The Amsterdam Residence of Manuel (Isaac Nunes) de Belmonte

Statesman, merchant, and communal leader Baron Manuel (Isaac Nunes) de Belmonte was Spanish agent general in the Netherlands from 1664 and resident (consul) of the King of Spain from 1674. He contributed significantly to improving the relations between Spain and the Netherlands and he was subsequently awarded the title Baron of Belmonte by Carlos II of Spain. He was also named Count Palatine by German Emperor Leopold III. Manuel played an important role in Amsterdam’s Sephardic Jewish community. He served periodically as parnas, on the committee for redeeming captives, and represented the community vis-à-vis the Dutch government. A poet and patron of literature, Manuel founded the literary societies Academie de Los Sitibundos (1676) and Academia de los Floridos (1685), which met in his home. Manuel himself composed poems, including one in memory of Abraham Nunes Bernal, who was burned at the stake. Various poets, among them de Barrios, dedicated poems to Manuel. Manuel moved into a mansion on Herengracht in 1700. He never married, and his title was inherited by his cousin.