A Brief History of the Jews of Brazil Essay

The history of Jews in brazil is a unique case, because we do non know of many another(prenominal) other countries in which they have been significantly portray in the very first movements of that nationrsquos history, perpetually participating in its economic and social phylogeny. In fact, since the ldquodiscoveryldquo of brazil to the present time, the Jews, almost without interval, openly or disguised, have been integrated into the processes of formation of brazil nutian nationality.My aim in this paper is to provide a summary of Judaic history in brazil by highlighting four major(ip) historical periods The First Lusitanian Period (1500-1630) The Dutch Period (1630 -1654) The heartbeat Lusitanian Period (1654-1822) and The worldwide Period (1822-1966). br / The First Portuguese Period (1500-1630)br / ?When Portugal was at the height of its expansion in the world, in 1500, brazil nut was ldquodiscoveredrdquo by the kingdom. It was hence simply military glory, coupligh t-emitting diode with the desire to lard the Catholic faith, that compel take the Portuguese to their grand maritime expeditions (Grinberg 15).But just these reasons solely would not have sufficed to promote the extraordinary expansion of Portugal. The spectacular cycle of the Portuguese conquests would not have been achieved without the long period of scientific discoveries and make betterments that preceded it, in which the Iberian Jews played such a key role. As a prime example of this involvement, in Henry the Navigatorrsquos quotNautical School of Sagresquot, the first Portuguese academy of seafaring(founded in 1412), was employed 1 of the most famous cartographers of the fifteenth century, the Judaic Yehuda Cresques, whose main task was to teach Portuguese pilots the basics of navigation well as the production and handling of nautical instruments (Serebrenick and Lipiner 7).br / ?The Judaic contri hardlyion to the discovery of new routes and new lands to the Portuguese crown was not limited only to the scientific field, however, alone in like manner translated into direct employment in these dangerous travels, including the expedition that resulted in the discovery of brazil nut. The fleet led by Pedro Alvares Cabral, included at least three Jewish advisers the uranologist Master John, Pedro Nunes the navigator, and Gaspar de Lemos, an interpreter and ship commander, rightly regarded by historians as part responsible for the discovery of Brazil (Serebrenick and Lipiner 9).br / ?With increasing incentives of the Portuguese governing towards the occupation and settlement of the Brazilian territory, more and more Iberic Jews began migrating to Brazil. Because the wealthier Portuguese and Spanish Jews sustained a lot of the territoryrsquos early economic progress, they were able have a go at it considerable freedom of worship and custom (Grinberg 21).This panorama of security deposit contrasted precipitously with the wafture of hatred and di scrimination that swept Portugal, where, alike neighboring Spain, persecution was widespread. It is so understandable that many Jews of 1 / 3 Portugal, affected by overpower religious persecution, felt compelled to try a new life in Brazil,which to them seemed like a safe haven where they could materialize their aspirations for peace and freedom. br / ?The Jewish community, thanks to strong immigration and natural growth, reached a logical proportion in comparison with the general population, enough to counter the take a chance of assimilation. Around 1570, however, things took a turn for the worse, as on that point began to appear signs of restrictions on freedom, which only grew with time (Serebrenick and Lipiner 12). The circumstances soon forced the Jews to return, much like those in the motherland, to a life of great caution and alertness. The first prescribed manifestation of intolerance was found in 1573 in the city of Salvador, which installed an auto-de-fe. Paradoxic ally, only perhaps on purpose, the first victim was not a Jew, but a Frenchman who was accused of heresy, condemned and burned alive.In Bahia, the Inquisition persist ined (though inactive for many years) until 1593 (Grinberg 29). br /?In 1618, Bahia was the target of a new visitation of the blessed Office, during which time many Marranos were reported and pursued, among them many wealthy men of the net income mills. This fact that prompted the first large wave of immigration of Jews within Brazil they left the Northeast in search of the more tolerant South, oddly the captaincy of Satildeo Vicente (Satildeo Paulo), which was the most liberal region (Serebrenick and Lipiner 15).Because of the growing persecution of Jews in Portugal in the outlast decades of the sixteenth century, they began to emigrate not only to Brazil but also, inlarge numbers, to several(prenominal) countries of atomic number 74ern Europe, especially to Holland, where flourishing trade and religious tolera nce prevailed (Grinberg 32). This allowed for the rapid formation of a large Jewish community, centered in the city of Amsterdam, rightly nicknamed the quot unsanded Jerusalemquot.The simultaneous emigration of Portuguese Jews to Brazil and the Netherlands, led to the establishment of a commercial and affective link between the Jews of Brazil and those of Holland (Serebrenick and Lipiner 15). br / The Dutch Period (1630-1654)br / ?The hope of the Brazilian Jews that their lot would improve due to some form of Dutch intervention did not fail. by means of a series of attempts at the conquest of the Brazilian Northeast in the years 1624 to 1627, the Dutch finally succeeded on February 15, 1630. The city of Pernambuco was attacked by a powerful fleet of 70 ships, effectively beginning the occupation of the Northeast, which would last until 1654.The years of peaceful Dutch rule were few, but enough to modify the Jews to rapidly flourish economically, socially and culturally, building i n Northeast Brazil one of the most thriving communities of the time (Grinberg 35). br / ?With the advent of the Dutch and the consequent deployment of a great religious tolerance, the landscape was changing. Uninterrupted waves of Jews flocked to Pernambuco from several countries, especially from Holland, bringing commercial experience and a wonderful olfactory sensation of achievement.These Jews from the Netherlands ndash who were largely former refugees from Portugal,Spain and France had the further advantage of speaking several languages Spanish, French, Ladino, Dutch, anyway the most important, Portuguese, which was the language spoken in Brazil (Grinberg 35). A great number of them served as interpreters for the thousands of men in the Dutch army and navy, consisting of mercenaries Dutch, English, French, German, burnish and others who did not speak Portuguese. From simple interpreters, they increasingly became businessmen, merchants and landowners, coming to, in effect, about control the economic life of Brazilrsquos New Holland. The main street of Recife (in Pernambuco) was cognise as quotStreet of the Jewsquot and the port was called quotpier of the Jewsquot (Serebrenick and Lipiner 17). br /.The Second Portuguese Period (1654-1822)br / ?With the get back of Recife and subsequent surrender of the Dutch, the Jewish community in northeastern Brazil became largely scattered. A small portion of the people resigned to staying in the country, dispersing through and through its territory, while the majority opted for emigration. Of these, one group consisting of the richest and probably most committed in the Netherlands decided to return to Holland, while most preferred to nerve the unknown, venturing into more distant stops throughout 2 / 3 the the Statess Guyana, West Indies and New Netherlands in the United States.Numerous Jewish settlements began to appear to the North, one of which would eventually lead to the extraordinary Jewish community o f the United States of America (Grinberg 52). In North America, a group of 23 Jewswho left Recife instantly after its fall, camped on September 12, 1654, on the margins of the Hudson, in the village of New Amsterdam (now New York). br / ?As already mentioned, the exodus that took gravel after the expulsion of the Dutch did not cover the entire Jewish population of Northeast Brazil, since a good number of Marranos resolved to remain on the land they had learned to love.These remaining Jews eventually were able to peacefully spread throughout Brazil, including in areas of the Northeast itself, minimizing the appearance of their Jewish rail line (Serebrenick and Lipiner 23). Unfortunately, the flames of persecution were to be once again fanned by the Inquisition. This new wave of terror unfolded for about 70 years, especially violent in the periods 1707 to 1711 and from 1729 to 1739, do the first half of the seventeenth century perhaps the darkest period of Jewish history in Brazil (Serebrenick and Lipiner 26).Only after 1770 would the conditions come to typeset that would forever eradicate the cancer of the Inquisition. To this day no one knows for certainly how many Jews from Brazil fell victim to the Portuguese Inquisition. br / The Cosmopolitan Period (1822-1966)br / ?Once the country was made independent from the Portuguese crown, in 1822, full freedom of conscience was established. In the second half of the century, Jews from mingled countries of Western Europe French, English, Austrians and Germans ndash began to come in force to Rio de Janeiro and its neighboring states, especially in Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais(Serebrenick and Lipiner 31).Another large group emigrated from Morocco to the amazon region. The two settlements the Amazon region and Rio de Janeiro did not seem keep any significant relations and had, moreover, some different characteristics (Grinberg 61). The Amazon community was more stable, while in the South, the Jews originating i n Western Europe came in order to flourish and and then return to their country of origin, although many would end up staying in Brazil (Grinberg 61). br /?In the last decade of the nineteenth century Jewish immigration grew, multiplying the diversity in countries of origin and also the in regions where immigrants came to settle. Whereas until then the Jewish immigrants came almost exclusively from North Africa and Western Europe, now there were waves of Jewish immigrants from the Eastern Mediterranean Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine as well as Russia and neighboring countries.These settled mostly in the Southeast (Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais), but also spread out in smaller groups to many other states, two to the South and Northeast. br / ?Though the scope has been very limited and many details necessarily left out, I have sought to bemuse a brief account of Jewish life in Brazilian history. The history of Jews in Brazil is a long and honorable hist ory, extend undoubtedly suffering, but also full of success, translated into positive and fundamental contributions to the development of the country and the training of its people ndash and that history that is still being written. / automobile trunk /html POWERED BY TCPDF (WWW. TCPDF. ORG).