The Portuguese besieged Recife, near Pernambuco, which boasted of a large Jewish population (among them several fine scholars: David Senior Coronel, Dr. Abraham de Mercado, Jahacob Mucate, Ishac Castanho and others)[46] and the inhabitants thus deprived of every possible communication, endured much suffering. The Jews, encouraged by their learned and eloquent Rabbi Isaac Aboab, the friend of Menasse ben Israel, bore their tribulations bravely, and though almost famished for want of nourishment, defended the fort with such remarkable skill and heroism, as to evoke the praise and gratitude of the Government. Had it not been for the dauntless resistance offered by them, the garrison would have been compelled to surrender.
Aboab commemorated his thrilling experiences of war in the introductory chapter of his Hebrew version of Abraham Cohen Herrera's Porta Coeli (Sha'ar Ha'shamayîm) which he began to translate in June, 1655 (22nd of Siwan 5415). Besides this, he wrote nine years before (anno 1646) a poetical account of the siege in a work entitled Secher Rab;[47] Prayers and Confessions and Supplications, which were composed for appealing to God in his trouble and in the distress of the Congregation, when the troops of Portugal overwhelmed them during their sojourn in Brazil in the year 5406 [1646]. And I have caused the wonderful works of God to be remembered in songs and praises, when he released them from the hands of their enemies. It is written in Hebrew. The Ms. is still extant in Amsterdam, in possession of the "Arbol de las Vidas" Theological Society.[48] The part played by the Jews in the defense of the colony is described by eminent Jewish and Christian historians.[49] Dr. Kayserling's and Prof. Graetz's accounts are worth citing in extenso. The former, who is engaged in copying this earliest specimens of American Jewish literature, the work of Isaac Aboab, for the American Jewish Historical Society, writes as follows: "Aboab became Chacham (Chief) of the congregation in Recife, which would have become one of the largest and richest, had it not been hindered in its development by the disturbances of war; it was dissolved after a short existence. The new settlers enjoyed tranquility only for a few years, for already in 1645 the sanguinary struggles, for the possession of the colony, between the Portuguese and the Hollanders began. The Jews stood faithfully on the side of the Hollanders, who had granted them perfect equality, and distinguished themselves by courage and heroism, as well as by succor to the distressed. During the war Abraham Coen, a rich and high-minded man of Amsterdam, who was in great favor with Duke Moritz of Nassau, supported Jews and Christians in such a magnanimous way that the Supreme Council of the Brazilian people looked with admiration at the great work of mercy. Isaac Aboab faithfully discharged the duties of his office; he ordered days of fasting and prayer, and his fiery speeches encouraged his co-religionists to perseverance and devotion. It was a fierce struggle of nine years which brought much suffering on the Jews. Recife was besieged and the garrison decimated by hunger. 'Many of the Jewish immigrants were killed by the enemy, many died of hunger. The remainder were exposed to death from similar causes. Those who had been 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 by a miracle.'"
Prof. Graetz, still more explicit, writes to the following effect: "In 1646, when open war broke out between the Portuguese and the Dutch, and the garrison of Recife, exhausted by famine, was on the point of surrendering unconditionally, the Jews encouraged the governor to brave resistance. A fanatical war of race and religion between the Portuguese and the Dutch devastated fair Brazil, and a famine ensued. The Jews vied with the Dutch in suffering and bravery. Isaac Aboab, the Chacham of the Brazil community, paints the suffering of the war, which he himself endured, in lurid colors: 'Volumes would not suffice to relate our miseries. The enemy spread over field and wood, seeking here for booty and there for life. Many of us died, sword in hand, others from want; they now rest in cold earth. We survivors were exposed to death in every form; those accustomed to luxuries were glad to seize mouldy bread to stay their hunger.'
"At last, the States-General were compelled by European wars to surrender the colony to the Portuguese. The devoted zeal of the Jews for the political welfare of the Dutch was a firm band, never afterwards dissolved, between them and the Republic. The toleration and equal position of Jews in the Netherlands were ensured forever."
Southey relates (History of Brazil, Vol. II, p. 241; apud Koenen's Geschiedenis, p. 281), that when the Dutch in Recife were besieged the second time,[50] the Jews manifested much courage and bravery in its defense. One of the Pintos (Jewish stock also in Surinam, where Isaac Pinto, a member of this family, likewise displayed zeal and heroism in resisting the enemy), is said to have manned the fort Dos Affrogados single handed, until, overwhelmed by superior force, he was compelled to surrender.
"In the wars of the Dutch against the Spaniards," says Dr. A. Hahn, "one of the Pintos was killed at his post while bravely defending one of the fortresses." His death is nowhere else recorded, however.[51]
The supremacy of the United Provinces now came to an end in America. On the 23d of January, 1654, Recife, together with the neighboring cities of Mauritsstad, Parayba, Itamarica, Seara, and other Hollandish possessions, was ceded to the Portuguese conquerors, with the condition that a general amnesty be granted. (Koenen, l. c., p. 282). Although, as Netscher[52] remarks, this stipulation was agreed upon, and the Jews, who were loyal supporters of Holland, were promised every consideration, the Portuguese governor, heeding the treacherous advice of jealous persons, ordered the Jews to quit Brazil at once. It must be admitted, in justice to Portugal, that he treated them kindly, inasmuch as he placed at their disposal sixteen vessels to carry them and their property anywhere they chose, and furnished them with passports and safeguards. Thus after a residence of several decades, Aboab, Aguilar, the Nassys, Pereiras, the Mezas, Abraham de Castro, Josua Sarfati, both surnamed el Brasil,[53] returned to Amsterdam, and many others went to New York, where they formed the nucleus of a prosperous colony. They arrived in safety, although one of their vessels, attacked by pirates, was rescued by the French and escorted to New Holland.[54]