sentences:  Jews were still persecuted in the areas around Dubrovnik under Venetian law and attitudes of the local Catholic Church.When Dubrovnik's economic position and power declined in the mid-18th century, Jews were prohibited from engaging in commerce and confined to the ghetto.When Dalmatia and Dubrovnik were occupied by Napoleon I's forces in 1808, essentially ending Dubrovnik's centuries of independence, Jews attained legal equality for the first time.