A Jewish population has been in
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
almost continually since 1654.
Origins
The Jewish arrival in Barbados is a direct consequence of the
Spanish Inquisition
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition ( es, Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition ( es, Inquisición española), was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand ...
, specifically the
Alhambra Decree
The Alhambra Decree (also known as the Edict of Expulsion; Spanish: ''Decreto de la Alhambra'', ''Edicto de Granada'') was an edict issued on 31 March 1492, by the joint Catholic Monarchs of Spain ( Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Arag ...
. In 1492, some
Sephardic Jews
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...
had fled the persecution in the Iberian Peninsula for Brazil where they remained until the 17th century. They were forced to flee once again from what was formerly
Dutch Brazil
Dutch Brazil ( nl, Nederlands-Brazilië), also known as New Holland ( nl, Nieuw-Holland), was a colony of the Dutch Republic in the northeastern portion of modern-day Brazil, controlled from 1630 to 1654 during Dutch colonization of the Americas ...
(specifically
Recife
That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15)
, image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg
, mapsize = 250px
, map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco
, pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...
, where there existed a large Jewish community) after it was captured in 1654 by the
Inquisitorial
An inquisitorial system is a legal system in which the court, or a part of the court, is actively involved in investigating the facts of the case. This is distinct from an adversarial system, in which the role of the court is primarily that of an ...
persecuting
Portuguese colonizers who were consolidating their hold over all of
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.
The early Barbadian population was increased from two other sources. In 1664, the Jewish settlement at
Cayenne
Cayenne (; ; gcr, Kayenn) is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic Oc ...
was dissolved and a few moved to Barbados.
In 1674, a number of people also moved from
Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
following its surrender to the Dutch, the majority of these being deported to Jamaica, but a few managed to stay in Barbados.
Two communities were established over time, the first being centered around the
Nidhe Israel Synagogue in the Capital,
Bridgetown
Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the capital and largest city of Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Island ...
, and a smaller one in northerly
Speightstown
Speightstown (), also known as ''Little Bristol'', is the second largest City centre of Barbados. It is situated north of the capital city of Bridgetown, in the northern parish of Saint Peter.
The City is named after William Speight, a member o ...
. In Bridgetown, out of a total of 404 householders, 54 were Jews.
Economic success, the resulting Discrimination
Unlike the case in Suriname, very few of the Barbadian Sephardim were plantation owners. Given the small size of Barbados, all the arable land was already occupied by the 1660s. Many Jewish settlers engaged in sugar and coffee cultivation. While the British government considered Jews to be good businessmen and tradesmen, the British merchants accused them of committing illegal business transactions. Jews were accused of trading more frequently with the Dutch than the British merchants. In 1661, three Jewish traders in Barbados requested to establish trade routes between Barbados and the British Colony of
Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
; through this enterprise, the Jews gained much wealth, but further irritated the British merchants.
By 1679, nearly 300 Jews lived in Barbados.
On October 23, 1668, the Jews of Barbados were banned form all forms of trade. Jews were forbidden from employing Christians, limited from purchasing more than one male slave, and were forced into living in a Jewish Ghetto in Bridgetown.
During the 18th century, the Jewish community of Barbados continued to grow and become financially successful, although the Jewish congregation in Speighstown closed.
All the discriminatory laws were removed by 1802, by the colonial government of Barbados and in 1820 the British Parliament also repealed the discrimination laws.
Contribution to the sugar industry
The Jewish refugees brought with them expertise in the production and cultivation of
sugarcane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...
and
coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
S ...
, expertise which contributed to the development of Barbados as a major producer of
sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
.
[JewishJournal.com - Barbados' Nidhe Israel: Torah on a tropical isle](_blank)
/ref> They brought with them the benefit of new technological methods in the sugar industry, and helped the island to become economically established. It has been suggested that the momentum of the technological drive in the sugar industry shifted to Barbados in preference to more politically volatile South American colonies.
Decline and revival
In 1831, the island was devastated by a hurricane that devastated the economy and by 1848 the Jewish population had seen a significant decline in numbers.
Emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
and assimilation eventually took their toll on the original Jewish population of the island; the Jewish population is believed to have vanished by 1929 when it is said that the last of the practicing descendants of the Brazilian Jews left the island. As a result, the community's synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
fell into a state of disuse. A Jewish presence returned to the island in the aftermath of World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, in the form of Ashkenazi
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. In 1968, there were about 80 Jews out of a total population of 251,000.
Although small, the existing Jewish community has taken steps to preserve its heritage: for instance, in maintaining a functioning synagogue, the Nidhe Israel Synagogue
The Nidḥe Israel Synagogue ( he, בית הכנסת נדחי ישראל ''Bet Knesset Nide Yisrael'', lit. ''Synagogue of the Scattered of Israel'') is the only synagogue in Bridgetown, Barbados. Located along Synagogue Lane; and bordered by th ...
, in the capital city Bridgetown
Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the capital and largest city of Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Island ...
. In January, 2008, the Nidhe Israel Museum was opened. The museum tells the story of the Barbadian Sephardic and Ashkenazi communities. Also in 2008, the archaeology of the yard of the seventeenth century synagogue was investigated by historians/archaeologists and students from the University of the West Indies
The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...
. Though the focus is on the long destroyed rabbi's house, excavations have revealed the intact 17th-century mikveh
Mikveh or mikvah (, ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvoth'', ''mikvot'', or (Yiddish) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve ritual purity.
Most forms of ritual impurity can be purif ...
, which was constructed over a still-running freshwater spring.
See also
*Dutch Brazilian
Dutch Brazilians ( pt, Neerlando-brasileiro) refers to Brazilians of full or partial Dutch ancestry. Dutch Brazilians are mainly descendants of immigrants from the Netherlands.
The Dutch were among the first Europeans settling in Brazil during ...
References
Further reading
JewishJournal.com - Barbados' Nidhe Israel: Torah on a tropical isle
*
*
*http://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/622036/1/Lichtenstein_BarbadosMuseumJournal_2018.pdf
Samuel (1924)
External links
Early settlement of Barbados
''Slavery and Economy in Barbados'', BBC
Slavery and the Rise of the Atlantic System
The Shaping of America
- The History of Rum
Jewish Virtual Library
{{Dutch diaspora
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
History
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
Immigration to Barbados