Jewish Pirates of Jamaica!

Yes, there were Jewish pirates in Jamaica, it’s an historical fact.

Jews landed on Jamaica in 1520. There were Jewish pirates like Yaakov Koriel and Jewish pirate ships like The Shield of Abraham. Port Royal, Jamaica was the epicenter of Jewish piracy and the main pirate was Moses Cohen Henriques.

In 1628, Henriques captured the famous Spanish Treasure Fleet of ships. Then in 1654, he helped the Dutch capture Northeast Brazil from Portugal. Many Jews fled Brazil to the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam (aka: New York City, USA). Henriques later became an advisor to Welsh pirate Henry Morgan.

Jewish Pirates of Jamaica!

In 1655, the British, led by Admiral William Penn, established Fort Charles in Port Royal, Jamaica and with the help of Jewish pirates, took over control of Jamaica from the Spanish.

By 1687, piracy was outlawed in Jamaica and in 1717 in was outlawed throughout the Caribbean. The Jewish pirates of Port Royal are buried at Hunts Bay Cemetery in Kingston and at the Old Kingston Jewish Cemetery in Trenchtown, which is now called Orange Street Cemetery.

By 1720, Kingston, Jamaica was awash with Portugese-Jews (aka: Jewmaicans) who owned synagogues, sugarcane plantations, African slaves and more. There is still a large population of Jews in Jamaica.

Jewish Pirates of Jamaica!
Jewish Pirates of Jamaica!

 

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