Jews of St Eustatius
In Dutch, St Eustatius is also called Sint Eustatius. Locally it is known as Statia.
Two Jewish refugees from Brazil, Abraham Israel Henriquez and David Seraiva [Saraiva], visited St. Eustatius – also known as Statia – in 1660.
Daniel and Aron Cohen Henriquez settled in Statia in 1703; in 1705 Mozes Lopes Henriquez and Isaac Pinheiro; and in 1711, Juda Obediente and Salomo Nunes Netto. These settlers were temporarily forced out by the French in 1709 and 1713, but returned when Dutch rule was restored.By 1720 Isaac Naftali of New York was actively engaged in business here.
In St. Eustatius, Treasure Island of the Caribbean, Eric O. Ayisi reports that Statia had a Jewish population – Sephardic and Ashkenazi – of 1,204 people in 1722. This sounds a high figure.
A synagogue, Honen Dalim, was built in 1739. There was tensions between the Sephardim and the Ashkenazim who came later.
http://www.hebrewhistory.info/factpapers/fp037_eustatius.htm
Jewish Genealogy of St Eustatius
There are records in the Dutch National Archives:
Slavery wasn’t abolished until 1863. There are registers of slaves and slave owners, again in the Dutch archives.
Helpful books are:
- History of the Jews of the Netherlands Antilles. Isaac S. and Suzanne
- The Jews and St. Eustatius. Dr. J. Hartog
- Archaeology of the Jewish Synagogue Honen Dalim.Dr. Norman F. Barka.
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