The island of Barbados was first "discovered" by the English in 1605 and was inhabited by Jews twenty years later with steady immigration thereafter as a result of regional political events. They are generally believed to have been among the earliest colonists and among the pioneers of sugar-planting. Where there was sugar cultivation, there were slaves and it was the Jews who dominated the market. Barbados was also the sight of unusually heavy illicit trade and smuggling. Stephen Fortune's study found that, "Between 1660 and 1668, when the illegal trade of the island was least restricted and quite remunerative, Jewish traders became more prominent in Barbados." The Gentiles were offended: "By 1665, Barbadian businessmen, more awed by than envious of local Jewish prosperity connected with the Dutch, exclaimed in derision: 'The Governor has countenanced Jews who have become very numerous, and engrossed the greatest part of the trade of the island, to the great discouragement of the English merchants, their dealings being principally with those of their own tribe in Holland; and being a people minding to trade and to be useful to each other, they will not be helpful in case of insurrection or invasion.'" By 1670, Barbados had already reached its boom phase in sugar production and economic growth. When the lucrative Spanish trade and other clandestine activities shifted from Barbados to Jamaica, so did Jews. But Barbados remained a point of embarkation for much of this trade. Vast numbers of Black slaves were held on Barbados to feed the Caribbean markets. The mere numbers of these "ferocious" Africans being kept and transported by Jewish merchants, well out of proportion to the island's immediate needs, caused anxiety among the Gentiles. The Jews had left the security of the island to the Gentiles, whose primary security concerns were the Black slaves stockpiled by Jews.
Below are published lists of Jewish inhabitants of the island
who held Africans as slaves during the colonial era. (See Dr.
Cyrus Adler, "Jews in the American Plantations Between 1600-1700,"
PAJHS, vol. 1 (1893), pp. 105-7)
"A List of the Inhabitants in and about the Towne of St. Michaells; with their children hired Servants, Prentices, bought Servants and Negroes" Jews/Slaves Isack Abof 1 Gabriell Antunes 4 Abraham Burges Aron 2 Moses Arrobas 2 Abraham Barruch 3 Aron Barruch 5 Rabecah Barruch 1 Daniell Boyna 14 Daniell Boyna 11 Rachell Burges 2 Soloman Cordoza 2 Abraham Costanio 6 Samuell Dechavis 4 Mrs. Leah Decompas 1 David R. Demereado 11 Moses Desavido 3 Paul Deurede 3 Lewis Dias 8 Isaac Gomez 2 Moses Hamias 1 David Israell 3 Abraham Lopes 1 Eliah Lopez 2 Rachel Lopez 1 Moses Mercado 2 Isack Meza 4 David Namias 5 Aron Navaro 11 Judith Navaro 1 Samuel Navarro 1 Isaac Noy 2 Jacob Franco Nunes 1 Abraham Obediente 2 Jacob Pacheco 4 Rebecah Pacheco 4 Isaac Perera 3 Isaac Perera 4 Jacob Preett 1 Abraham Qay 2 Judith Risson 2 Anthony Rodrigus 10 Mordecai Sarah 1 Joseph Senior 4 Jaell Serano 5 Hester Bar Simon 1 Abraham Sousa 2 David Swaris 2 Judieah Torez 2 Jacob Fonceco Vale 4 Abr: Valurede 4 List Total 177
In reviewing the records of Jewish owners
of Black slaves, one must be aware of the warning of Wilfred S.
Samuel who studied the Barbadian archives for the Jewish Historical
Society of England: [I]nquiries as to the size of their households,
as to their land, and as to the number of their negroes, would
raise a hundred apprehensions as to increased taxation - not only
among the Jews, who were already heavily burdened, but among all
the planters and merchants of the Island, and it may well be that
here and there an attempt would be made by an anxious taxpayer
to underrate the importance of his possessions. Certain of Haham
Lopez' congregants would have been prone to such an offence, for
some of them, not being planters, owned more than the stipulated
number of slaves and hired them out to the planters as and when
required -- a convenient arrangement, doubtless, but in breach
of the law.
Home B&J Newspage | Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Jews | Black Slavery and the Jews | Professor Tony Martin and Wellesley College | Facts and Quotes | Trends in Black/Jewish Affairs | Current Issues | Open Letter to [Uncle Toms] | Blacks & Jews Historical Bibliography | E-Mail, Letters & Correspondence | Links