Trudy Gold
Early Jewish Settlement in America

Trudy Gold - Early Jewish Settlement in America

- All right, I think I’ll begin. Thank you very much, Karina. And good evening everyone from London. And of course, you will have noticed that this week, we have started looking at the history of America and the history of the Jews of America. And of course, it’s a very important settlement, because up until quite recently, it was the largest Jewish settlement in the world. It’s now been overtaken by Israel. And I just felt that I couldn’t just go straight in without addressing some of the issues that we face today. October the seventh is one of those dates that will remain in Jewish history. We are the people of the book. We are the people of history. And if you think about it, it’s going to go down in history, along with the destruction of the second temple, the crusades, the pogroms, the Chmielnicki massacres, the Black Death, the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, and of course the pogroms of Russia, the Shoah, and now this. And another issue that we have to think about when I talk about America, one of my heroes, Isaiah Berlin said, he said, “The problem of the Jews, they have far too much history and not enough geography.” Since the destruction of the Jewish Kingdom, Jewish life has really been determined by the history of other people. And the challenge is always, “How much do we give of general history in order to slot you into Jewish history?” And I’m going to mention, you’re going to wonder why are there going to be so many English lecturers lecturing on America and American Jewry? And the problem is, I have some wonderful colleagues in America, working at universities, and I hope this course will go on for about four or five months, America.

But they can’t come in at the moment, because the majority of them are so looking after their students because of what’s going on in American universities. Whereas most of the colleagues I use are, in this country, are retired. So that’s the reason for it. But I promise you, we will be bringing in more Americans as the situation sort of, hopefully, simmers down. We’re going to have a big event on Sunday. There’s going to be a huge march, and it’s going to also coincide with Remembrance Weekend. It’s 11/11 for the British, for all of us. The anniversary of the the Armistice, the first World War. And we also remember all the other wars. And it’s going to be absolutely fascinating to find out if there’s any attempt to disrupt it, because in a way, I think the boil has been lanced. Anyway, enough of that, and there’ll be so many more times to discuss it next week. I’m interviewing Dave Rich, who is probably the British expert on what’s going on with antisemitism at the moment. And as you’ve already seen, my American colleagues are bringing in so many experts on Israel. We are trying very hard to keep the core, because I think we need to be a group and we need to have the routine, but obviously we are bringing in people from different expertise to help understand this terrible, terrible situation. So in order to understand early Jewish settlement in America, I have to take you back, and I take you back to one of the most famous years in Jewish history, 1492. Now, of course, important to remember the fall of the second temple, that, although there was always a continuous presence in the land, the bulk of Jewry dispersed over what was once the Roman world. They settled in the Iberian Peninsula. That peninsula was first Christianized and then conquered by Islam.

The forces of Islam in 711 crossed over from Gibraltar, and they took all of Spain, stopping at the south of France. And this was a period when Islam was good to the Jews. It’s fascinating, you know, and we will be bringing in more scholars of Islam. I think we need to. According to Islam, and this was laid down at something called the Pact of Omar, when the conqueror Omar took Jerusalem from the Christians in the early eighth century. What was laid down is how Islam deals. Pagans must be converted by the sword, but Jews and Christians are the people of the book. Consequently, they don’t have to be converted, but they are subjects, they are dhimmies. No dhimmi can rule in Islam. Having said that, when Islam felt itself to be secure, as it did in Spain, in the various Caliphates, Jews prospered, and Jews entered all, in fact, they prospered far more than Christianity because I could say to you, and I think this is pertinent to what is going on today, you can see European history almost as the clash of Christianity and Islam. I’m talking about Western and Middle Eastern history. If you think about it, from the development of Islam, Christianity and Islam are both proselytising religions. And really from through the crusades, through the warfare that culminated in 1683, when the last great Turkish empire, the forces were gate, were destroyed at the gates of Vienna, you had almost a a thousand years, not of war all the time, but if you like, the two enemies facing each other. Jews had a very interesting role in all of this, because people need to trade.

And as you all know, Jewish life had become very artificial in the diaspora. If you think back to what it was like in the land, when they had their own country, they fulfilled every niche in the employment occupation. But once they are in exile, they are going to be ruled by other people. And I’ve mentioned the Iberian Peninsula, how Islam had taken over, Islam gave far more opportunity to Jews than did Christianity. Christianity had very much taken on the Christ killer. Nevertheless, it’s always a tussle between the secular and the religious. So the point is, Jewish life in the Spanish Peninsula in, and Duluthia and those of you who haven’t visited Cordoba or Seville, those incredible areas, you really should, because they have their Jewish quarters. Of course, it’s all going to end tragically, and it really begins to completely decline with the gradual reconquest of Spain by the Christians. And it culminates in 1492. In 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella, they had unified Spain through a marriage contract. Ferdinand of Aragon married Isabella of Castile. They married and they push out the last Muslim stronghold in Grenada. So Isabella was a very, very religious Christian. What had happened in Spain, there was a huge Jewish population. There was also a huge Muslim population. In 1391, there’d been appalling pogroms riots, tens of thousands of Jews had converted to Christianity to maintain their positions. The same thing have happened with Muslims. They were known as the Mariscos. Now, many of these Mariscos and many of these Jews practise their religion in secret and Ferd, Isabella was an absolute fanatical Catholic. She had as her confessor a man called Tomas Torquemada, who was a Dominican friar, the Domicanas, the hounds of God to root out heresy. The church had already established the Inquisition to root out any heresy.

The all-powerful Catholic church. And Isabella brings it into Spain with Torquemada. Jews were not subjected to the Inquisition, nor were Muslims. It’s important to remember that. It was only those who had converted. But Isabella believed that whilst there were still Jews there, it would lead to backsliding. So in 1492, in the Alhambra Palace in Granada, the beautiful Moorish Paris, she signed the edict of expulsion. Tisha B'av 1492. It’s so often that, you know, they understand the Jewish calendar. It’s so often that the enemies of the Jews actually enact these ghastly, these ghastly expulsions and horror stories on Jewish festivals. So Jews have to leave. Now what is interesting is where they go. The leader, Isaac Abarbanel, he was foreign, he’d been foreign minister already to Portugal. He went on to become, he was actually finance minister to King Ferdinand. Ferdinand didn’t really want him to go. His colleague converted. But he goes on, where does he go? He finishes up in Italy. Now, it’s interesting where Jews went. So see, this is the pattern of Jewish history. They survive for a while and then something goes wrong. They are not dependent on their own history. They’re dependent on someone else’s history. So in 1492, for example, the Borgia Pope Cesare Borgia, better known as the, of course, the son of the Pope, Alexander Borgia was the Pope. He was Pope Alexander V, the VI. He allowed Jews into Rome. The Sultan had a fleet, waiting to take them into the Turkish empire.

Some went into the Turkish, into the Ottoman Empire, I should say. Others went to Rome, others went into Portugal. And then tragically in 1497, there was a marriage contract. The marriage contract was between the queen, the king of Portugal, and the daughter, one of the daughters of Ferdinand and Isabella. Written into the marriage contract was the expulsion of the Jews from Portugal. So consequently, they’re on the move again. Now, bearing in mind, 1492 is an incredibly important year, not just in Jewish history, but in general history. Because it is the year that Christopher Columbus bumps into the islands in America on his way where? To discover the roots to the east. They want the silks and the sea root to the silks and the spices of the east. The sexton had been invented. All of a sudden, voyages were more possible. So consequently, it was all about trade. And as you all know, it was Portugal and Spain that dominated the early conquest of the Americas. In fact, America is named for that. Amerigo Vespucci, who of course was one of the conquistadoris. Now, what’s this got to do with Jewish history? Well, it’s got a lot to do with Jewish history, because many of those conversos, Saphardics, remember, they are Saphardi Jews. They are used to mixing in non-Jewish society. Many of them want to escape the clutch of Spain. The Jews have been expelled. So the only Jews left are conversos. But there are thousands and thousands of them, and they are merchants. It’s one of the stories of Jewish history. Why, how have Jews survived? Because they are often very useful to secular rulers.

They are loathed by the Catholic church, but useful to secular rulers. They’re useful in trade. So if you can imagine the development of trade, there are Jewish communities in an earlier lecture, I talked about the Radhanites, who had run the route all the way to China. There was a Jewish community in Kaifeng in the eighth century, the 10th century communities all, if you think about it, all the way from Spain, all the way through to China, and they could communicate with each other. Jews are literate. And who do you think was crossing from the world of Christianity and Islam? They’re not allowed into many professions because of the Christian Guild, but they’re useful. And also many of these wealthy conversos, they begin to develop their own fleets. So they’re becoming a very interesting phenomenon in Spanish society and in Portuguese society. Now, I want you to, I’m having to take you now a little bit into European history. The family that ruled Spain and much of Europe was of course the Habsburg family. Charles the V, the grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella, and of the Habsburgs, it was said of him, “The sun never set on his empire.” Now, his son, Philip II ruled in Spain and his other son Ferdinand, ruled in the centre of the Habsburg Empire, which of course was Vienna, et cetera. Holland was part of this Spanish empire. You also need to think about developments in religion.

The all-powerful Catholic church, and of course Philip II was the, and just as his father had been, Charles the V, they are the holy Roman emperors. They are the defenders of Catholicism. But think ideas, think about the printing press. Think about people wanting to break away from the yoke of tyranny. And it led in the Christian world to the development of Protestantism. Particularly in Germany, it begins with Martin Luther. You have Calvinism and it spreads. And many countries actually adopt it, because they want to break away from the Catholics. Now, Holland is part of the Spanish empire. Holland, in the end, manages to break away from Spain and emerges the Dutch, the Dutch United Church. It is low church. And not only that, it is going to build up, the Dutch are a seagoing people. They’re going to build up a huge trading empire. And this is where it gets very interesting, because gradually many of these conversos, they’ve already got their goods out of Spain, after all, they’re ship owners. Many of them start coming to Holland. And that of course later on is going to be the origins of the British community, the Saphardi merchants. So they go to Holland, and Holland is emerging as a great cosmopolitan centre. They have broken away, they are low church, but above all, they are pragmatic. And these Saphardi merchants, they have the languages, they have the expertise, and they have the connections. So consequently, they’re actually, not exactly welcomed into Holland, never go that far. But the point is, they are not given the same restrictions in Holland that they have in other places. And cities like Antwerp and then Amsterdam emerge as great cosmopolitan centres full of trade, lots of different groups. And Jews are then emerging again as Jews.

These conversos, they don’t know very much, which is problematic, but they emerge again as Jews, and it’s further swelled. Think Jewish history in 1648. The most terrible catastrophe, the Chmielnicki massacres, when the Ukrainian cossacks go on the march against Polish rule, and they murder a hundred thousand Jews. And what is unbelievably sickening, I’ve read the accounts of the Chmielnicki massacres, and it’s almost as though those evil pogromists on the seventh of October had read the manual. That’s how evil it was. But it had incredible resonance throughout the Jewish world. Over a hundred thousand people were killed. It led to developments in Eastern Europe and Jewish religiosity. But it led to people fleeing. And you begin to see Jews coming from central Europe and from Poland to Holland. At first, it’s the Saphardian, and gradually, the Dutch, the pragmatic Dutch. There are restrictions, but they don’t have to live in a separate ghetto. They don’t have to dress in a certain way. And these merchants are very, very welcome, because they will bring in trade. And then of course you have the creation of the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company. The Dutch West India Company in 1621, it grants a trade monopoly. The Dutch Republic granted a trade monopoly. And what they are interested in is to eliminate competition from Portugal and Spain. The British are also going to get involved in this. The Dutch fleet at its height though, was bigger than the combined British, French, and Spanish fleets, by the way. That is how important it becomes. And I want you to think about the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company.

Quite often their agents, particularly in the East India Company, were in fact Jewish. So because you know, you can look at Jews in India and Madras, it’s fascinating. And what’s it all about? It’s about trade and making Holland great. There’s a brilliant book called “Famiashat,” by Simon Schama. And it really looks at this particular period in Dutch history, just think about the arts that comes out of Holland. Also, the ideas, it’s an oasis of humanism and the printing press. Why is the printing press so important to Jews? Because a lot of these conversos have lost their Judaism. Now you might well ask me, “What on earth has this got to do with America?” Well, it’s got a lot to do with America. Can we see the next slide, please? Yes. Because in 1630, can you see Pernambuco? In 1630, first in 1624, where they attempt to take, they attempt, the Dutch attempts to take this area from the Portuguese. They fail in 1624, but in 1630, they manage to conquer Pernambuco. And can we see a slide of it, please? Beautiful, beautiful place. Recife, it’s in Brazil. It’s the most Eastern point in South America. So, the Dutch have conquered it from the Portuguese in 1630. It’s going to be retaken by the Portuguese in 1654. And it led to Jews coming to Dutch Recife in large numbers, according to their own record book. By 1645, there were about, there were 1,450 Jews in Recife. They’d actually founded a community. It was the first in the new world. They had a synagogue and two schools. And can we see, in fact, we know who their rabbi was. Can we see him, next picture, please?

There you see, Isaac Aboab da Fonseca. These rabbis had a real problem because so many of their congregation had lost all the knowledge, they’d been conversos. And also the Ashkenazi had the same problem with, because after the Chmielnicki massacres, there was a great lessening of knowledge in that particular area. So the, and Judaism is a religion of knowledge, remember? He brings with him a deputy, Moses Raphael Aguilar and Aboab, he writes Hebrew hymns, and he writes a volume of theology for his congregation. He’d previously been a teacher in the seminary in Amsterdam, where one of his students was a man you will know of, Baruch Spinoza. He goes back to Amsterdam in 1654, when it is conquered again by the Portuguese. And he was one of the rabbis. And of course, in the end, a harem, an excommunication was pronounced on Baruch Spinoza. And he was one of the rabbis who pronounced the harem, because they were scared of the knowledge, that’s the whole point. They’re absolutely terrified of the knowledge. Now. So in, so what was Recife like? What was Recife like? What was Pernambuco like? It was a cosmopolitan trading centre. As I said, it had a couple of schools. You had quite a few Jews there. Now, it’s under Dutch rule from 1630 to 1654. It’s quite, this whole area is quite cosmopolitan. There are all sorts of ethnic groups and cultures coexisting. They arrive, Jews are arriving, not just from Holland, but conversos are escaping from Portugal, from Spain. And we also know that some came from Poland.

They, why did they come to Brazil? Adventure, hoping for freedom. They wanted a community which, they wanted to create a community where they would not be marginalised. And also because the Jews at Amsterdam are already engaged in commerce, they envisaged increased opportunities, because this is really, South America, think of the goals, think of the conquistadoris. There’s some wonderful, wonderful books on it. Today, we look with horror on how the Inca and Aztec and all the other peoples were mistreated by the Europeans, to say nothing of the slave trade. But at this period, it was seen by white settlers as an incredible land of making a lot of money, opportunity for trade. So consequently, they come. And during that 24 year Dutch occupation, Pernambuco had a, it was very, very prosperous. It was prosperous culturally, it was prosperous materially. And because the Dutch had a certain amount of religious freedom, they even allowed Jews into the university in 1623, so that they could study medicine. And it becomes a very artistic centre. The Jews become very engaged in intellectual activity. They were able to build synagogue schools. There were scholars, there were poets. There was a wonderful calligrapher, a man called Yehuda Macciabeho.

The conquistadoris needed calligraphers, remember? And Mosal Rafael Daguila, who wrote “Treatise in Defence of Equality,” because why amongst white men, of course, but that’s not the point for the period. You’ve got to remember that Holland had been a centre of humanistic ideas and the printing press, and it had sparked through. It’s also going to lead to Manasseh Ben Israel trying to bring the Jews back to England. And of course, the Jews play an important role in the establishment of new Dutch commercial interests in Brazil. That was mainly because the Sephardian, not only did they have Dutch, but they also had Portuguese. So they have Dutch and Portuguese. Do you realise how indispensable that made them? And the directors of the Dutch West India Company, they’re not particularly concerned with religion. They’re far more concerned with religious coexistence, because what they wanted was money. So, having said that, there was quite a lot of intolerance towards the Jews. There was a bishop called Collado, he attacked the Jews and new Christians, quote, his new Christians, along with the newly arriving Jews were trying to build a Jewish congregation. And because the new Christians were all baptised, they were deemed Catholic heretics as soon as they returned to Judaism. So you see what’s going on. So for the Dutch Calvinists, this is a real, real problem. He also condemned Collado. he condemned what he called the desimulating character of the new Christians. He said he thought that they were betraying Portugal and he accuses them of greed.

And it’s at this point that many of the old stereotypes, you see, this is what we are dealing with. We are dealing with it today. We dealt with it in the 1600s. We’ve dealt with it really, and I’m going to say this, since the birth of the deicide myth. The idea that the Jews are responsible for the death of Jesus, who he is got, therefore anything can be thrown against them. Yes, there are all sorts of racial prejudices. Hating Jews is one form of anti, is one form of racial prejudice, but it’s got another layer. And that is the demonization of the Jew. And that’s what makes it many very, very dangerous. So even in this area, in Brazil, in this oasis of toleration, nevertheless, you get a lot of the old stereotypes coming out of the Jews. But also it has to be said, it’s not just anti-Jewish rhetoric. The animosity of many of the Calvinists is because of something else as well, commercial competition. But it always comes with a religious pretext. So, constant complaints by leaders of the Dutch Reform Church were sent to the governor of the West India Company. But it didn’t really make much difference to the governor of the Dutch West India Company. This is one of the letters. “Everyone knew of the methods used by the sons of Judah, who lied, fooled, and used false means that made competition difficult for Christians, who do not resort to such treachery. Because of their usury practises towards farmers, they are a true plague in Brazilian lands.

Brazil belongs to the Christians and not to the damned sons and daughters of Israel, who desecrate the name of Jesus. The Israelites are not needed here. Christians are able to do what they do.” So, this is the kind of reports that are being sent back. However, it’s not making much, it’s not making much inroads. And also the other thing that really upset, I suppose, upset them was that the new Christians were not converting to Calvinism. They were converting back to Judaism. So having said that, it’s still, despite what I’ve just told you, it’s still a relative oasis of toleration. And then everything goes wrong. Why? What did I say right at the beginning? Jews are dependent on other people’s histories and the events of other people. And what happens to other countries and other governments. So consequently, what happens is this. The Portuguese reconquer, and with them they have the Inquisition. Who could forefall the Inquisition, the conversos. So, and it’s after they, the Portuguese take it, the community had scattered. It had really been, the main currency of Pernambuco was sugar. And what had happened was the majority of Jews returned to Holland. And but when it was surrendered, there were 650 of them left in town. A few wealthy plantation owners chose to remain under the Portuguese to actually protect their property. Inevitably, they had to become Christian, but some of them kept their Judaism in secret. However, there was a group, there were 23 refugees who set sail from Pernambuco. And where did they land? Can we see the next spot? They landed in New Amsterdam, which was an outpost of the Dutch West India Company. And who had granted a trade monopoly, been granted a trade monopoly by the Dutch.

And who was in charge of this particular trading post? Can we see the face? There you see New Amsterdam, yes. Now let’s see the man who was in, Peter Stuyvesant. I suppose not many people smoke anymore, but Stuyvesant, that should give it all away. It was a cigarette brand. What on earth was going on in these colonies? You need to think tobacco, you need to think fur, you need to think grain, you need to think of all the produce of the new world for these adventurers, because they’re adventurers. Let me give you a bit of a background to Peter Stuyvesant. He’d been born to a Calvinist minister. He was university educated. He’d studied languages, he’d studied philosophy. He’d actually been expelled from the university for seducing the daughter of his landlady. So he was sent to Amsterdam by his father. He joined the Dutch West India Company when he was 20 years old. And he went to a small island and then, or just off the coast of Brazil, and then he becomes the agent in Pernambuco. 1638, Curasal, which was the main Dutch naval based in the West Indies. And by the, by 1930, his acting director, he’s obviously incredibly capable, very strong individual, also of Aruba. So he’s got a very important post in the Dutch West India Company, controlling the trade and what’s going on in these islands. And also, who’s he fighting? 1644, he led an attack against the Spanish, and in St. Martine, he won. But when he raised the Dutch flag, ‘cause you’ve got to remember the Dutch, the Spanish, and I’ve already mentioned the British, the French, they all want a slice of the gold and the goods of the new world. Forget any of the native population.

He was shot, and he had to have his leg amputated. So he returns to Holland, he convalesces, he’s known as “Peg Leg,” he marries. And in May 1645, he is sent back to New Amsterdam to be the, to be in charge of the trading post. He’s married the daughter of a Hugano minister. And when he found the colony in total disarray, and he said this, “I shall govern you as a father to my children.” He had to deal with the indigenous tribe, because also there was problems from the local tribespeople. Can you imagine the, you know, it’s interesting, how different periods of history have looked at different things in different ways. He had to deal with all the economic rivalries. And don’t forget the kind of people that arrived in these colonies. They are adventurers. They are people looking for, as the Americans would say, the quick buck and also the Swedes were involved in it now. The Protestant Swedes, it was one of the reasons for breaking away from Catholicism is that it gave you more freedom in trade. And they’re all fighting for the goods of the new world. And he managed to annex some of the Swedish colonies. And he was pretty good for his own people, because he established a grammar school. He established two free elementary schools, 28 teachers. So he’s establishing a colony. He’s in charge of law and order in the colony. But he didn’t tolerate religious freedom. He passionately believed in the supremacy of the Dutch reformed church. He refused the Lutherans the right to build a church. The company, however, was much more tolerant than the man. And there was an incident with a Quaker, who was actually tortured. Now you’ve got to remember, the company needed farmers. They had to be sent from Holland because the Buccaneer type, 'cause what is interesting, the Buccaneer types had no patience for clearing the land and farming.

It was the lure of the gold of El Dorado or making a fortune trading with the Indians. In return for the furs, they would give beads. It’s a horrible horror story. Now what happens is these 23 indigenous Jews arrive in New Amsterdam. And they, it’s four couples, two widows, and 13 children. And they petition for the right to settle. Can we see the next slide, please? Now, they petition. And this is the letter that Stuyvesant sent back to head office. “The Jews who have arrived here would all like to remain, but learning that they, with their customary usury, and deceitful trading with Christians were very repugnant to the inferior magistrates. Also to the people having the most affection for you. The deaconry, also fearing that owing in their present indigence,” they’ve got no money. “They might become a charge in the coming winter. We have for the benefit of this weak and newly developing place and the land in general, deemed it useful to require them in a friendly way to depart, praying also most seriously in this connection for ourselves is also for the general community of your worships that the deceitful race, such hateful enemies and blasphemers of the name of Christ be not allowed to further infect and trouble this new colony.” And remember, this is tolerant Holland. Can we see the next letter, please, Karina? Now, “from the merchants of the Portuguese nation residing in this city, Amsterdam.” The point was those Portuguese and Spanish Jews, Saphardian. Incredibly sophisticated, in the main wealthy. Many of them are stockholders in the Dutch East and West India Company. They have power and they’re prepared to use it.

“It has come to our notice that your honours raised obstacles to the giving of permits to Portuguese Jews to go and reside in New Netherland, which if persisted, will result in great disadvantage to the Jewish nation.” You’ve got to remember at this period, they referred to themselves as a nation. “It can also be of no advantage to the general company, but damaging. There are many of the nation who have lost their possessions and have arrived there in great poverty, having been dispersed here and there, cannot go back to Spain and Portugal because of the Inquisition. It is well known that the Jewish nation has at all times been faithful and have striven to guard and maintain the place risking for that purpose, their possessions and blood. Your land is extensive and spacious. The more loyal people that go there to live, the better for the payment of various taxes, which may be imposed there. And also in regard to the increase in trade, your honours should also consider that many of the Jewish nation are shareholders in the company and they have always driven their best for the company. And many have lost immense and great capital in its shares and obligations. We should inform you that the English consent at the present time that the Portuguese and Jewish nation may go from London to Barbados, where some have gone.” England and the Holland were huge rivals, often at war with each other. So Saphardi merchants in Amsterdam have the strength to send this letter. Time goes on, months go on, and let’s have a look at the next letter.

This is the letter back. “We would have liked to fulfilled your wish wishes that the new territory should not be allowed to people of the Jewish nation. For we foresee the same difficulties that you fear. Having further considered the matter, we observe that this will be unreasonable and unfair, especially because of the considerable loss sustained by this nation with others in the taking of Brazil. Also, because of the large amount of capital, which they still have invested in the shares of this company.” They’re being very direct. Therefore, we have decided from a petition presented by Portuguese Jews, that these people may travel and trade to and in New Netherland and live and remain there, providing the poor amongst them should not be a burden to the company or the community, but be supported by their own nation. You will now govern yourself accordingly.“ So that pretty much tells you, and as a result, they land. Now they’re already a few wealthy Jewish merchants, Saphardi merchants living there, David Ferrara, Salvador d'Andrada. They had actually won the right with the authorities to actually build houses in New Amsterdam. But they came, they only came to try it out as a base. They had large commercial ambitions. They still, but they weren’t allowed the right to employ Christian servants. The real knock of the problems in New Amsterdam was over the foreign tobacco trade. Albany, which was then called Fort Orange, was the main trading post. And there were Jews there competing with those who’d been trading with the Indians.

And of course, in September 1655, the Dutch moved South and captured the Swedish colonies on the Delaware River. Three of the Jewish merchants I’ve just mentioned ship goods there. But Stuyvesant tried to stop them doing business and as a result, but they actually wouldn’t give into it. And they said they had the right to trade on the river. They exchanged cloth and liquor for furs and tobacco. David Ferrara even traded for tobacco in the English colony of Maryland. By April 1657, they were already enrolled as burghers of New Amsterdam, right to engage, and this all comes back to the company allowing it. 'Cause these are very seriously wealthy guys. They have right to engage in retail trade. They argue that they paid taxes. So they were entitled to the same freedom of New Amsterdam. Peter Stuyvesant didn’t protest too much, because they were the largest taxpayers. Also, the colony was becoming less governable. And, but basically these individuals, they were, look, they were there to see what opportunities there were. They weren’t really there to stay. And it’s the only one who really, can we go onto the next slide, please? They, and of course what happens is the British conquer New Amsterdam, and they changed the name to New York. Now, only one Jew, a man called Asser Levy, was prominent in English New York. He, can we see his face, please? Yeah. Asser Levy, he was an Ashkenaz. He’d come from the Yiddish speaking communities of Central and Eastern Europe, which the Saphardi merchant, they regarded him as a lower cast.

And remember the, the Saphardi who didn’t really stay put, they belonged to these international traders. He had arrived poor in 1654. He’d won the right to serve in the militia. He had, he was a fascinating man. He… What happened was in 1655, Peter Stuyvesant, when he was told to attack New Sweden, which was the colony on the Delaware, he ordered all the allies, all the citizens enlist, several Jews amongst them. Now Levy wanted to serve, but the government passed an ordinance. And I’m quoting, that’s what I was looking for. "Jews cannot be permitted to serve as soldiers, but instead pay a monthly contribution for the extension.” Levy and his comrades, including a couple of the Sephardi, petitioned for leave to stand guard like other townspeople and be relieved of the tax. The petition was rejected with the comment “That if not satisfied with the law, they might go elsewhere.” They applied, but again, because of the Saphardi, they applied back to Holland and they were allowed to do guard duty like other citizens. And now this is interesting, because one of the whole issues of Jews in the diaspora, and I’ve mentioned this to you so often, Barka Benzaka, we have become the people of study. We knew what happened when we’d revolted against the Romans, it led to our extinction. So basically in the new world, you have Jews saying, “We want to fight along with you.” Now he does very, very well. He becomes a trader in Fort Orange, which is present day Albany. He was one of the first licenced butchers in the colony. Now, he wanted the rights of a towns person, a burgher right. And he goes to the court, and this is what it says, “The due claims that such ought not to be refused to him as he keeps watch like other burghers.” His position, it was denied by the magistracy. He takes it to Stuyvesant, who allowed it.

So he now has the rights of other townspeople. And not only did he own his own house, but in 1661, he purchased property in Fort Orange. He was the first Jew to own property in New York City, commencing in 1662. Within 10 years of his arrival in 1664, he, when the wealthiest inhabitants had to lend the city money for fortifications against the British, he lent the city a hundred florins. Now, of course, the British conquer. And we know that he survives it. He is part of New York. He sits on a jury, the first Jew ever to do so. And one of his cases actually involved Peter Stuyvesant, who had stayed on after the surrender. And though Levy didn’t think much of him, he won the case and he was acquitted. He even lent money to the Lutherans. He makes a lot of money, he becomes a butcher. He’s a great trader. And in 1671, he loaned the Lutherans money to build a church, the first Lutheran church in New York. And in fact, there was a case where a Jewish peddler was brought before the authorities and his fine was reduced, according to the records for the respect given to Asser Levy. The abattoir was actually opened in 1678. He had a Christian partner in this business. And interesting, the shop, the butcher shop, and the abattoir was on the east end of what is known as Wall Street. The wall, the wall. So the first shop on Wall Street was that of the Jew Asser Levy.

He also became a representative of the Dutch merchants. He becomes a money lender. He probably owned a tavern and he’s definitely sold liquor. You know, this is a description of New York. “It’s a tough city of 18 languages and a thousand people. All the streets were mud ruts. And every third shop was a grog shop.” When he died, he left a considerable estate. Now, what was in that estate? This will interest you. His guns, his pistols, his Shabbat lights, his Kiddish cup, his spice box. So the Jew in the new world, keeping his Judaism. Also the ability to defend himself. And there are memorials to him in New York. There’s the Asser Levy Recreation Centre in New York City, which includes the Asser Levy public bars, the Asser Levy Park in Coney Island. And there’s an elementary school in Manhattan actually named for him. So I think we’re stopped there. And next week, you’ve got to remember, I’m just giving you a general over, a background to the beginnings of Jewish settlement. Next week we will look at the War of Independence. There were only between two or 3000 Jews in America by then. Important to remember this. But I just thought it might be interesting for us to go over the early settlement and it does bring up a lot of issues. So thank you, Karina. And shall we see if we have any questions?

Q&A and Comments:

Oh, this is Michael. “Rockets now in Tel Aviv, have to go to Mahmad shelter, so hope I have WiFi there.” Oh, Michael, bless you.

Rita sends respects.

Rose says, “Thanks, Trudy, for talking about the seventh October massacre. Today is sashim of the death. Many commemorations in Israel, one Jew murdered by Palestinian protestors.” Yes, in LA. Rose, we are living through such, such terrible times. But having said that, and nothing can ever make up for that appalling, appalling pogrom and what the people of Israel are going through. But in a way, I think we’re at a turning point, I think in England, I can only speak for what I know. I think the boil is being lanced, there’s an awful lot of English who are very, very angry. So don’t give up hope. I know things are bad. We’ve been sleepwalking, but we are the eternal people.

What else can I say to you? We cling on, we will go on. That’s our history. So many places, so many. And you know, ironically, and this, it chokes me to say this. Zionism, remember, arises in the middle of the 19th century. It’s, one of the main responses certainly with people like Theodore Hotson, was a response to modern antisemitism. They believed that the emancipation contract had failed. There was an authentic Jewish nationalism, after all, are we not a nation anyway? And also the Messianic dream. And there was a belief that at least if we had our own state, despite everything else, we could have some sort of safety. And then what happened on October the seventh when they actually hit us with that pogrom in our own land, it’s going to resonate for generation upon generation. And those people were never, one thing I do know, their name. Not only will the martyrs be remembered, but what Hamas did will be remembered for all time.

My friend Felix Shaf, who looked, I’ve mentioned him to you many times. His grandfather was the rabbi of Ausley. He said, “Anyone who goes against the Jews, it’s no comfort, but except that I know, because we are the people of the book, their names will execrated forever.”

This is Shelly, “October the seventh may go down with all these other events. But most Jews, including my day school educated adult children, couldn’t tell you what some of those events are. Or like the Crusades, couldn’t tell you how it affected the Jews.” Okay, Shelly, I agree with you. One of the problems, and Rita says most Jews, a lot depends on the homes. We’ve got to be careful here. But one of the mistakes we have made, we haven’t told our story. I told you I’m interviewing David Rich next week. He says it’s in the non-Jewish museums they need to tell the story of the Jews. It’s not just us that needs to tell the story, they need to tell the story. And I don’t want any more Holocaust memorials, because they haven’t done it. They’ve made no difference whatsoever. And I don’t know, you know, in England, in the GCSE history syllabus, Jews appear in the Holocaust and in the Arab-Israeli conflict. They don’t know about who we are, how we lived, and how we died. They knew how we died, but they don’t know how we live. They know nothing about us. And that makes me very, very angry. So, although I know some of you are very well-educated, just make sure your children and your grandchildren, put all the pressure everywhere. I don’t believe it solves the problem, but it helps. And I also think, you know, we’ve got, we can’t put all our faith in education, because it depends what we mean by education. So many of the evil perpetrators in history have had brilliant educations. It’s not about that. It’s about humanistic education.

Q: Can I give any information on Sunday’s rally?

A: Not really. We don’t know what’s happening yet. The police, it hasn’t been banned. So I don’t don’t know either.

“I’m not being rude or facetious, but for many anti-Semites the greatest authority and experts are fellow anti-Semites,” sure. They’ve studied our history. Look, I really believe Hamas had studied the Chmielnicki massacres because I’ve never really read those descriptions to students because they’re too blood-curdling. But when I read what happened in the massacres, I went back to, I looked at them and it was so, it’s like they read them. They’re monsters. They’re, in fact, that’s being rude to monsters. I cannot understand a cult of death. Even though I’ve studied Nazism, I cannot really understand a cult of death, because everything that’s alien to the Jew. I read that Torquemada had Jewish blood. I think it, if I remember correctly, I think he was something like a quarter or an eighth Jewish.

Unfortunately, Arlene, and you’ve picked up on a very important point. Quite often the greatest enemies of the Jews have been people with a little bit of Jewish blood, who cannot, they don’t have any of the benefit of being a Jew. I mean, I can look at it at the present time with Judas, those crazy lefty characters in England, who were actually at their sadist service was singing last, in Corbin’s time. They were actually singing that obscene chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” What do they want, the destruction of their own people? The only way they think they’ll be loved?

Oh, this is from Miriam. “Apologies, my arrival delayed by a short visit to the bomb shelter in Tel Aviv.”

And Rita says, “My respects,” look, what can we say? It means so much to all of us that our friends in Israel are still managing to listen and have a certain semblance of normalcy. Look, we’re not with you, but we are. We’re with you in spirit, because what happens to you, in the end happens to all of us. That’s what I believe now. If ever I was on the road to tribalism, I’m there.

Rose has said, “Are you okay? I’m Israel high. We play and stand with you.” “Ababanel was also a Tara Scholar of Huge River.” Yes, of course, Rose. He was one of the wonders. “The rumour went Torquemada was a converso.”

Jonathan, how far back he had to go, I don’t know if it was a quarter or an eighth. But you know, there was also a rumour the Borgia family were conversos.

This is from Rose. “Our family’s ancestors left Toledo in 1492 and went to Rhodes and were there 'til the shawa, when they were deported to Auschwitz. Many Jews did not convert, just pretended or less.” Yes, the story and of course the story of roads and the story of Solanica. Such horrible stories.

Q: Lucy, “Are we going to cover the Jewish settlement in the Midwest and the orphan trains or are you going to stay in much older history today?”

A: Yes, we will be covering it, but much later on. I reckon Lucy, we’re going to be in America for at least three or four months. And because many of my American lecturers, as I said, have got problems, luckily I’ve made through William some contacts with a couple of brilliant lectures, and I think very much the orphan, yes, this is all very, very important. I’ll be looking at the German Jewish settlement, the Russian Jewish settlement. We could be going on with America right up until April, May. Because don’t forget, it’s not just Jewish history and general history. It’s the art, the culture, the literature, it’s everything. It’s such a rich seam, so that’s where we’re going to be. Yes, I know, I missed Yuren Haim. I’m sorry, I can’t do everything.

Shelly, “Considering how in mediaeval times the king would just expel the Jews so he didn’t have to repay the money they lent him. I guess the Jews who owned shares in the Dutch East India Company were lucky their shares weren’t confiscated.” Sure, yeah. And you know, the Dutch, they were being very pragmatic, except I’ve just heard from a close friend in Amsterdam whose husband, by the way, was hidden as a child in the war that the level of Jew hatred in Amsterdam and it’s even worse in Rotterdam. You know, but the boil is going to be lanced. I believe that. And I also know that we’ve got a lot of friends out there now. I really, I’m sure you are all experiencing it. A lot of my non-Jewish friends, and I know, and I’m going to single out William Tyler and Helen Fry, because they are being absolutely magnificent.

This is from Arthur. “Before the British took New Amsterdam, a Jew wanted to buy a piece of land along the Hudson River. Peter Stuyvesant said no. The Jew wrote to the company with numerous Jewish share who as you noted, they told Stuyvesant he was allowed to buy the land. Sorry, I don’t remember.” Yes, he was one of the Saphardi. That is so interesting, Arthur, isn’t it?

Rita says… Susan says, “The only humanitarian pause we want to see is the pauses when the hostages are coming home.”

Stuart Seidler, “When you discuss the American Revolution, I hope you talk about Jaime Solomon, who financed the last part of it, but died in poverty. He joined the Sons of Liberty and was arrested by the British as a spy, but used by the British and interpreter for the Hessian troops. Fascinating man.” Oh yes, of course, I’m going to talk about Hiam Solomon. He was a character. You know, I love it. You know, I like history, but I also like biography, 'cause for me it brings it all to light. Yes, poor old Hiam Solomon. I believe his descendants, actually, they, 'cause the loan was never repaid. I think they worked the compound interest out on it, if they’d actually presented to the Americans. America could have been bankrupt. But it was only a joke.

This is Phil, my brother Richard watched this interest as several grandparents name the Cheftali and Nunez family arrived in Savannah 1730. Our children and grandchildren still practising Jews today. Thank you for that, Phil. I am hoping to prevail upon one of my American colleagues to look at some of the southern state settlements, because it’s very interesting.

“You say they didn’t know how we live, but they knew enough to say we caused the blame.” Yes, but Roberto, what I’m saying is there’s the other side of the Jew, you know, the experience of the people who despite everything, managed to keep to the moral law. That’s what I meant. Yes, of course. They had all these ridiculous fantasies and it all comes down from the deicide myth. I really believe this. Economic competition, everything else starts with the deicide. Yes, there was prejudice before Christianity because of the separateness, but all historians agree it’s that verse in St. Matthew’s gospel.

“May his blood be upon our hands and upon our children.” So basically it’s not, we are the victims of it, but it’s about time that enough people of good spirit got together and started really coming to grips with this story. Because as William said to me the other day, he believes it’s a fight between civilization and barbarism and we are at the centre of it now. But then that was obvious it would happen, wasn’t it? You know, these tiny people of 15 million, aren’t we always at the centre?

Emily says, “Humanistic education is really a gift of hope.” Look, what do we believe? We believe that we have in us the good and evil instinct, that we all have to struggle. “They do not know by which river or which sea.” That is possible.

This is from Barry. “There appears to be an attempted fire bomb bombing at Congregation Beth Tikvah in Montreal,” the building was empty. No one injured, I’m Israel high. Oh, Barry. If you miss a talk, yes, all the recordings will be available. That’s why we set up the website. Anyway, everyone, look, what can I say to you all except, you know, we’ve all got to hang in there. We’ve got to, and we have to be positive, because that is our tradition. Look, we were there at the beginning, we’ll be there at the end. I really do believe that. Look, I’m a historian. I’m not a prophet. I dunno how it’s going to end. Nobody can tell you. Anyone who thinks they’ve got the answers, they’re delusional. But what I’ve noticed for the majority of Jews, we’re becoming tribal. We’re coming together. So let’s try and keep, we’ve always been in trouble when we are disunited. Let’s keep together this time. Let’s work it out.

Anyway, it’s going to be interesting the next few weeks and let’s just pray for the hostages and pray for our people in Israel. So God bless everyone and I’ll see you on Thursday, and thank you, Karina. God bless.