A Commercial City and river port, capital of Seine-Maritime department, Northern France.   Rouen is the principal port City on the River Seine.   population (1990c) 105,470.

Commercial:  ships, wine, produce, textiles, chemicals, paper & brandy. 

Rouen has an exceptional number of notable buildings, including the 13th century Gothic Cathedral (restored after heavy damage in WWII), 14th century Abbey of St. Ouen (where national heroine Joan of Arc was sentenced to death 1431), 15th century church, late Gothic Palace of justice (housing the law courts), museum, and several medieval houses; university (1964).

History: Founded in pre-Roman times; sacked by Normans 9th century A.D. ; it became the medieval capital of Normandy; it was held by the English between 1066 and 1203 and 1419 and 1449; Joan of Arc was  burned at the stake here in 1431; it was taken by the Huguenots in 1562; produced famous soft-paste ceramic wares during the 17th to 18th centuries.; occupied by Germans 1870 in the Franco-Prussian War; in WWII suffered heavy bombing damage. Birthplace of writers Pierre Corneille (1606), Bernard Fontenelle (1657), and Gustave Flaubert (1821).

A manufacturing centre, Rouen is best known today for its textile and chemical industries. Factories also produce soap and paper, and shipyards and petroleum refineries contribute to the economy.

During Antonio's day it was a major trading centre and had a small Sephardic Community.  I am currently translating an article by Cecil Roth, called "Les Marranes à Rouen" in which Antonio Ferdinando Carvajal is mentioned.  This concentrates on the events that led to the community being broken up in around 1632.  Antonio then moved to London.