Aboab commemorated the thrilling experience of this war in the introductory chapter of his Hebrew version of Abraham Cohen Herrera’s Porta Coeli (Sha’ar ha-Shomayim). He also wrote a poetical account of the siege in a work entitled “Zeker Rab: Prayers, Confessions and Supplications which were composed for the purpose of appealing to God in the trouble and the distress of the congregation when the troops of Portugal overwhelmed them during their sojourn in Brazil in 5406 (1646).” The Rabbi ordered fasts and prayers, while wealthy members of the community, like Abraham Coen, contributed material support. “Many of the Jewish immigrants were killed by the enemy, many died of starvation; the remainder were exposed to death from various causes. Those who were accustomed to delicacies were glad to be able to satisfy their hunger with dry bread; soon they could not obtain even this. They were in want of everything, and were preserved alive as if by a miracle.”
Among the instances of individual heroism which deserve to be recorded is that of one of the Pintos, who is said to have manned the fort Dos Affrogades single-handed, until, overwhelmed by superior force, he was compelled to surrender.
On the 23d of January, 1654, Recife, together with the neighboring cities of Mauritsstad, Parahiba, Itamarica, Seara and other Hollandish possessions, was ceded to the Portuguese conquerors, with the condition that a general amnesty should be granted. The Jews, as loyal supporters of the Dutch, were promised every consideration; nevertheless the new Portuguese Governor ordered them to quit Brazil at once. Sixteen vessels were placed at their disposal to carry them and their property wherever they chose to go, and they were also furnished with passports and safeguards.
Aboab, Aguilar, the Nassys, Perreires, the Mezas, Abraham de Castro and Joshua Zarfati, both surnamed el Brasil, and many others returned to Amsterdam. Jacob de Velosino, (b. in Pernambuco, 1639, d. in Holland, 1712), the first Hebrew author born on American soil, settled at The Hague. Others went to Surinam, Cayenne and Curaçao, and it is generally assumed that the first Jewish settlers who in that year arrived in New Amsterdam (the future New York) came directly—or at least indirectly—from Pernambuco. The community of Recife formed thus, by its dissolution, the nucleus of several of the oldest and most important Jewish communities in the New World.
CHAPTER VII.
THE JEWS IN SURINAM OR DUTCH GUIANA.
Jews in Brazil after the expulsion of the Dutch—The community of Paramaribo, Surinam, was founded when Recife was still flourishing—First contact with the English, whom the Jews preferred—David Nassi and the colony of Cayenne—Privileges granted by Lord Willoughby—“de Jooden Savane”—Trouble with slaves and bush negroes—Plantations with Hebrew names—German Jews—Legal status and banishments—Jewish theaters—Literature and history.
The history of the Jews in Brazil practically ends with the termination of the Dutch rule, and there is a gap which extends until the new settlements at the beginning of the twentieth century. There was the usual aftermath of Marranos and persecutions which was almost a repetition of the happenings under Portuguese dominion prior to the short, liberal era under Holland’s sway. Some new-Christians continued to reside in Brazil after the capitulation of 1654. Their number was largely increased towards the end of the seventeenth century, when Portugal again banished to Brazil the Marranos who had become reconciled. These transportations continued from 1682 to 1707; and the Jews again became to be known as a distinct class. They were closely watched, however, and many were sent back to Lisbon from time to time, to be tried by the Inquisition. Many Jews from Rio were burned at an Auto da Fé at Lisbon in 1723. Several of these martyrs were men of great repute, the most prominent being the famous Portuguese poet and dramatist, Antonio José da Silva, a native of Rio de Janeiro, who was burned as a Jew at Lisbon in 1739. In 1734 Jews appear to have been influential in controlling the price of diamonds in Brazil.
The transportations to Lisbon of those accused of Judaizing had become so common at the middle of the eighteenth century, that “a wide ruin was produced and many sugar mills at the Rio stopped in consequence.” The influential Marquis de Pombal, with all his power, did not venture to proclaim toleration for the Jews; but he succeeded in having laws enacted making it penal for any person to reproach another for his Jewish origin, and removing all disabilities of Jewish blood, even from the descendants of those who had suffered under the Inquisition. He prohibited public Autos da Fé, and required all lists of families of Jewish extraction to be delivered up. These statutes deprived the Inquisition of its most important means of accusation; and as a result the Marranos were ultimately absorbed in the Catholic population of Brazil.