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1648 DIEGO TEIXEIRA (ABRAHAM SENIOR) (Portugal-Germany)
A former Spanish diplomat, he decided after moving to Hamburg to return to Judaism and had himself and his sons circumcised. Despite a vicious denunciation by the Viennese court, the Hamburg senate refused to confiscate his property and wealth. Teixeira founded the international banking house that became known as Teixeira de Mattos. In 1655 he was appointed by Sweden as its local diplomatic and financial minister. Teixeira was active in the Jewish community and helped build the new Sephardic synagogue in Hamburg.
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