Sephardic Jews of Brazil

Timeline of Jews in Brazil

1500: Pedro Cabral discovers Brazil
1500-1540s: New Christians among early settlers in Brazil
1540s: First recorded accusation of Judaizing in Brazil
1580: Philip II of Spain claims the Portuguese throne, making Brazil a target for Spain’s enemies
1630: Dutch establish the colony of New Holland in Portuguese Brazil
1630-1654: Period of Dutch rule in Brazil, allowing open Jewish practice
1634-1654: Jewish cemetery established in Pernambuco
1640: Portugal declares independence from Spain
1654: Pernambucan Restoration expels Dutch from Brazil
1707-1709: War of the Emboabes, possibly involving New Christian families
1728: Recorded arrest of a New Christian near São Paulo
Mid-19th to early 20th century: New wave of Sephardic migration from Ottoman Empire and Morocco
Late 19th century: Moroccan Jewish community settles in the Amazon during rubber boom
Present day: Sephardic communities concentrated in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro

History of the Sephardic Jews of Brazil

Brazil is significantly important in Sephardic Jewish history, especially the Western or Portuguese Sephardim. Slave-produced sugar in Brazil was a valuable commodity exported to Europe. The defeat of the Dutch colony in Brazil led to Sephardic Jews from Brazil settling in Dutch and British territories in the Caribbean and North America, including the British colonies in Barbados and New York.

Early Settlement and the Inquisition

Pedro Cabral discovered Brazil in 1500 while on his way to India. This is just three years after Jews in Portugal were forced to convert. Inquisition archives reveal that New Christians were among the early settlers, with accusations of Judaizing appearing as early as the 1540s.

Dutch Brazil and Jewish Presence

Contrary to popular belief, Jews didn’t first arrive with the Dutch in 1630. It’s worth considering how the Dutch obtained information about Brazil before launching their military expedition. One possibility is that Portuguese Jews in the Netherlands, with connections in Brazil, provided the necessary information and supported the Dutch against Spanish-occupied Portugal.

During the Dutch occupation (1630-1654), New Christian families lived alongside Protestant Dutch and Jewish migrants. Many retained their Catholic identities and even participated in the Pernambucan Restoration of 1654, which expelled the Dutch.

Jewish Life in Dutch Brazil

During the Dutch period, there was an active Jewish community in Pernambuco. The first Jewish cemetery in the Americas was established during this time. For more information on Jewish burials during this period, see “O primeiro cemitério judeu das Américas : período da dominição holandesa em Pernambuco (1630-1654)” by José Alexandre Ribemboim and José Luiz Mota Menezes.

The Zur Israel Synagogue, meaning “Rock of Israel” in Hebrew, was a significant center of Jewish life during this period.

Post-Dutch Era and New Christian Presence

After the Dutch expulsion, many New Christian families remained in Brazil. The extent of their presence is difficult to determine, but ongoing genetic genealogy research, including the Avotaynu DNA Project, may provide answers.

An intriguing conflict known as the War of the Emboabes (1707-1709) over gold deposits may have involved New Christian families on the Bahian side, though this remains unconfirmed.

The author mentions a family member arrested near São Paulo in 1728 who was taken to Lisbon and burnt alive, while his wife and daughters remained in Brazil, likely abandoning any Jewish identity.

Cultural Practices and Identity

A Portuguese-language documentary, “A Estrela oculta do Sertão,” explores families that believe they retain Jewish cultural practices. While these claims can’t be confirmed with absolute confidence, they are intriguing.

The author observed a friend’s mother in the nordeste slaughtering a chicken in a kosher-compliant manner but later using the blood for sauce, which is against Jewish custom. This illustrates the complex nature of cultural practices and identity in the region.

Modern Sephardic Migration

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Sephardic Jews from the Ottoman Empire and Morocco migrated to Brazil. A notable Moroccan community settled in the Amazon during the rubber boom. For more information, see this Harif presentation on the Jews of the Amazon: https://youtu.be/2GsdmT1p6MI?t=524

Today, Brazil’s Sephardic community is concentrated in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, with no direct connection to Brazil’s New Christian history.

Genealogical Research on Jews in Brazil

For those interested in researching their Sephardic Jewish ancestry in Brazil, several resources are available:

Quite often in Brazil, groups that appear to be Jewish are actually Christian.

The leading Brazilian academic on the subject appears to be Paulo Valadares, author of “A Presença Oculta: Genealogia, Identidade e Cultura Cristã-Nova Brasileira nos Séculos XIX e XX” (Fortaleza: Fundação Ana Lima, 2007).

Civil Records for Jewish Genealogy in Brazi

We have not yet researched in Brazilian civil records. Series of interest in the Brazilian National Archives include:

  • Church Records (Registros Eclesiásticos) – Reference: Série Matrícula de Terras e Dízimos (1651-1826), Série Cúria Metropolitana (1676-1822), Série Mitra Diocesana de São Paulo (1725-1823), and others.
  • Court Records (Processos Judiciais) – Reference: Série Foros do Livramento (1647-1752), Série Foros do Tribunal da Relação do Rio de Janeiro (1750-1821), and others.
  • Inventories and Wills (Inventários e Testamentos) – Reference: Série Testamentos (1672-1841) and others.
  • Land Records (Registros de Terras) – Reference: Série Sesmarias (1674-1822), Série Cartas de Data (1704-1824), and others.
  • Military Records (Registros Militares) – Reference: Série Guerra (1680-1822) and others.
  • Notarial Records (Registros Notariais) – Reference: Série Notarial (1600-1829) and others.
  • Orphan Records (Registros de Órfãos) – Reference: Série Órfãos e Ausentes (1702-1832) and others.
  • Slave Records (Registros de Escravos) – Reference: Série Documentos Diversos (1640-1889), Série Câmara Municipal do Rio de Janeiro (1705-1832), and others.

The Série Notarial (Notary Series) in the Brazilian National Archives is divided into several sub-series, each containing different types of notarial acts.

  1. Livros de notas (Notebooks): These contain the daily entries of the notaries, including legal acts, contracts, and other notarial instruments, recorded chronologically. These include details of property transactions, business contracts and family relationships such as marriage contracts and dowries.
  2. Livros de procurações (Power of Attorney Books): These contain the power of attorney documents that authorize individuals to act on behalf of others.
  3. Livros de testamentos (Wills Books): These contain wills and testaments made by individuals between 1600 and 1829. The Livros de testamentos are organized chronologically and are indexed by the name of the testator.
  4. Livros de hipotecas (Mortgage Books): These contain mortgage deeds, which are legal agreements where a borrower pledges real estate as collateral for a loan.
  5. Livros de fianças (Bonds Books): These contain bond documents, which are agreements where a person promises to pay a certain amount of money if another person fails to fulfill an obligation.
  6. Livros de órfãos e ausentes (Books of Orphans and Absentees): These contain legal documents related to the guardianship of minors and the management of the property of absent individuals.
  7. Livros de acordos e sentenças (Agreements and Sentences Books): These contain legal documents related to agreements and court judgments.
  8. Livros de cartas de liberdade (Freedom Letters Books): These contain documents related to the manumission of slaves.
  9. Livros diversos (Miscellaneous Books): These contain various notarial acts that do not fit into the other sub-series.

If you are researching recent family in Brazil, it is helpful to not only know the name of the town or city where your family lived, but also the cartorio (notary office) they used.

Early Jewish Burials in Brazil

For Jewish burials during the Dutch period, see O primeiro cemitério judeu das Américas : período da dominição holandesa em Pernambuco (1630-1654) by José Alexandre Ribemboim and José Luiz Mota Menezes. It is speculated the the individuals listed below were amongst those who received Jewish burial in Pernambuco.

Name – Burial Date

  • Felipe Dias do Vale – Before 1634
  • Manuel Mendes de Castro – 1638
  • Benedictus Jacob – 1641
  • Moses Abendana – 1642
  • Benjamin Pereira – 1644
  • Moses Mendes – 1645
  • Isaac Russon (or Rusten) – 1645 or 1646
  • Antonio Montesinos – 1646 or 1647
  • David Henriques – 1648
  • David Barassar – 1648
  • Baltasar da Fonseca – Before 1649
  • Jacob Delian – 1649
  • David Senior Coronel – 1651
  • Salamão Musaphia – 1651
  • Simon Bar Mayer – 1653 or 1654
  • Antonio da Costa Cortizes
  • Wife of the grandson of David Senior Coronel

Adam Smith, author of The Wealth of Nations, on Portuguese Jews in Brazil

The Portuguese Jews, persecuted by the inquisition, stript of their fortunes, and banished to Brazil, introduced, by their example, some sort of order and industry among the transported felons and strumpets by whom that colony was originally peopled, and taught them the culture of the sugar-cane. Upon all these different occasions, it was not the wisdom and policy, but the disorder and injustice of the European governments, which peopled and cultivated America.

Fanciful view of the discovery of Brazil

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