Samuel Cabessa

Samuel Cabessa was the financier of the court in the kingdom of Marrakesh. His family was founded in the 13th century in Toledo, Spain, but were persecuted by the Inquisition, and fled to the Canary Islands and after 1530 to Morocco. Samuel’s brother, Abraham, was the head of the Spanish community in the kingdom of Marrakesh, and was also the minister to the first Saadian sultan Mohammed ash-Sheikh (r. 1549 – 1557). His other brother, Isaac, worked with him and besides being the financers of the court, they also controlled Morocco’s foreign trade in which they particularly favored the English.