350 YEARS AGO (1654) – A historic journey from
RECIFE, BRAZIL to NEW AMSTERDAM (NEW YORK)

The history of early American Jews is intimately connected with that of Brazilian Jewry. The first organized Jewish community in the Western Hemisphere traced its roots to Recife, Brazil. That community’s existence ended on January 26, 1654, when the Dutch people of Brazil signed a Capitulation agreement that returned the South American territory that they had occupied for nearly 25 years to the Portuguese "Liberation" forces. Between 1645 and 1654, the Jewish population in Brazil declined from a peak of 1,450 to 600 due to the continuous fighting between the Dutch and the Portuguese, the loss of trade, economic adversity, and the impending threat of religious intolerance.

As part of the nationwide celebration of the 350th anniversary of the Jewish presence in North America, this exhibition provides a rare glimpse into the lives that the original 23 Portuguese (Dutch) Jewish settlers led in Recife, Brazil in the State of Pernambuco prior to their departure for New Amsterdam in 1654. These 23 individuals founded the first Jewish community in North America and laid the foundations for the first Jewish – Sephardic - Congregation in New York, Congregation Shearith Israel. Their arrival in New Amsterdam in 1654 set in motion the forces which ultimately led to the formation of the largest Jewish community in the world.

In 1654, a small contingent of Jews managed to find their way from Recife, Brazil to New Amsterdam. After being captured by Spanish pirates, they were rescued by a French Ship, the Saint Catherine, on its way there. They were met with a relatively hostile reception. Peter Stuyvesant, the governor representing the Dutch West India Company at the time of the Jews' arrival, was intolerant of any group that deviated from the Dutch Reformed Church. Stuyvesant petitioned his company, deeming "...it useful to require them in a friendly way to depart; praying... that the deceitful race -- such enemies and blasphemers of the name of Christ -- be not allowed further to infect and trouble this new colony."

The Directors of the Dutch West India Company reacted more practically. They responded to Stuyvesant's petition by expressing their sympathy for the unpleasant conditions created by the Jews' arrival, and they pointed out that it was unfair, in light of the terrible losses incurred by these Jews in being forced out of their homes in Brazil, to expel them from New Amsterdam as well. More significantly, they were aware of the potential financial contribution to be derived from the Jews, and this led them to flatly reject Stuyvesant's arguments.

The Jews did not have a controlling interest in the Dutch West India Company, but they certainly owned a large number of shares. The officers of the Company recognized that they had the potential to expand trade throughout the region. For practical reasons, the Directors of the Dutch West India Company overrode all complaints regarding Jews, and insisted on their being permitted to remain and to trade there, "...provided the poor among them shall not become a burden to the Company..."