THE JEWS OF CURAÇAO
Samuel Coheno, the linguist and interpreter of the Dutch flotilla that conquered Curaçao from the Spaniards in 1634, was the first Jew to set foot on this island.
Next to come was a Dutch Jew with the very Portuguese name Joan d’Illhan. He had with him a charter from the Dutch West India Company to establish a Jewish agricultural settlement on Curaçao and 10 Jewish colonists eager to start a new life on this Dutch possession in the New World. Together, they established a congregation calling it Mikve Israel, the Hope of Israel in 1651.
In 1659 a second and much larger group of 70 families again out of Amsterdam, came to augment that first small Jewish colony. Three hundred and forty three years later, the present members of the same congregation, some of them descendants of those first pioneers, continually give thanks for the felitious choice their forebears made when they selected Curaçao as the place in which to establish that oldest surviving Jewish congregation in the New World.
Most of the group had been colonists in Dutch Brazil, when the Dutch had to surrender their Brazilian holdings to the conquering Portuguese. The Portuguese Jewish settlers in Dutch Recife faithfully followed the Dutch flag. Again seeking religious liberty, settled mostly on Curaçao and in New Amsterdam. (New Amsterdam’s (New York) first Jewish settlers were 23 people fleeing from Brazil).
By the end of the 17th century the Jewish community of Curaçao had grown both in size and in importance. The synagogue the first settlers had built in 1651, was replaced by a larger one in 1681. These Jewish pioneers did not take long to realize that contrary to the success of their kin on Barbados, Surinam and Jamaica they would not be able to subsist under Curaçao’s climatic conditions if they were to stick to the original intention of finding a livelihood in agriculture. The geographical location of the island, its superb natural harbor, the Dutch flag, and the trade restrictions imposed on the neighboring Spanish and English possessions made Curaçao ideal for developing business, for shipping and for ship-building.
Gradually, the Jewish colonists left their plantations and came to live within the walled city of Wilemstad. As a result, a new synagogue within the walls became a necessity. The first "city synagogue" was built in 1674. It soon proved to be too small for the growing community, and a larger one in 1703, which again had to be torn down to make place for the present imposing edifice. This synagogue was finally consecrated on the eve of Passover in 1732. Since then, it has been in uninterupted use, making it the oldest synagogue in the Western Hemisphere.
On their original grounds the colonists (in 1659) consecrated a cemetery, to which they gave the allegorical name of beth Hayim, House of the Living. Its oldest known tombstone (no longer legible) dates back to 1668. This cemetery, locaack European manufactured and finished goods of which all the colonies in the Americas had a dire need.
Curaçao soon became the envy of other island colonies in the Caribbean and the target of buccaneers and war-faring nations alike. Trade brought shipping, and the registers show that between 1670 and 1900 the Jews of Curaçao owned more than 1200 ships. One firm alone, the family of Jesurun, had at one time in the eighteen hundreds more than 100 ships sailing the sea routes to other Caribbean islands, to the mainland, to New York and to Europe. Records show that over 200 ships’ captains were Jews, normally not a profession Jews had been known for. Yet at no time in history, have there been more than 2,000 Jews on this island.
In periods of prosperity, Congregation Mikve Israel often referred to in writings of those days as "the Mother Community of the Americas," supplied help to many a young emerging congregation in the Americas such as that of Sheath Israel of New York; Touro of Newport Rhode Island; Kingston Jamaica; Savannah Georgia; St Thomas and of Panama.
On Curaçao itself, the original pioneers, through their enterprising spirit and hard work, prospered. And through their various ventures, gradually grew in economic importance as a whole, even though the community did not grow in size, thus giving the island the sound foundations for many of today's most important economic activities: shipping, bunkering, banking and finance, import/export trade and tourism.
Visible legacy from the profits that they poured back into the country are the majority of buildings in Punda, all of Scharloo, most of Concordiaplein (now renamed Julianaplein), the mansions on Pietermaai and Pen, various of the "Landhuizen" (country estates), and over one half of the harborside quays and wharves.
Culturally, they produced scores of doctors, several noted jurists, many civil servants, newspaper and periodical publishers, poets and authors.
Although the exact impact has not yet been ascertained, it is hard to minimize the influence that these Portuguese speaking Jewish citizens had in the creation and formation of the national language, Papiamento. They arrived on Curaçao almost simultaneously with the first slave cargoes from Africa. They were in occupations that demanded intensive and frequent contact with the entire population. And, they were among the first established families to speak Papiamento in their homes.
The original Sephardic population, was augmented in the early years of this century by a few Sephardic families from the Middle East (Syria, Egypt, Salonika and North Africa) and somewhat later, starting in 1926, by a large group of Eastern European Ashkenazim who established their own Synagogue, Shaarei Tsedek. The Ashkenazim distinguished themselves as successful retailers of clothing, textiles and jewelry. Relationships between the Sephardim and Ashkenazim are very good and together they maintain a Hebrew/Religious School; a Jewish Cultural Historical Museum and the local chapter of Womens International Zionist Organization, while both participated actively in the founding and operation to the present day B’nai B’rith Curaçao and its active youth organization. Feelings for the State of Israel are strong and every year the combined congregations contribute materially towards civic projects in the State of Israel.
The strong attachment of the Jews of Curaçao to the Royal House of Orange remained unabated throughout the centuries. This was particularly evident when in November of 1992 H.M. Queen Beatrix accompanied by Prince Claus, Crown Prince Alexander and his two brothers attended a service in the historic synagogue.
The Royal visitors were enthusiastically received by the entire congregation of Mikva Israel Emanuel. It is also affirmed in every Sabbath morning service in the prayer for the Queen, the Royal House of Orange, the Government of Holland, The Netherlands Antilles and Curaçao, which is solemnly pronounced before the Holy Ark in its ancient Portuguese text.
Abstracted from Trade Wind
ALM Airline
Summer 1995
Permission to use on "Saudades- the next 500 years"
by
"Sephardic House"
Institute for Sephardic Culture
2112 Broadway New York NY 10023
Tel-(212) 496-2173
Fax-(212) 496-2264
Editor: Dr Janice E. Ovadiah
email: sephardic@juno.com
E-mail: Rufina Bernardetti Silva Mausenbaum