''Jodensavanne'' ( Dutch, " Jewish Savanna") was a Jewish plantation community in

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 ...

, South America, and was for a time the centre of Jewish life in the colony. It was established in the 1600s by Sephardi Jews and became more developed and wealthy after a group of Jews fleeing persecution in Brazil settled there in the 1660s. It was located in what is now

Para District Para is a district of northern Suriname. Para's capital city is Onverwacht, with other towns including Paranam, and Zanderij. Para has a population of 24,700 and an area of 5,393 km2. The district is the mining and forestry centre of Surin ...

, about south of the capital Paramaribo, on the

Suriname River The Suriname River (Dutch: ''Surinamerivier'') is 480 km long and flows through the country Suriname. Its sources are located in the Guiana Highlands on the border between the Wilhelmina Mountains and the Eilerts de Haan Mountains (where it i ...

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 ...

plantations A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

were established and Black African people were used as slave labour. At its height in around 1700 it was home to roughly 500 plantation owners and 9000 slaves. The colony faced regular attacks from Indigenous people, slave revolts, and even raids from the French navy. The community eventually relocated to the capital of Paramaribo. Clearing of grave sites and maintenance of the synagogue ruins has been attempted at various times from the 1940s to the 21st century.

History

In 1639, the English, who controlled Suriname at the time, allowed Sephardi Jews from the Netherlands, Portugal and Italy to settle in the area. They came first to the old capital

Torarica Torarica is the original capital of Suriname. It was settled by Portuguese Jews in 1629. One origin offered for its name is as a Portuguese coinage meaning "Opulent Torah". The Portuguese Jews arrived via Holland and Brazil. On 8 April 1651, a petition was sent to the English Council of State by Benjamin de Caseras, Henry de Caseras, and Jacob Fraso for the permission to live and trade in the territories of

and Barbados, marking a solid date for the origins of a Jewish community being established within the territory. In the year 1652, a new group of approximately twelve hundred that migrated under the leadership of Francis, Lord Willoughby settled in the area now known as Jodensavanne. A third group came 1664, after their expulsion from Brazil and then French Guiana, led by

David Cohen Nassy David Cohen Nassy (born 1612) was a professional colonizer who started Jewish colonies in the Caribbean. He had several nicknames: Cristovão de Távora (his Christian name) and José Nunes da Fonseca (his tradename). He fled to Amsterdam (Dutch ...

. The British attempted to keep this group from moving again by guaranteeing them privileges including the right to operate their own court and to have freedom of religion. It was at around this time that the community took on the name Savanne after the fields which surrounded it; the settlement was built on a raised area of ground and was first built with one main road and four side streets. A school was built which taught Spanish and Portuguese in addition to Jewish topics. Part of the reason that these Jewish colonists were preparing for more permanent settlement was that, unlike Christian colonists who often hoped to get rich running a plantation and return to Europe, residents of Jodensavanne did not have anywhere in Europe to return to. This Jewish community developed a sugar-cane plantation economy which used African slaves as labor; according to some accounts newly settled families received 4 or 5 slaves as part of their settlement grant. As the Dutch gained control of Suriname, they preserved the rights granted to this Jewish community and even expanded it in some ways, including the right to carry goods on Sundays and banish people from their community, as well as a 1691 land grant of 100 acres for building a synagogue and burial site. The settlement reached its largest size in around 1700 when it was estimated to have 570 citizens. Jodensavanne's slave-owning citizens also regularly engaged in conflict with neighboring Indigenous populations and with enslaved people in their plantations. In 1670, according to the Essai Historique, approximately two hundred or so Jewish people had left Suriname, and in 1677, a year before the Carib assault on Jodensavanne, ten Jewish families had left with their slaves. European settlements including those in the Jodensavanne were attacked by Carib ( Kalina people) in the latter part of 1678 and slaves also revolted. Again in 1690 there was a slave revolt on the plantation of an owner named Immanuel Machado, who was killed and whose former slaves fled to a

Maroon community Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas who escaped from slavery and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into separate creole cultures such as the Garifuna and the Mascogos. ...

. French sailors, aware of the richness of the community, also raided it in 1712. Due to the many attacks, especially by former slaves, the colonists built up a defensive system around the settlement. The congregation ''Beracha ve Shalom'' ("Blessings and Peace") was founded, with the first wooden synagogue in the community (the 3rd synagogue in South America) built between 1665 and 1671 and renovated in 1827. The construction of this synagogue marked the move of the centre of Jewish life in the region from Torarica to Jodensavanne. This first synagogue contained a separate section for women, an archive for the community, and silver detailing on the wooden building. A second, made of imported brick, was constructed in 1685. Before the construction of the ''Beracha ve Shalom'', there had been no synagogue of major architectural significance in the Americas. The centennial celebration of the Synagogue, celebrated in October 1785, was said to have an attendance of more than 1500 persons, many of whom sailed in from Paramaribo, since by that time only twenty or so Jewish families were still living in Jodensavanne. Efforts were also made in the twentieth century to clear and preserve the synagogue ruins. Synagoge Jodensavanne rond 1860

Jodensavanne declined during the mid-18th century, and most of its population moved to Paramaribo. In the eighteenth century, Suriname was rocked by a series of crises which hit Jewish plantations, some of which were among the oldest in the colony, particularly hard. Expenses tended to increase as a result of: a hefty tribute levied by the Cassard expedition; the collapse of a major Amsterdam sugarcane importer in 1773; and the accrual of real estate loans. The introduction of

sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together wi ...

cultivation in Europe from 1784 and the depletion of soils on the oldest plantations both decreased revenues. Security conditions deteriorated as a result of ongoing Maroon Wars, while the growth of Paramaribo as the colony's exclusive trading port, nearer to the coast, acted to pull Jews away from Jodensavanne. By 1790, Jodensavanne's population was approximated to be around twenty-two, excluding slaves. This dropped to less than ten by the early 19th century. The settlement continued in its reduced state until it was destroyed by fire during a slave revolt in 1832. During World War II, an internment camp was built near the location of the former Jewish settlement and named after it, the

Jodensavanne internment camp Jodensavanne ( nl, Kamp Jodensavanne) was a Dutch internment camp for political prisoners from the Dutch East Indies operated in Surinam (Dutch colony), Surinam during World War II (from 1942 to 1946). The camp was named after a nearby, long-abando ...

. It was constructed in 1942 to house 146 political prisoners from the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

who were considered hard-core German sympathisers or members of the Dutch NSB or the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

NSDAP. However, some

Indonesian nationalists Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

were also deported to Jodensavanne, most famously Ernest Douwes Dekker. Historian

Natalie Zemon Davis Natalie Zemon Davis, (born November 8, 1928) is a Canadian and American historian of the early modern period. She is currently an Adjunct Professor of History and Anthropology and Professor of Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto in C ...

is working on a history of 18th century Jodensavanne, focusing on David Cohen Nassy (born 1747), and relations between Black and white people within the Jewish community. An article titled 'Regaining Jerusalem' was published in 2016 by Davis, detailing a celebration of Passover within Jodensavanne. Gravestone_-_Jodensavanne_(Jewish_Savanna)_(23831044676)

Gravestone_-_Jodensavanne_(Jewish_Savanna)_(23831044676)

Current situation

As of the current day, all that remains at the site of Jodensavanne are the remnants of the ''Berache ve Shalom'' Synagogue, alongside three cemeteries, of which the headstones are primarily inscribed with Hebrew and Portuguese. The Archaeological Institute of the Americas, in partnership with the University of Suriname, engaged in a project labeled as the 'Interactive Dig Jodensavanne', of which conservation efforts and record-keeping projects have been active since 2014. The Jodensavanne is located near the indigenous village of

Redi Doti Redi Doti (also ''Redidoti'') is an indigenous village of Lokono and Kalina people, Kalina Amerindians in the resorts of Suriname, resort of Carolina, Suriname, Carolina in the Para District in Suriname. The village is located near the site of Jode ...

, in the Carolina resort, and connected to the outside world with the Carolinabrug which leads to the

Afobakaweg The Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname) has a number of forms of transport. Transportation emissions are an increasing part of Suriname's contributions to climate change, as part of the Nationally Determined Contributions for the Par ...

onto Paramaribo or via the

Desiré Delano Bouterse Highway The Desiré Delano Bouterse Highway is the first motorway in Suriname between Afobakaweg connecting Paramaribo and Brokopondo to the John F. Kennedyweg near Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport. The motorway opened on 15 May 2020 12:00. A jou ...

to the airport.

Population

Jodensavanne's population has not been clearly established. Sources such as the Essai Historique, assert the population to be held at approximately one thousand in 1677; in contrast, historians such as

Harry Friedenwald Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

have argued for a lack of strong Jewish presence, an assertion that would imply a less populated Jodensavanne. There were around 70 existing plantations along the

in 1750, most of which bearing 'Jewish' names, such as the thousand-acre properties owned by one Solomon Meza. These plantations were marked and identified through an 18th-century map titled, "''Algemeene Kaart van de Colonie of Provintie van Surinam''", drawn by engineer Alexander de Lavaux, a Berlin native who served in Prussian forces. There were several cemeteries located within Jodensavanne, of which the most heavily used, and first existing cemetery is known as the Cassipora Cemetery. Named in due part to the Cassipora Creek that stems from the Surinam river, it is expected to hold approximately two hundred tombstones, the earliest of which being from the early 17th century, and the most recent believed to have been constructed in 1840. The headstones here are primarily inscribed with Hebrew, Portuguese, and Dutch, and there exist several ohelim in the area as well, an indication of the Jewish community structures within the settlement.

References

External links

Jodensavanne Foundation

Jews in Suriname

The settlement of Joden Savanne and Cassipora cemetery
at UNESCO.org
Penal colony at Jodensavanne
at strafkolonie.nl {{Surinamese District Para Dutch-Jewish diaspora Former populated places in Suriname Historic Jewish communities in South America Jewish Dutch history Jewish Portuguese history Jewish Surinamese history Para District Sephardi Jewish culture in South America Sephardi Jews topics Spanish and Portuguese Jews Synagogues in Suriname Tourist attractions in Suriname Jewish communities History of the Jews in South America Slavery in the Netherlands Judaism and slavery

History

Current situation

Population

See also

References

Further reading

External links