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physician to King Charles II, and his consort, Katherine de
Braganza, and in this capacity lived in Somerset House. Among
his other cousins and partners were five brothers Mendez da
Costa — Felipe, Fernando, Luis, Rafael and Jorge — who distri
buted their banking activities over Amsterdam, Antwerp, Rouen,
Bayonne and Venice, and worked hard in their spare time foi
the rescue of their persecuted brethren in Portugal. They were
all pillars of the synagogues in their respective cities, and one
of their descendants, Benjamin Mendez da Costa presented the
freehold of the present Sephardi Synagogue in London to the
congregation. Among their many distinguished Gentile descen
dants is the present Marquis of Crewe. Jorge Mendez da Costa,
the ancestor of the Jamaica branch, was first established as a
banker in Venice, but, together with his sons, Gideon and Daniel,
afterwards joined his brother, Luis, in Amsterdam. Outside his
banking business, he intrigued with inexhaustible energy and
resource against the Inquisition, with the result that he was
burnt in effigy at an au t o d a f é in Lisbon. His son, Daniel,
emigrated to Jamaica, and had a large family, some of whose
descendants are set forth in the accompanying chart.