PINTO, ISAAC DE

(1717–1787)

Member of a wealthy, Sephardic Jewish family of merchants and bankers who came as marranos, or New Christians, from Portugal to Antwerp around 1600 and later immigratedto the Dutch Republic. As a typical representative of the “Dutch Enlightenment,” Pinto wrote several treatises on the condi tions of his fellow believers in the Republic and on economic and fi nancial affairs. Criticism of Jewish business morals by Voltaire elicited a defense from Pinto in his Reflexions critiques sur le premier chapitre du VIIe tome des Oeuvres de monsieur Voltaire au sujet des juifs (1762). Two members of the Pinto family were outstanding ju rists during the 18th century: Abraham de Pinto (1811–1878) and his brother Aaron Adolf (1828–1907).