=mocatta |title=Essays in Jewish History |date=1934 |publisher=Jewish Historical Society of England |pages=21 |language=en}}</ref> daughter of [[Moses Cordovero]]. *Isaac Mocatta (1765-1801), of whom [[Walter Savage Landor]] wrote, '...In the number of my acquaintance, there is none more valuable, there is not one more lively, more inquiring, more regular; there is not one more virtuous, more beneficent, more liberal, more tender in heart or more true in friendship, than my friend Mocatta – he is also a Jew.'<ref>{{Cite book |last=FORSTER (Barrister-at-Law, of the Inner Temple) |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1LZgAAAAcAAJ&dq=mocatta&pg=PA84 |title=Walter Savage Landor. A biography ... in eight books |date=1869 |publisher=Fields, Osgood&Company |pages=84 |language=en}}</ref> *[[David Mocatta]] (1806–1882), a British architect, the first Jewish member of a profession in Great Britain.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jamilly |first=Edward |date=1953 |title=Anglo-Jewish Architects, and Architecture in the 18th and 19th Centuries |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/29777926 |journal=Transactions (Jewish Historical Society of England) |volume=18 |pages=127–141 |jstor=29777926 |issn=2047-2331}}</ref> Architect of Brighton Station.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jenkins |first=Simon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5OUsuQEACAAJ&q=mocatta |title=Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations |date=2021-03-04 |publisher=Penguin Books, Limited |isbn=978-0-241-97900-6 |language=en}}</ref> *[[Frederick David Mocatta|Frederic David Mocatta]] (1828–1905), 'Perhaps the most popular man in the Jewish community. He holds several offices but they are no measure of the deep and extensive interest he takes in the welfare of the community as a whole. His generosity and amiability are almost proverbial; and he is personally as well known to the poor of the East End and to many of the Communities of Eastern Europe as he is in the society of Hyde Park, where he resides, or at the health resorts of the Riviera, where he passes the winter. He has travelled much, speaks almost every European language, has a smattering of Oriental tongues, and strong literary, and artistic tastes.'<ref>{{Cite web |title="Frederick D. Mocatta" (1889) from "The Graphic" |url=https://victorianweb.org/periodicals/graphic/jews/12.html |access-date=2022-09-04 |website=victorianweb.org}}</ref> A prominent philanthropist, bibliophile, patron of the arts, and bullion broker. Mocatta retired from his active role at Mocatta & Goldsmid in 1874 and dedicated the second part of his life to public work, particularly working for better housing for the working classes.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Frederic David Mocatta {{!}} British philanthropist and historian {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Frederic-David-Mocatta|access-date=2022-02-06|website=www.britannica.com|language=en}}</ref> He is noted for his successful work to implement corporate governance and accountability in charities (Chairman, [[Charity Voting Reform Association]]). President, [[Home for Aged Jews]], promoter and sponsor of poverty relief and education.<ref>{{Cite web|title=MOCATTA - JewishEncyclopedia.com|url=https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/10901-mocatta|access-date=2022-02-06|website=www.jewishencyclopedia.com}}</ref> Mocatta served as Chairman of the 1882 Mansion House Fund on Behalf of Russian Jewry.<ref name="x13"/> On his seventieth birthday, he was presented with a book containing signatures of the [[Empress Frederick]] and of 8,000 other representatives of 250 public bodies to which Mocatta had given his support. Author of ''The Jews of Spain and Portugal and The Inquisition'' (1877).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mocatta|first=Frederic David|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WcttAAAAMAAJ|title=The Jews of Spain and Portugal and the Inquisition|date=1877|publisher=Longmans, Green, and Company|language=en}}</ref> Mocatta was the patron of his nephew, the Sinologist and translator, [[Arthur Waley]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l30MCAAAQBAJ&dq=mocatta&pg=PA308|title=Lily Briscoe's Chinese Eyes|isbn=9781611171761|last1=Laurence|first1=Patricia|date=2 January 2013|publisher=Univ of South Carolina Press }}</ref> After his death, a fountain was erected in his memory, funded by public subscription, "in grateful memory." The fountain stands prominently outside [[Aldgate East tube station|Aldgate East Station]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Limited|first=Alamy|title=Frederic David Mocatta public drinking fountain (1906) set in the railings of the church of St Botolph Without Aldgate recently restored Stock Photo - Alamy|url=https://www.alamy.com/frederic-david-mocatta-public-drinking-fountain-1906-set-in-the-railings-of-the-church-of-st-botolph-without-aldgate-recently-restored-image395802145.html|access-date=2022-02-06|website=www.alamy.com|language=en}}</ref> *Mary Ada Mocatta (1836–1905), wife of [[Frederick David Mocatta|Frederic David Mocatta]], [[William Holman Hunt]]'s model for the [[Virgin mary|Virgin Mary]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tobin |first=Thomas J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6t6KziaCdP0C&dq=mocatta+pre-raphaelite&pg=PA55 |title=Worldwide Pre-Raphaelitism |date=2006-01-01 |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-0-7914-8422-7 |pages=56 |language=en}}</ref> Described by Hunt's biographer as, 'Distinguished alike for her amiability and beauty.'<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stephens |first=Frederic George |title=William Holman Hunt and his works : a memoir of the artist's life, with description of his pictures |date=2010 |publisher=Kessinger |isbn=978-1-120-97346-7 |edition=[Reproduction en fac-similé] |location=a[Whitefish (Mont.)] |oclc=690473131}}</ref> *Dr. [[Mildred Mocatta|(Annie) Mildred Mocatta]] (1887–1984), a medical doctor and art collector in South Australia.<ref>{{Citation |last=Jones |first=Helen |title=Mocatta, Annie Mildred (1887–1984) |url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mocatta-annie-mildred-14977 |work=Australian Dictionary of Biography |place=Canberra |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |language=en |access-date=2022-09-04}}</ref> *Sir [[Alan Mocatta|Alan Abraham Mocatta, OBE QC]] (1907–1990), an English judge and leader of the [[Spanish and Portuguese Jews|Spanish & Portuguese Jewish]] Community of London, President of the Restrictive Practices Court, Chairman of the Mocatta Committee on Cheque Endorsement,<ref name="x34">{{Cite book|url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2962266|title=Report of Mocatta Committee on Cheque Endorsement|date=1956}}</ref> joint editor of Scrutton on Charter Parties (14th–17th editions)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Formats and Editions of Scrutton on Charterparties and bills of lading. [WorldCat.org]|url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/scrutton-on-charterparties-and-bills-of-lading/oclc/797283438/editions?start_edition=41&sd=desc&referer=di&se=yr&editionsView=true&fq=|access-date=2022-02-06|website=www.worldcat.org|language=en}}</ref> *[[William Hugh Mocatta]] (1861–1959), a Judge of the [[District court|District Court]] of [[New South Wales|NSW]]. *Rachel Mocatta, mother of [[Moses Montefiore|Sir Moses Montefiore]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Green|first=Abigail|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jLKfPIMWp_4C&q=montefiore+abigail+green|title=Moses Montefiore|date=2012-05-07|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-05644-2|language=en}}</ref> *Laura Mocatta, wife of [[Kadoorie family|Sir Elly Kadoorie]], mother of [[Lawrence Kadoorie, Baron Kadoorie|Lord Kadoorie]] and Sir Horace Kadoorie. Lived in Hong Kong and Shanghai 1898-1918. The first woman to drive a car in China.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nkWBzQEACAAJ|title=Kings of Shanghai|isbn=9780349142982|last1=Kaufman|first1=Jonathan|date=June 2021|publisher=Little, Brown Book Group Limited }}</ref> *Edgar Mocatta (1879–1957), known as the "Silver King," he dominated the silver market during his partnership in Mocatta & Goldsmid (1900–1957).<ref name="x13"/> *Moses Mocatta (1768–1857), bullion broker and scholar of Hebrew language and literature.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MOCATTA - JewishEncyclopedia.com |url=https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/10901-mocatta |access-date=2022-09-04 |website=jewishencyclopedia.com}}</ref> *Jacob Mocatta (1821–1877), essayist and, 'An eminent merchant... well-known for his benevolence and untiring exertions for the amelioration of the Jewish poor of the metropolis.'<ref>{{Cite book |last=Abarbanel |first=Henry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h61DAAAAIAAJ&dq=mocatta&pg=PA316 |title=English School and Family Reader: Containing Selections in Prose and Verse ... on Judaism ... |date=1888 |publisher=Bloch pub. and print. Company |pages=316 |language=en}}</ref>
== See also == * [[Mocatta (name)]] * [[ScotiaMocatta]]
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mocatta}} [[Category:British Sephardi Jews]] [[Category:Surnames of Jewish origin]] [[Category:Sephardi families]] [[Category:Surnames]] [[Category:Mocatta family| ]]