Mordechai ARBELL Ben-Zvi Institute, Jerusalem

THE JEWISH SETTLEMENT IN /PAUROMA () 1657-1666

In what is today the Republic of Guyana, on the northern coast of , was the of British Guyana. This part of the Wild Coast in the 17th century was in Dutch hands. It consisted of three — , , and . Essequibo is a large tract of land located between the in the east to the River in in the west (the exact border is the subject of dispute between Venezuela and Guyana). The Pomeroon region, sometimes called Pauroma, is the part of the Essequibo colony between the and the Orinoco. In the 17th century beside the interest of the Dutch in settling the Wild Coast in order to cultivate tropical produce, the proximity to Spanish-held America could be beneficial to promoting trade with the Spanish colonies — legal or illicit. The Dutch had made several attempts at settling parts of the Venezuelan coast and establishing commercial outposts. However, owing to Spanish resistance these attempts were unsuccessful and had to be terminated after short — and sometime, longer — periods of time. One of the centers of competition between the Dutch and the Spanish were the salt deposits of Araya (salt was a very important commodity in the first American colonies). The Dutch were defeated there in 1622 and had tried unsuccessfully to return several times. In 1628 there was a Dutch attempt to settle in Matanzas and in 1629 on the Orinoco. They repeated their attacks in 16371. Simultaneously to all of these efforts, the Dutch traders established a depot for goods on the Pomeroon River and built a fort named «New Zealand»2.

1. Carlos Felice Cardot, “Algunas acciones de los Holandeses en la region del Oriente de Venezuela — Primera mitad de siglo XVII”, in: Boletin de la Academia Nacional de la His- toria, XLV, no. 179, Sept. 1962 (; pp. 349-372). 2. James Rodway, Chronological History of the Discovery and Settlement of Guyana 1493-1668, Georgetown, 1888, pp. 14-16.

Revue des Etudes juives, CLIV (3-4), juillet-décembre 1995, pp. 343-361 344 THE JEWISH SETTLEMENT IN POMEROON/PAUROMA and those of the Essequibo in Guyana". London 1809 Map of Essequibo as done by Henry Bolingbroke “A voyage to the Demerary containing account settlements there THE JEWISH SETTLEMENT IN POMEROON/PAUROMA 345

In 1613 the Nederlander Joost van der Hooge established a colony on the Essequibo River, called Nova Zeelandia, and founded a fort with the descriptive name “Kyk-over al” (“Looks over all”), which was located on a strategic hillside overlooking the traffic of three rivers: Essequibo, Mazorony, and Cayony. By 1648 attempts were made to strenghten and revive the settlement on the Pomeroon River. Efforts which were not crowned with success. The loss of the Dutch possessions in in 1654 led to a crisis in the , and it found it difficult to assist its colonies on the Wild Coast. There was pressure within the Company to abandon the Essequibo settlements. The chambers of the cities Middelburg, , and Vere decided to combine forces in order to support the colony and to raise sufficient funds to support settlement in the Essequibo and Pomeroon regions. On 24 December 1657 an agreement was signed between the Burgomas- ters of Middelburg, Vlissingen, and Vere, on the one side, and the West India Company on the other, defining the rules and regulations of the colony. Aert Adriansen van Groenwegel was a trader and sea captain who had reached the Wild Coast with three ships sailing from Zealand in 1616. He had served and traded with the Spaniards, dealt with the Indians, and negotiated with the English in . This experienced trader was nominated “Commandeur” of Essequibo, to be governed from Fort Kykoveral. His deputy Cornelius Goliath was to govern the Pomeroon region3. As the mouth of the Essequibo River was difficult for ships navigating from the Atlantic and since the land around the fort was not very suitable for agri- cultural development, Pomeroon was chosen as the site of the new settlement. Through the mouth of the Pomeroon River large ships could enter into the in- terior of the country, its land was more suitable for plantations, and its location was nearer Spanish America4. Parallel to this, efforts were made to mobilize suitable settlers who would be of benefit for the colony. Preference and priority was given to those Por- tuguese Jews who had fled and had experience in the region and its conditions. They had specialized in growing sugar cane as well as refining sugar and were also considered experts in several kinds of tropical produce. Moreover, the Spanish-Portuguese Jews had a facility for languages which allowed for commerce with the Spanish colonies in America. It was also an accepted fact that the merchants in Spanish America were in many

3. Edgar Mittelholzer, Children of Kaywana, London, 1952, p. 377. 4. James Rodway, Guiana: British, Dutch and French, New York, 1912, p. 60. 346 THE JEWISH SETTLEMENT IN POMEROON/PAUROMA cases people living there as marranos, and in some instances were related to the Jews settling in the Dutch American colonies. In , the influential Jewish refugee from Brazil, David Nasi, was contacted and arrangements concluded with him to transport Jews from the , to settle them on the Wild Coast, and to provide them with free land and slaves from Africa to work the sugar cane fields which would be obtained on credit. (At a later stage David Nassi was accused by some Jews settling in Pomeroon of losing interest in the colony and taking more care of the Jewish settlement of Remire on the island where he was nominated “Patroon” of the settlement and where he himself settled). As in other Dutch possessions settlers were discouraged from taking servants with them, and the company reserved its right to supply the slaves. In the case of Pomeroon, if the settler purchased two slaves in cash, credit could be given for another two5. The Dutch quest for Spanish speaking Jews had reached countries out- side the Netherlands. In the state papers of the British secretary of state, John Thurloe, there is a 1657 report from Leghorn, written by the British agent there, Charles Longland, in which we find: It seems that the States of Holland are making a plantation between and Cartagena in the West Indies, wherein they go very wisely and politikly to work, aiming chiefly at a trade there with the Spanyard; for which purpose they have sent hether to invyte many families of Jews and granted them many privileges and immunities. Spanish is become now the Jews mother tongue, not only in these parts, but throughout the Turkish dominions. In which respect they will be very useful to the Dutch in their plantation; and many opportunities may present them to converse with the Spanyard... for which purpose they were sending thither twenty-five families of Jews6. The year (1657), the purpose of the colony, and the need of Jewish settlers from Leghorn who were mostly Spanish-speaking, show us without any doubt that the colony mentioned by the British agent in Leghorn should have been Pomeroon. This is also confirmed in the “Proceedings of the committee for the three Walchern cities, Middleburg, Flushing and Vere, the colony of “Nova Zeelandia” 1658-1663”, where we see deliberations on transporting Leghorn Jews to Pomeroon. We also see the Paulo Jacomo Pinto acting on behalf of Jewish colonists, dealing mainly with Leghorn Jews, handling numerous applications. Phillipe de Fuentes, a refugee from Brazil, acted on behalf of his fellow refugees to

5. Rodway, Guiana, p. 60. 6. David MacPherson, Annals of Commerce, London, 1805, v. II, p. 472; Adam Anderson, Origin's of Commerce, London, 1790, v. II, p. 585. THE JEWISH SETTLEMENT IN POMEROON/PAUROMA 347

Carte des “Entrées des Rivieres de Demerary et d'Essequite" as done by S. Bellin Description geographique de la Guyane-Contenant les possessions et les Etablisse- ments des Francois, des Espagnols, des Portugais, des Hollandais dans ces Vastes Pays Paris 1763 348 THE JEWISH SETTLEMENT IN POMEROON/PAUROMA arrange for their settlement in Pomeroon, and “four of five ships with many Jews went thither”7. If we follow the different accounts of ships sailing to Pomeroon, this seems to be the right number. On 2 February 1658, the first ship carrying Jews, the Joannes, left Flushing8. On 12 May 1658 the d'Eendract, also known as Concordia, sailed from Middelburg to Pomeroon. This journey is described thoroughly in the narrative of Jeosua Nunes Netto and Joseph Pereira written in September 1657 in Pomeroon. It was published by the eminent Surinamese Jewish historian Jap Meijer, based on the material compiled in the Archives of the Poruguese Jewish community in The Hague9. In the narrative they describe that they have left Middelburg on 12 May, that the ship carried not only Jewish passengers but also French (usually French Huguenots who preferred to live under the rule of Protestant Neder- lands) and Dutch ones. The leaders of the Jewish passengers were Messrs David Vaz and Elissa Abbas, and although descendants of marranos they were very religious. Two examples prove this point. Due to errors of navigation the ship suffered a lack of water which even endangered the life of the passengers in mid-Atlantic. Netto and Pereira describe the situation as follows: On this day, the event of Tisabab 10 o'clock at night (7 August, eve of the start of the fast of the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Ab commemorating the two destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem and the date of the edit of expulsion of the Jews from Castille), it rained heavily and with the aid of sheets we gathered much water, which we saved until the next evening, the end of the fast. We thought it better to gather the water but not to drink of it (due to the fast), just like the supreme being had shown to Moses the Promised Land but had pointed out to him that he should not enter it. [translated from the Portuguese] The other instance occurred when the Concordia reached the Pomeroon settlement: That day it was Sabath, all the French and Dutch passengers together with their chests, beds and luggage disembarked in three big boats, one from the ship and two from Pauroma (Pomeroon)... after the two boats had left, the Captain wanted all the Jews... to disembark, which we refused to do, because

7. P.M. Netsher, Geschiedenis van de Kolonien Essequibo, Demerary en Berbice, The Hague, 1888, p. 73. 8. Samuel Oppenheim, «An Early Jewish Colony in Western Guyana 1658-1666”, Waltham, PAJHS XVI, 1909, p. 104. 9. Dr. J. Meijer, Pioneers of Pauroma (Pomeroon), Paramaribo, 1954 based on the com- pilation by R. Bijlsma, Archief der Nederlandisch Portugeesch-Israelitische Gemeente in , Gravenhage. THE JEWISH SETTLEMENT IN POMEROON/PAUROMA 349

it was Sabbath, and told him, the boat would have to wait until night, when we would board it. [translated from the Portuguse] About 5 September 1658, the Prins Willem sailed from Flushing for the Wild Coast with colonists10. There is also reference to a ship from Salé, Morocco, to carry Jews to the new colony11. This is very probable. Salé had a strong Jewish community which kept in contact with other Sefardi Jewish communities. The advent of the false messiah Shabbetai Zevi stirred strong exspectations in Salé. In some instances they reached a feverish pitch. The chief rabbi, Jacob Sasportas, fought a futile battle against the movement caused by Shabbetai Zevi's pretensions. The Jews of Salé, expected speedy redemption, expressed their feelings in an arrogant — and untypical for Jewish behavior in Morroco — noisy public manner. This brought upon them the anger of the governor of Salé and the local populace who initiated a series of anti-Jewish measures and persecutions, forcing many Salé Jews to emigrate12. As many of these Jews were of Spanish and Portuguese origin, they probably found a solution by trying to settle in the Dutch colonies in America. There is also a reference to Portuguese Jews from Hamburg joining their brethren from the Netherlands in the colonizing venture in the Pomeroons13. A rare instance, as far as Jewish settlement in America is concerned, is the case of the Jew from Brazil, Philippe de Fuentes who equipped his own ship and with a group of Jews arrived in Pomeroon in 1660 on board the Argyn. In the proceeding of the committee for the governing of the three Walchern cities, Middleburg, Flushing, and Vere, the Colony of Nova Zee- landia 1658-1663 we find the resolution of 10 June 1660: It was also resolved to use this opportunity to send in the ship which don Philipe de Fuentes is getting ready, 2,000 lbs. of meat, 3,000 lbs. lard, along with some flour, and 3 vats of oil and a chest of old linen and some medicines for the use of the new colony. [Translated from the Dutch]

10. Oppenheim, “Early Jewish Colony”, p. 104. 11. S. Oppenheim, Proceedings of the three Walchen cities of Sept. 10, 1658, published in PAJHS XVI, p. 165. 12. Jewish Encylopedia, v. IX, p. 22. 13. Oppenheim, “Early Jewish Colony”, p. 106, citing Dr. M. Grunwald's Portuguesen gräber auf deutscher Erde, Hamburg, 1902, pp. 124-125, giving the names of Immanuel de Campos, David d'Oliviera, David Nunes, and Jacob Senior among those who went to colonize “Serepique”, which should have meant Esequipe or Essequibo. 350 THE JEWISH SETTLEMENT IN POMEROON/PAUROMA

Carte de l'entrée de la Riviere de Poumaron, as done by S. Bellin in Description geo- graphique de la Guyane-contenant les possessions et les Etablissements de Francois, des Espagnols, des Portugais, des Hollandais dans ces vastes Pays Paris 1763 THE JEWISH SETTLEMENT IN POMEROON/PAUROMA 351

And on 20 August 1660 there was a resolution saying: Mr. Nicolas Clement reports that the two deputies from Nova Zeelandia have been sent to their principals and are ready to depart with don Philipe de Fuentes ship... where upon it was resolved to examine the same in order to determine what shall be necessary in order to send along with the ship Argyn going there. [Translated from Dutch]14 We have mentioned that in the interest of settling Essequibo and Pomeroon, many attractive financial conditions and purchases on credit were given to the new settlers. Moreover, an effort was made to grant rights and privileges to the Jews settling there. There was, however, no intention of having an exclusively Jewish settlement there as was the case in Remire on the island of Cayenne, or to have a region settled by Jews as in the “Jewish Savanna” in Surinam. The British historian Lucien Wolf found in the Egerton Collection in the British Museum a document entitled “Privileges granted to the People of the Hebrew nation that are to Goe to the Wilde Cust”15. This document was the object of research and discussion among historians until it was finally established that it is a translation from a Dutch text from 1657. The probable explanation is that the document was sent to Leghorn in order to show the Jews there their privileges in the new colony and was sent to England by Longland together with his report. It is logical that this could have served as a basis for the British in their “Grant of Privileges by the Governor, Council and Assembly of Surinam, to the Jews in Surinam, dated August 17, 1665". The Portuguese version of the document was found by Dr. Robert Cohen16. In this document, we find: “Liberty of conscience is granted with the exercice of laws and ceremonies according to the doctrines of their ancients, and to have synagogues, schools and burial ground according to their fashion.” (Article 1). “Sabbath and Holydays will be observed and they [the Jews] shall not be obliged to appear in court, nor have guard duty except if God forbid it should be of urgent necessity” (Article 2). “The Hebrews shall be admitted as Burgezes of ". (Article 3)

14. Hague Rijksarchief, West India Papers, “Resolutien rekende de nieuwe Colonie in Isekepe [Essequibo], August 20, 1660” as published by Samuel Oppenheim in Appendice I of “Early Jewish Colony in Western Guiana” PAJHS, XVI, 1909, p. 168. 15. British Museum, Egerton Ms. n° 2.395, Fol. 46, published in the Transactions of the Jewish Historical Society of England, vol. III, pp. 82-84. 16. R. Cohen, “New Aspects of the Egerton Manuscript” in: Jewish Historical Quarterly, LXII (1973), pp. 337-347. 352 THE JEWISH SETTLEMENT IN POMEROON/PAUROMA

In that same year, 1657, the Jews that were to settle in Pomeroon received on 21 December, a Holy Torah Scroll from the Amsterdam Jewish com- munity, in whose archives a receipt was found signed by David Castiel de la Mota, Daniel Cardoso, and Joseph Pereira17. Among other things we find written in the receipt, “... we obligate ourselves, God bringing us in peace to Eqiqipe, coast of the American Indies, whither we are going to deliver it to the Holy Congregation, which with God's help, shall be founded”18. We can assume from the above that the Scroll of the Law (Torah) and the signature in the name of the Holy Congregation to be established demonstrates the intention of founding a synagogue in Pomeroon. Moreover, in the Proceedings of the committee of the three cities (Reso- lutien rakend de nieuwe colonie in Isekepe (Essequibo) from 15 Nov. 1657) there is a request by the Hebrew Nation, with a promise that it would be executed, under the heading “Liberties which are requested of the Hebrew Nation for the colonization of the Wild Coast”. Article 8 states that “the customs and constitutions which the Portuguese Jewish nation shall ordain among themselves shall be required to be observed and followed by all Jews who shall come to live upon the aforesaid coast”. This shows the precedence the Portuguese Jews gave to their customs compared to Jews from other origins. This is also the case in the request of the Curaçao Jewish community which financially helped the synagogues “Yeshuat Israel” in Newport, Rhode Island, and “Shearith Israel”, in New York. Among the conditions for receiving this aid was one that the Spanish/ Portuguese Jewish way of prayer prevail in the synagogues. Article 9 states, “that no demand shall be made for any debts incurred in Brazil or other cities or kingdoms, except in these Provinces or there in the colony”. This made it easier for the Jewish refugees from Brazil, who were still burdened with debts incurred there, to choose to reside in Pomeroon. It is also assumed that this article protects the Jews from debts incurred by judgment of the tribunals of the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions, including the one in Cartagena which confiscated goods belonging to Dutch Jews. The very scant information on everyday life in the Pomeroon settlement does not provide any details on the existence of a synagogue there. As mentioned earlier, the Dutch companies reserved the right, in the

17. This should be the same Joseph Pereira who wrote the narrative, “Relacoo que da barra de Pauroma en Wilde Kust man mandao Jeosua Nunez Netto e Joseph Pereira en que descreven sua viagem e calidades que da terra de aguelle dia puderaô remarcar datada em 15 de Septembro 1658”, mentioned early in this chapter. 18. Isaac Emanuel, “Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Jews in Brazil (1630-1654)”, in: American Jewish Archives, Jan. 1955, p. 20. THE JEWISH SETTLEMENT IN POMEROON/PAUROMA 353 settlements they managed, to supply the slaves from Africa as stipulated in “a rule as to in what manner and condition the Negroes shall be delivered in the Wild Coast” in the document found by Lucien Wolf19. Delivery of the slaves is vividly described by the narrative by Netto and Pereira in which they tell that on arrival on the coast of America “a ship dropped anchor alongside us (the ship which had gone to Guiné to get the Negroes)... the Commander and someone who did the buying came on board and informed us that they had 300 Ardas (apparently meaning the Guinea tribe of Ardras)20. There has been some speculation as to exactly where the Jews had settled, but from all the descriptions available it is quite easy to conclude that the settlement was on the banks of the Pomeroon River, called New Middel- burg, beside the fort called “Nova Zeelandia”. Netto and Pereira describe it in their narrative, saying “the Commander and the former governor of the settlement informed us that the settlement lay on the Pauroma (Pomeroon) river”, and it is interesting to follow their impressions on landing. “The country is covered by forest that is not too dense and there are some Indian villages upstream. The Indians are very gentle and peace loving. There was a Jew in a boat, with Indians, and I spoke to one who could speak Spanish very well. In a word the country is as I had always dreamed it to be. There were no snakes and no mosquitoes, few or no ants, the plantations were excellent and the most fertile... on which all plants could be cultivated”21. The same enthusiasm was shared by Philipe de Fuentes who had arrived with another group of Jews on his own ship. In a letter from 20 November 1660, written in New Middleburg, he says, “I consider this land better than Brazil, but in order to become acquainted with its virtue, one has need of a quantity of Negroes and particularly a governor with 25 soldiers in order to keep the land quiet... the crops are getting on very well”, and in April 1661, he writes, “at present everything is progressing favorably. Provisions are in abundance, the ground not only promises but yields richly... The country is at present full of sugar cane, so that we have very great need of sugar boil- ers” [translated from the Dutch]22. Mr. N. Darnell Davis writes in an article, appearing in an agricultural

19. British Egerton Ms. No. 2395, Fol. 46. 20. Meijer, Pioneers, pp. 39-40. 21. Meijer, Pioneers, pp. 23-24. 22. Box 30, Oppenheim Collection in the American Jewish Historical Society, published by Samuel Oppenhim “Early Jewish Colony in Western Guiana” in PAJHS 16, 1909, p. 130. 354 THE JEWISH SETTLEMENT IN POMEROON/PAUROMA magazine from Demerara, on the beginnings of Guiana, “It would appear that it was to the Jews that Essequibo owed the introduction of cane cultivation. After the Zeeland Company had leased Guiana from the West India Company, they took steps to induce private persons to come and settle in Essequibo on their own account. Many of the newcomers were Jews who had been in Brazil. Because of them, small plantations were cleared and planted with canes”23. The description given by Major John Scott, published by V.T. Harlow, also sees the Pomeroon colony as a success. He places the colony between the Pomeroon and Moruca rivers, and says, “a great colony of Dutch and Jews drawn off Brazil by the Portuguese settled there and being ex- perienced planters, soon grew a flourishing colony”24. Yet, not everything went smoothly, and there were several protests by Jewish settlers to the committee of the three cities, Middleburg, Flushing, and Vere, governing Pomeroon. They complained that there is not sufficient interest in the colony. The 9 September 1660 resolution states that Moses Netto had appeared in the name of his brother-in-law and the Jewish Nation asking whether the committee is willing to keep up the colony, otherwise the settlers were to depart from there, leaving it abandoned. Again on 21 May 1660, a Jew named La Torre came to Amsterdam, leaving his wife and children in Pomeroon, in order to request the return of some 40 souls from the colony as well as the return to the company of the slaves they had received from them25. On 6 January 1661, an explanation is given for why some Jews on their way to Pomeroon were detoured to , “since it was not possible to transport these people to Pomeroon, because there was great mortality and weakness in Nova Zeelandia”26. The initial crises and difficulties notwith- standing, the colony met with success. Sugar from New Middelburg was already offered in Amsterdam on 6 June 166127. On 23 January 1661, sixty to seventy thousand pounds of sugar arrived from Pomeroon in Amsterdam28. Gradually the Pomeroon colony became by far more important than its principal in Fort Kykoveral on the Essequibo. The Portuguese Jews from Brazil developed their plantations and erected several sugar plants. By 1665 the production and development of the Pomeroon colony was rapidly

23. Timehri, vol. 7, Demerara, 1893, p. 138. 24. V.T. Harlow, Colonizing Expeditions to the West Indies and Guiana 1623-1667, London, 1924, pp. 141-142, and Cornelius Ch. Goslinga, The Dutch in the Caribbean and on the Wild Coast, 1580-1680, Assen, 1985, pp. 418-423. 25. Oppenheim, “Early Jewish Colony”, pp. 166, 170. 26. Oppenheim, “Early Jewish Colony, Supplemental Data”, PAJHS, XVII (1909), p. 69. 27. Rodway, Chronological History, p. 148. 28. Oppenheim, “Early Jewish Colony”, p. 170. THE JEWISHSETTLEMENTINPOMEROON/PAUROMA 355

Map of Essequibo (enlargment), done by Henry Bolingbroke, London 1809. On the left 1) Ruins of Now Midelburgh 2) Old fort Zeeland destroyed by the English in 1666 356 THE JEWISH SETTLEMENT IN POMEROON/PAUROMA increasing. The Dutch Commandeur of Pomeroon, Francois de Fijne, was given supreme control of the colony, and was not dependent any more on Kykoveral as had been the case with his predecessor, Cornelius Goliath. During its existence, the mostly Jewish colony of Pomeroon was considered one of the most important of the first Jewish settlements in America. Gen. Byam, the British commander, prominent in Surinam history, describes it in his journal, “But the greatest of all they [the Dutch] ever had in America was Bawroom (Pauroma, Pomeroon), and Moruco — alias New Zeeland — a most flourishing colony 16 Leagues Leeward of Essequibo”29. Despite all the fame and success of the Pomeroon settlement, details on it are very sketchy, maybe owing to its having been so short-lived, some eight or nine years, and to the lack of sufficient archives. The fact is that even the exact number of settlers is not clear. In a report by a Spanish scout sent on a reconnaissance mission in 1663, cited by Prof. George Burr30, who estimated that the Pomeroon and Moruca settlements had over 1,000 Dutch settlers (which included the Jews, estimated at about 50-60 families) and 400 wealthy Indians who had been expelled from Brazil (we have seen already in Martinique that Indians from Brazil joined the Jews from Brazil as free men), and also a greater number of African slaves31. Everyday life in Pomeroon, including the Jewish life, is hard to trace, so the letter by Commander de Fijne, dated 3 March 1663, gives us a rare glimpse into internal relations in the colony, as follows: I am here in the midst of a heap of unruly, wanton, and reckless people, excepting always the pious, who are very few in number, both among the Christians and the Jews, and importuned by them all from morning until night, so that I cannot remain at table in peace. The stepfather of a Jew named Isaac de Fonseca came to me weeping and complaining that he had been beaten by him and that he had called his mother a whore, which I could not allow to pass before God and the law, wherefore I had the aformentioned Jew - Fonseca summoned to render an account of what he had done, and if the mother were guilty to duly punish her and to deal with him as a godless [person] who had despised his parents. The fellow being wanton and insolent and unwilling to admit his fault, I had

29. Lieut. Gen. Byam's Journal of Guyana from 1665 to 1667: An exact narrative of the State of Guiana as it stood Anno 1665, particularly of ye English Colony of Surynam, British Sloan Ms. No. 3.662, fol. 27, cited in V.T. Harlow, Colonizing Expeditions, p. 159. 30. American Historical Revue, Oct. 1900, cited by Oppenheim, “Early Colony”, p. 134. 31. It is interesting to note that the Spanish scout on his way back met a small vessel, apparently from the settlement of Pomeroon, with two Spanish-speaking men in it as prisoners, one of whom gave him to understand that he was from Madrid, had been a Catholic priest, and had gone to Amsterdam to be circumcised, and therefore had been sent to the Inquisition of Cartagena — cited by Oppenheim, “Early Colony”, p. 134. THE JEWISH SETTLEMENT IN POMEROON/PAUROMA 357

him placed in irons. The Jews took this amiss and Isaac Henriques Moron, putting himself somewhat forward, I had him placed with the other because he wished to leave the country at once, and by this means I was obliged to make sure of his person and the debt he owed your honors, since I was compelled to quiet the people here. The somewhat tumultuous Hebrew nation having become aware that the two Jews would be kept in prison until my return from Moruca began to cast sour looks at me, and the principal one among them, Philippe de Fuentes, began to say that the planters would rise, thinking perhaps, to feel my pulse and to intimidate me by such threats... I called the soldiers to arms in order to have the prisoner executed... I wished to show them that threats only made me more resolute. ... On my return from Moruca, I examined the matter and being influenced by much entreaty and prayer, I liberated him with the other32. The success of the Pomeroon Colony was of short duration. The British holding Surinam were anxious to eliminate the neighboring Dutch Colonies and started to attack them in force. Gen. Byam journal describes how: In Dec. 1665 Major John Scott commissioned by his Excellency (Francis Lord Willoughby of Parham) with a small fleet and upward of 300 men took the Dutch Fort and Colony of Bawrooma (Pomeroon) and also the fort of Disskebe (Essequibo)33. One view holds that Scott destroyed the forts and plundered and burned the houses of the inhabitants. His own statement, places things in a different slant, and claims he had left the occupied Dutch colonial garrison for England and had tried to induce Lord Willoughby to strengthen the Colonies so that they should be a stronghold in those parts34. The British failed to occupy Berbice where the Dutch commander, Berge- naer, successfully resisted them in Fort Nassau. Moreover, he also managed with the help of the Indians to recapture Fort Kykoveral, where the English garrison surrendered, hungry and lacking ammunition. The starving British garrison at Fort Nova Zeelandia and the Pomeroon settlement surrendered and were recaptured by the Dutch, but remained isolated Dutch outpost to be destroyed later by French privateers35. By the end of 1666, the States of Zeeland sent out a fleet of seven vessels

32. Box 30, Oppenheim Collection in the American Jewish Historical Society, published in PAJHS 16, 1909, p. 133. 33. Harlow (ed.), Colonizing Expeditions, p. 199. 34. Rodway, Chronological History, p. 190. 35. Goslinga, The Dutch, p. 424. 358 THE JEWISH SETTLEMENT IN POMEROON/PAUROMA and a thousand men under Abraham Crynsson to recapture the forfeited Dutch colonies and to attack British Surinam. With the exception of Cayenne, all the Wild Coast became Dutch. Garrisons were sent to Essequibo and Surinam. Pomeroon, however, was abandoned. The British explorer H. Bolingbrooke describes his visit to Pomeroon in 1809: Up the edges of this river the melancholy traces of ancient cultivation and aban- doned residences are frequently apparent. Above the fork formed by the junction of the Harlipiak with the Pomeroon, the Hollanders had formerly three settlements of some extent — Fort Zealand, which the English destroyed in 1666, New Mid- deburg which at the same time was plundered and abandoned, and Harlipiak36. What happend to the Jews of Pomeroon after the British attack and the desctruction of their homes, plantations, and mill? This remains a mystery, and the object of research which as yet has produced no results. James Rodway, the historian of , says that the Dutch colonies on the Wild Coast were in a disastrous state. Pomeroon destroyed, Cayenne devastated, and newly captured Surinam ruined. The Dutch had hopes for Surinam. The plantations were ruined, very few English remained, and many of the slaves left behind, rather than submit to their new masters, retreated to the jungle where they formed tribes of the so-called “Bush Negroes”, which exist until today. Every possible inducement was offered by the Dutch to obtain new settlers for Surinam. As a result, “a few of the ruined Jews from Pomeroon came first, and a fair number of Huguenots”37. Samuel Oppenheim is of the same opinion that at least part of the Jews of Pomeroon had left for Surinam38. Strangely enough the historical work by the leaders of the Surinam Jews, Historical Essay on the Colony of Surinam 1788, does not mention Pomeroon Jews, while at the same time it goes into detail into the arrival of Jews from Cayenne three to four years earlier. We could also refer to the Haham (Rabbi) Joseph Corcos of Curaçao, who served there in the 19th century and wrote its history. He tells us of a group of Jews which had left the island of Curacao in 1693 to settle in Tucacas on the Venezuelan Coast, facing Curacao. (We have seen in this chapter that the Dutch had several enclaves on the Venezuelan coast in the 17th century.) There they formed the congregation of Santa Irmandad (Holy Brotherhood)39. Crocos writes that the Jews were Italian and should have

36. Henry Bolingbrooke, A Voyage to the Demerary containing a Statistical account of the Settlements there and of those of the Essequibo in the Guyana, London, 1809, p. 273. 37. James Rodway, Guiana- British, Dutch and French, New York, 1912, pp. 71-72. 38. Oppenheim, Early Colony, p. 138. THE JEWISH SETTLEMENT IN POMEROON/PAUROMA 359 come from Leghorn to Cayenne and from there to Curacao. Most probably, most of the Cayenne Jews went to Surinam, including the ones that joined them from Tobago, and as their was no settlement of Leghorn Jews directly to Curacao — those that went to Tucacas might have been the refugees from Pomeroon. As to the supposition in Byam's journal that Jews, Dutch, and French had left for Martinique and St. Christopher40, as improbable as it seems that Jews would have settled in French territories where they were already clearly unwanted, we find among other Jewish families in St. Christopher (St. Kitts), the Nunes Netto family which was quite prominent in Pomeroon41. There is a theory that Jews from Pomeroon might have gone to Barbados — it is also tenable. The British Governor, William Lord Willoughby, was interested in Jewish settlement. We have seen the efforts he made to take the remnants of the Remire (Cayenne) Jews to Barbados. As Pomeroon was captured by his officers, they might have taken with them some Jews. Major Scott returned to Barbados in April 1666. One fact is clear, the Pomeroon Jews dispersed in the region. It seems that some individuals remained in Western Guiana. For some strange reason the Dutch were reluctant to have Jews settling in the colonies of Berbice and Demerara, Pomeroon was almost completely abandoned, so we find some Jews in Essequibo. Samuel Oppenheim found correspondence between Abraham Beekman, Commander of Essequibo (appointed 1678), and the West India Company, dated 31 March 1684, which is very illustrative of the Jewish role in . Beekman writes: The Jew Salomon de la Roche having died some 8 or 9 months ago, the trade in vanilla has come to an end, since no one here knows how to prepare it so as to develop the proper aroma and keep it from spoiling. I have not heard of any this whole year. Little is found here. Most of it is to be found in Pomeroon, whither this Jew frequently traveled, and he used sometimes to make me a pre- sent of little. In navigating along the river, too, I have sometimes seen some on the trees and picked with my own hands, and it was prepared by the Jew, although I was never before acquainted with the virtues and value of this fruit... The Jew has without my knowledge secretly sent a deal home. I shall do my best to obtain for the Company, in Pomeroon or elsewhere, as much as shall be feasible but I am afraid it will spoil, since I do not know how to prepare it. I shall take care that no private business be carried in it. To this letter Beekman receives a reproof on 21 August 1684:

39. Joseph Corcos, A Synopsis of the History of the Jews of Curaçao, Curaçao, 1897, p. 18. 40. Harlow (ed.), Colonizing Expeditions, Byam's Journal, pp. 199-216. 41. I.S. Emmanuel, History, p. 837. 360 THE JEWISH SETTLEMENT IN POMEROON/PAUROMA

... as to the vanilla trade, which we recommend you carry on for the Company, where upon you answer us saying that this trade has come to an end through the death, 8 months ago, of a Jew Salomon de la Roche... a meagre and poor excuse42. Vanilla was one of the Jewish specialities, and it seems that the preparation of the extract was kept secret. In Martinique, we have seen how a Catholic priest tried to spy on a Jew who, having come from the Guianas, knew how to prepare the extract. In 1689 the French plundered what remained in Pomeroon, and Abraham Beekman was dismissed in 1690. Oppenheim mentions a certain Moses Isaac de Vries, who commanded Indian forces against deserters in 1746 in Essequibo, and Isak Israel Lorenzo who served as an interpreter of Indian languages for an expedition on the Orinoco. These further indicate, as noted earlier, that relations between Jews and Indians were usually very friendly. The establishment of the press in British Guiana was due to a Portuguese Jew, Mr. J.C. de la Coste, a lawyer in Starbroek (later called Georgetown), capital of British Guiana, who in 1793 petitioned the of Demerara and Essequibo for the exclusive right to establish a printing office and a newspaper43. There may have been several Jews in Guiana, but there are no signs of any communal life nor of any attempt to resuscitate Pomeroon. Something has remained in Jewish customs to have us remember Po- meroon. It is the Pomeroon Mousse Pie — prepared with chocolate, vanilla extract, and almonds44.

RÉSUMÉ

Pomeroon fait aujourd'hui partie de la République de Guyane, sur la côte nord de l'Amérique du Sud. En 1657 il était au pouvoir des villes hollandaises de Middle- burg, Vlissingen et Vere. Les Hollandais étaient interessés à s'assurer la collabora- tion des colons juifs qui avaient prouvé leur efficience dans la production de sucre, dans d'autres colonies, et aussi à cause de leur connaissance de l'espagnol qui facili- tait les contacts avec les colonies espagnoles. Les juifs reçurent là l'égalité de droits et des privilèges spéciaux. Des juifs de Livawire, ainsi que d'Amsterdam de Ham- bourg et de Salé au Maroc s'installèrent à New Middleburg sur le fleuve Pomeroon.

42. Oppenheimer, Early Colony, pp. 157-159. 43. James Rodway, «The Press in British Guiana”, in: Proceedings of the American Anti- quarian Society, v. 28, Worcester, Mass., 1991, p. 275. 44. Malvina W. Liebman, Jewish Cookery from Boston to Baghdad, Miami, 1975, pp. 214- 215. THE JEWISH SETTLEMENT IN POMEROON/PAUROMA 361

Les plantations juives prospérèrent et le sucre ainsi que la vanille de Pomeroon furent vendus en Europe avec grand succès. Les Anglais attaquèrent et détruisirent New Middleburg en 1666 et les juifs furent dispersés dans les Antilles, principalement à Curaçao.