Isaac Nachmanovich

Isaac Nachmanovich was born into a wealthy and prominent family in Lvov, Poland. The family members served as community leaders and were prominent in financial and commercial operations. Isaac’s father, Naḥman, died in 1616, so he was apprenticed and tutored by his mother Rojse and his uncle Mordecai.

After his apprenticeship was over, Isaac resumed the business in his own right and on occasion acted as court banker. In 1626 he lent considerable sums of money to the royal treasury during the war with Sweden (1626 – 1629). King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, Władysław IV Vasa (r. 1632 – 1648), granted him the status servus camerae in 1634, and exempted him from paying all customs duties and imposts, whether levied by the crown or privately. Isaac succeeded in expanding his commercial activities, especially the trade in textiles and supply of oxen to the army. He also leased the state revenues in the districts of Lvov and Drogobych. However, by 1637 Isaac was on the verge of bankruptcy, and in 1646 was arrested and imprisoned for debt. He escaped from prison and disappeared.