''Jodensavanne'' (

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, "

Jew 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""T ...

ish

Savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground ...

") 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 nor ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

, and was for a time the centre of Jewish life in the colony. It was established in the 1600s by

Sephardi 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 sefa ...

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 S ...

, about south of the capital

Paramaribo Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's po ...

, 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 ...

Sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

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. Th ...

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

. 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

from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

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 The English Council of State, later also known as the Protector's Privy Council, was first appointed by the Rump Parliament on 14 February 1649 after the execution of King Charles I. Charles' execution on 30 January was delayed for several hour ...

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 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 ...

and then

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label= French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas ...

, 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 (Dutc ...

. 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 Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

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 Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks ...

plantation economy A plantation economy is an economy based on agricultural mass production, usually of a few commodity crops, grown on large farms worked by laborers or slaves. The properties are called plantations. Plantation economies rely on the export of cash ...

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 The Kalina, also known as the Caribs or mainland Caribs and by several other names, are an indigenous people native to the northern coastal areas of South America. Today, the Kalina live largely in villages on the rivers and coasts of Venezuela ...

) 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. 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 ...

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 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, an

internment camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simp ...

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 during World War II (from 1942 to 1946). The camp was named after a nearby, long-abandoned Jewish colony, Jod ...

. 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, whic ...

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

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 **Ge ...

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

. However, some Indonesian nationalists were also deported to Jodensavanne, most famously

Ernest Douwes Dekker Ernest François Eugène Douwes Dekker also known as '' Setyabudi'' or ''Setiabudi'' (8 October 1879 – 28 August 1950) was an Indonesian- Dutch nationalist and politician of Indo descent. He was related to the famous Dutch anti-colonialism w ...

. 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 Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. ...

within Jodensavanne. 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 Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

village of Redi Doti, 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 Pari ...

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 jour ...

to the

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

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 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