Description
Book SynopsisThe Portuguese Jewish diaspora was born out of a double tragedy: the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 and the forced conversion/expulsion of the Jews from Portugal in 1497. The potent combination of expulsion, Inquisition, and crypto-Judaism left people neither wholly Jewish nor wholly Christian in their identity. Subsequently many left the Iberian peninsula; some found refuge in the Caribbean, but succeeded in maintaining strong connections with Portuguese Jews in western Europe, the Ottoman empire, and the Far East, while they also forged ties with the surrounding peoples and cultures. This book looks at many different aspects of this complex past. Its interdisciplinary approach allows a wealth of new information to be brought together to create a comprehensive picture. Part I sets the context, and also considers the relationship of Caribbean Jewry to European trading systems; its special ties to Amsterdam and Dutch-ruled Curaçao; and the role of Jewish merchants in Jamaica’s commerce. Part II examines the material and visual culture of Jews in the British and Dutch Caribbean, while Part III looks at Caribbean Jewish identity and heritage and their modern manifestations. Part IV contains archival studies that illuminate other subjects of importance—adventure and piracy, Jewish participation in a nineteenth-century revolt of black slaves and in the first Jamaican elections after Jews were granted the right to vote, and questions of concubinage and sexual relations between Jews and blacks. Part V moves from the local to the international, in particular the connection with mainland America. In their diversity, the contributions to this volume suggest the many ways in which the formation of the Caribbean Jewish diaspora can be understood today: as a Jewish diaspora dispersed under different European colonial empires; as a Jewish cultural entity created by a set of shared traditions and historical memories; and as one component in a web of relationships that characterized the Atlantic world. Defining it is no simple matter: like all diaspora identities it was constantly in flux, reinventing itself under changing historical circumstances.
CONTRIBUTORS: Aviva Ben-Ur, Miriam Bodian, Judah M. Cohen, Eli Faber, Rachel Frankel, Noah L. Gelfand, Jane S. Gerber, Josette Capriles Goldish, Matt Goldish, Jonathan Israel, Stanley Mirvis, Gérard Nahon, Joanna Newman, Ronnie Perelis, Jackie Ranston, James Robertson, Jessica Roitman, Dale Rosengarten, Barry L. Stiefel, Hilit Surowitz-Israel, Karl Watson, Swithin Wilmot
Trade ReviewReviews ‘The broadest spectrum of scholars and scholarship on this subject since the 1993 publication of Sephardim in the Americas, explaining that book’s US-centred focus with a global perspective . . . Highly recommended.’
J.L. Elkin,
Choice‘This outstanding collection of papers opens a window into the world of the Portuguese Jewish diaspora in the Caribbean. Accompanied by illustrations, notes, and bibliographies, this work is essential for those seeking to understand the circumstances which led to the specific patterns of development, communal organization, and personal life of the Sephardim in this region.’
Randall C. Belinfante,
Interdisciplinary Journal of Portuguese Diaspora Studies‘This volume has many strengths, not the least of which are its wide-ranging scope, attention to new methods, inclusion of primary sources, and interdisciplinary approach to the field. One of the joys of the collection is the broad approach it takes to the Caribbean . . . The volume is similarly expansive in its methods. Some of the best of the essays in the collection lay out new theories and provide new archival sources . . . equally rich in its interest in a broadly defined approach to Jewish life. It includes essays that draw from religious, cultural, social, political, and economic history. Credit should go to the publisher for the book’s beautiful design and for its inclusion of not only rare translations of archival works but also the colour plates, black and white figures, maps, and tables that complement the chapters . . . the essays are strong and well edited . . . an innovative collection produced by both established and up-and-coming scholars. It will be invaluable for any scholar of Jewish studies who is seriously interested in either American Jewish history or Atlantic world history. The work should also be of interest not only to researchers but also to students of American and European history who want to learn new methods and theoretical models.’
Laura Arnold Leibman,
Jewish History‘Monumental . . . The subject matter is diverse and varied, and ranges from history, culture, politics, to race and Jewish identity, among many other interesting topics . . . The chapters are written from a broad range of disciplines and socio-cultural perspectives, both theoretical/scholarly and creative . . . Carefully written and well documented . . . this mammoth work is a huge undertaking and its analysis is truly interesting, since it illuminates the reader's path to understanding the development of the Jews in this region, as well as those factors and events that have shaped them. This book offers a skilful overview of the history and historiography of these Jews and their environments. It does not leave many questions unexplored, without reconceptualizing or analyzing them. It is without a doubt a valuable and important contribution.’
Paulette Kershenovich Schuster,
Sephardic HorizonsTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Note on Transliteration
Introduction - JANE S. GERBER
PART I The Historical Background of the Caribbean Sephardi Diaspora 1 The Formation of the Portuguese Jewish Diaspora - MIRIAM BODIAN2 Curaçao, Amsterdam, and the Rise of the Sephardi Trade System in the Caribbean, 1630–1700 - JONATHAN ISRAEL3 To Live and to Trade: The Status of Sephardi Mercantile Communities in the Atlantic World during the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries - NOAH L. GELFAND
PART II Authority and Community in the Dutch Caribbean 4 Amsterdam and the Portuguese Naçao of the Caribbean in the Eighteenth Century - GÉRARD NAHON5 ‘A flock of wolves instead of sheep’: The Dutch West India Company, Conflict Resolution, and the Jewish Community of Curaçao in the Eighteenth Century - JESSICA ROITMAN6 Religious Authority: A Perspective from the Americas - HILIT SUROWITZ-ISRAEL
PART III Material and Visual Culture 7 Jonkonnu and Jew: The Art of Isaac Mendes Belisario (1794–1849) - JACKIE RANSTON8 Testimonial Terrain: The Cemeteries of New World Sephardim - RACHEL FRANKEL9 Counting the ‘Sacred Lights of Israel’: Synagogue Construction and Architecture in the British Caribbean - BARRY L. STIEFEL
PART IV Jews and Slave Society 10 The Cultural Heritage of Eurafrican Sephardi Jews in Suriname - AVIVA BEN-UR11 Shifting Identities: Religion, Race, and Creolization among the Sephardi Jews of Barbados, 1654–1900 - KARL WATSON12 Sexuality and Sentiment: Concubinage and the Sephardi Family in Late Eighteenth-Century Jamaica - STANLEY MIRVIS13 The ‘Confession made by Cyrus’ Reconsidered: Maroons and Jews during Jamaica’s First Maroon War (1728–1738/9) - JAMES ROBERTSON14 Jewish Politicians in Post-Slavery Jamaica: Electoral Politics in the Parish of St Dorothy, 1849–1860 - SWITHIN WILMOT
PART V Reassessing the Geographical Boundaries of Caribbean Jewry 15 The Borders of Early American Jewish History - ELI FABER16 Port Jews and Plantation Jews: Carolina–Caribbean Connections - DALE ROSENGARTEN
Part VI Personal Narratives 17 The Strange Adventures of Benjamin Franks, an Ashkenazi Pioneer in the Americas - MATT GOLDISH18 Daniel Israel López Laguna’s Espejo fiel de vidas and the Ghosts of Marrano Autobiography - RONNIE PERELIS19 ‘My heart is grieved’: Grace Cardoze—A Life Revealed through Letters - JOSETTE CAPRILES GOLDISH
PART VII The Formation of Contemporary Caribbean Jewry 20 Refugees from Nazism in the British Caribbean - JOANNA NEWMAN21 Inscribing Ourselves with History: The Production of Heritage in Today’s Caribbean Jewish Diaspora - JUDAH M. COHEN
Notes on ContributorsIndex
