Pale of Settlement
- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
QUOTE
The
Pale of Settlement (Russian: Черта́ осе́длости,
cherta osedlosti) was the term given to a region of
Imperial Russia, in which permanent residency by
Jews was allowed, and beyond which Jewish permanent residency was
generally prohibited. It extended from the eastern pale, or demarcation
line, to the western Russian border with the
German Empire and
Austria-Hungary.
The Pale comprised about 20% of the territory of European Russia, and largely corresponded to historical borders of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth; it included much of present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Poland, Moldova, Ukraine, and parts of western Russia. At a number of cities within the pale also, Jews were excluded from residency. A limited number of categories of Jews were allowed to live outside the pale.
The word pale derives ultimately from the Latin word palus, meaning stake (palisade is derived from the same root). From this derivation came the figurative meaning of "boundary", and the concept of a pale as an area within which local laws were valid.
The "pale", with its Christian and Jewish populations, was acquired by the Russian Empire in a series of military conquests and diplomatic maneuvers between 1791 and 1835, and lasted until the fall of the Russian Empire in 1917.
The Pale was first created by Catherine the Great in 1791, after several failed attempts by her predecessors, notably the Empress Elizabeth, to remove Jews from Russia entirely, unless they converted to Russian Orthodoxy, the state religion. The reasons for its creation were primarily economic and nationalist. While Russian society traditionally had been divided mainly into nobles, serfs, and clergy, industrial progress led to the emergence of a middle class, which was rapidly being filled by Jews, who did not belong to any of these. By limiting the areas of Jewish residency, the imperial powers attempted to ensure the growth of a middle class for the non-Jewish majority.
The institution of the Pale became more significant following the Second Partition of Poland in 1793, since until then, Russia's Jewish population had been rather limited; the annexation of Polish-Lithuanian territory increased the Jewish population substantially. At its height, the Pale, including the new Polish and Lithuanian territories, had a Jewish population of over 5 million, and represented the largest concentration (40 percent) of world Jewish population at that time.
From 1791 to 1835, and until 1917, there
were differing reconfigurations of the boundaries of the Pale, such that
certain areas were variously open or shut to Jewish residency, such as the
Caucasus.
At times, Jews were forbidden to live in agricultural communities, or certain
cities, as in Kiev,
Sevastopol and
Yalta, and forced to move to small provincial towns, thus fostering the
rise of the
shtetls. Jewish merchants of the 1st
guild, people
with higher or special education,
artisans,
soldiers, drafted in accordance with the Recruit Charter of 1810, and their
descendants
had the right to live outside the Pale of Settlement. In some periods, special
dispensations were given for Jews to live in the major imperial cities, but
these were tenuous, and several thousand Jews were expelled to the Pale from
Saint Petersburg and Moscow as late as 1891.
UNQUOTE
It is a coherent
account and might even be honest. The Wiki is fairly dependable until the
agenda cuts in. It was set up by Jews but this article may not embarrass them.
The
Pale of Settlement ex the Jewish Virtual Library
QUOTE
Czar Cathrine [ sic ] II (“The Great”) established the Pale of Settlement in 1791 as a
territory for
Russian Jews to live. Created under pressure to rid Moscow of Jewish
business competition and "evil" influence on the Russian masses, the Pale of
Settlement included the territory of present-day
Poland,
Latvia,
Lithuania,
Ukraine and
Belorussia. More than 90% of Russian Jews were forced to live in the poor
conditions of the Pale, which made up only 4% of imperial Russia. Still, the
Jewish population in
Russia
grew from 1.6 million in 1820 to 5.6 million in 1910. Even within the Pale, Jews
were discriminated against; they paid double taxes, were forbidden to lease
land, run taverns or receive higher education.
A liberalization period in the 1860s, which
granted Jews some privileges was reversed under the May Laws of 1882. These
laws restricted Jews in the Pale to urban areas, which were often overcrowded
and offered limited economic opportunities. In addition thousands of Jews fell
victim to devastating pogroms in the 1870s and 1880s. The pogroms, boycotts
and other
anti-Semitic depredations Jews faced in the Pale led to mass immigration
to the United States (two million between 1881 and 1914) as well as a string
of other developments, such as the controversial
Haskalah movement, which sought to modernize Jewish culture.
Zionism
also took hold in the Pale. Only after the overthrow of the Czarist regime in
1917 was the Pale of Settlement abolished.
UNQUOTE
This was written by a
Jew who can't spell properly. Believe him if you want. The idea that the Pale
was created for Jews sounds inherently unlikely. I suspect they just came with
the territory and were a damned bad bargain at that. One of the immigrants mentioned
went to London and became a prime
Jack The Ripper suspect.
