Jews, Slaves, And The Slave: Trade: Setting The ...

In specific Caribbean colonies, such as Dutch Curacao or Suriname, Jewish involvement was more visible. In Curacao, Jewish merchants were active in the resale of enslaved people to the Spanish Main. In Suriname, Jewish planters owned significant sugar and coffee estates, and by the 18th century, they held a substantial portion of the colony's enslaved population. Even in these instances, however, Jewish slave ownership followed the prevailing laws and customs of the time. Jews did not invent the system, nor did they treat enslaved people in a manner fundamentally different from their non-Jewish counterparts.

However, the "Setting the Record Straight" aspect of this history involves acknowledging that Jews did participate in the trade, particularly as merchants and middlemen in specific port cities. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Sephardic Jewish communities—descendants of those expelled from Spain and Portugal—established a "Western Sephardic Frontier." They settled in hubs like Amsterdam, London, Newport, Curacao, and Suriname. In these locations, Jewish merchants often focused on international trade. Because the colonial economy was inextricably linked to slave labor, any merchant involved in shipping sugar, tobacco, or cocoa was indirectly or directly involved with the institution of slavery. Jews, Slaves, and the Slave Trade: Setting the ...

Ultimately, setting the record straight means embracing a nuanced truth. Jews were a displaced people, often seeking economic security in a world that restricted their rights. In their quest for survival and success, they integrated into the existing economic fabric of the Atlantic world, which was built on the backs of enslaved Africans. They were participants in a tragedy of global proportions, but they were not its architects. Recognizing this allows for a history that is both honest about Jewish participation and firm in its rejection of antisemitic tropes, providing a clearer view of how the Atlantic world functioned as a whole. In specific Caribbean colonies, such as Dutch Curacao