Ms. Kew........you incredible knowledge never fails to amaze me......thanks for all of the interesting information!! And Ernest as well. I learned a lot from you two. Like you and Ernest, I did not wish to comment further other than to say that I do agree with him and this has been a very interesting thread, even if it was a little heated. Hey....sometimes the best information comes out at times like this. But then you know me well.......chuckling to myself on that note......grin. Cheers......Figgs (who has 'both feet in mouth' usually) > Like Ernest, I also wished to keep out of this discussion, but feel I must > make a comment regarding the Jews of Jamaica. There is evidence of the > existence of Sephardic Jews, who had fled the Inquisition in both Spain and > Portugal, in Jamaica during the time of Spanish occupation. These Jews > remained in Jamaica after the Conquest in 1655. I would recommend that > anyone interested in the Sephardic Diaspora, particularly as it refers to > Jamaica, read the interesting little book by Mordechai Arbell, "The > Portuguese Jews of Jamaica". For further information about the Sephardic > Jews in general I suggest Jane Gerber's "The Jews of Spain". Piet Huisman > has written an excellent little book, "Sephardim: the spirit that has > withstood the times", mainly about the Sephardic Jews who settled in > Amsterdam and then in the Dutch West Indies, specifically Curacao, > Suriname, etc. A much larger work on that topic is Isaac Emmanuel's > "History of the Jews of the Netherlands Antilles". I mention these books > because there is evidence that there was movement of Sephardic Jews between > the Netherlands Antilles and Jamaica, as there was between those Sephardic > Jews who found refuge for a time in Recife, in the Pernambuco province of > Brazil, and then were forced to leave once the territory was captured from > the Dutch by the Portuguese. Many of these Jews found their way to Barbados > for some time, thanks to permission granted them by Oliver Cromwell, the > Protector. I know of at least one family that left Barbados for Jamaica. > > Many of the Sephardic Jews who came to Jamaica did so from England, where > they had been given permission by Cromwell to settle, some 400 years after > they had been expelled by Edward I. Around the late 1780s Jews from England > with German background also settled in Jamaica, and founded the English and > German Synagogue in Kingston, at a time when there were several Sephardic > synagogues in the island. > > There is absolutely no credibility to the claim that Ethiopian Jews ever > settled in Jamaica. To my knowledge the only connection to Ethiopia is the > 20th century Ras Tafari movement which came out of Marcus Garvey's Back to > Africa movement, in which the followers of the Rastafarian cult took the > Emperor Haile Selassie, the "Lion of Judah", of Ethiopia, whose original > name was Ras Tafari, as their spiritual leader. Other than that there was > no ethnic connection to Ethiopia. > > I don't want to get into any particular argument regarding physical > appearances, etc., but it should be noted that there was miscegenation > between Jews and blacks in Jamaica. There is evidence of this in various > will where Jews have recognized their natural children. And of course, > there has always been intermarriage among races in Jamaica, which no doubt > accounts for our motto: "Out of Many, One People". > > Finally, to completely understand the Diaspora as a result of the > Inquisition I strongly recommend Jeffrey S. Malka's recent book, "Sephardic > Genealogy: discovering your Sephardic ancestors and their world". It will > help people to understand just how far afield the Jews of Spain and Portugal > fled to and settled, and how to go about researching the records. This book > is available from Avotaynu, Inc., Bergenfield, NJ. Mordechai Arbell has > also compiled an excellent bibliography, "Spanish and Portuguese Jews in the > Caribbean and the Guainas". > > There is a lot of information out there. Remember, folks! We really > cannot do good genealogical research without first studying the history and > geography of the region where we are researching! > > Dorothy > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Ernest M. Wiltshire" <murcot@synapse.net> > To: <CARIBBEAN-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: June 16, 2003 6:03 PM > Subject: RE: MSNBC News Link: DNA tackles a familys mysteries > > > I had deliberately kept out of this discussion, as I did not care for > the tone it was taking, but I must come to Russ Campbell's defence, as > my reaction to some of the statements being put forward as fact was > total disbelief. I think that if one is truly seeking knowledge, it is > unwise to insist on conjecture as if it were proven fact, and even more > unwise to attack those whose well-founded knowledge contradicts the > fiction. > > Moreover, Russ did say in his message that he apologized in advance if > he was mistaken, and that should have been more than enough apology; but > he can hardly be blamed for wondering whether this was all a put on: > remember we have had such an experience on this List earlier, so forgive > us if we are sometimes sceptical about queries that seem excessively > naïve. But enough already > > Re the topic of the slave trade, I would recommend yet another very > useful book: "The Atlantic Slave Trade: A Census" by Philip D, CURTIN, > 1969, University of Wisconsin Press, ISBN 0-299-05400; LC 69 17325, > > He deals with the difficult problem of how the numbers of slaves > imported from Africa have been calculated. It is again clear from this > work, that the vast majority of slaves came from West Africa: mainly > from Senegambia, the Bight of Biafra, the Bight of Benin, the Gold > Coast (i.e. Ghana) and so on, and a tiny percentage from Mozambique & > Madagascar. [People also tend to forget that a great proportion of the > slaves went to Brazil, not to North America, because of the Portuguese > connection]. > > Anyone with a particular interest in the Transatlantic Slave Trade > should not forget the numerous excellent books (& CDs) by David ELTIS, > which should be relatively easy to find. > > Ernest > > > > ==== CARIBBEAN Mailing List ==== > The CARIBBEAN-L FAQ can be found at > http://www.rootsweb.com/~caribgw/mailinglistfaq.htm. > > > ==== CARIBBEAN Mailing List ==== > The CARIBBEAN-L FAQ can be found at http://www.rootsweb.com/~caribgw/mailinglistfaq.htm. >

Hey, Heather, flattery will get you anywhere you want! Seriously, I really believe strongly in studying the area and time period in which I'm researching in order to understand it better, and to that end have bought quite a few books both on Jamaican history and on the history of the Sephardic Jews. My wallet is lighter, but I do believe that my knowledge is much improved as a result of this. Dorothy ----- Original Message ----- From: "Heather Figueroa" <heatherfig@rogers.com> To: <CARIBBEAN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: June 16, 2003 9:05 PM Subject: Re: MSNBC News Link: DNA tackles a familys mysteries Ms. Kew........you incredible knowledge never fails to amaze me......thanks for all of the interesting information!! And Ernest as well. I learned a lot from you two. Like you and Ernest, I did not wish to comment further other than to say that I do agree with him and this has been a very interesting thread, even if it was a little heated. Hey....sometimes the best information comes out at times like this. But then you know me well.......chuckling to myself on that note......grin. Cheers......Figgs (who has 'both feet in mouth' usually) > Like Ernest, I also wished to keep out of this discussion, but feel I must > make a comment regarding the Jews of Jamaica. There is evidence of the > existence of Sephardic Jews, who had fled the Inquisition in both Spain and > Portugal, in Jamaica during the time of Spanish occupation. These Jews > remained in Jamaica after the Conquest in 1655. I would recommend that > anyone interested in the Sephardic Diaspora, particularly as it refers to > Jamaica, read the interesting little book by Mordechai Arbell, "The > Portuguese Jews of Jamaica". For further information about the Sephardic > Jews in general I suggest Jane Gerber's "The Jews of Spain". Piet Huisman > has written an excellent little book, "Sephardim: the spirit that has > withstood the times", mainly about the Sephardic Jews who settled in > Amsterdam and then in the Dutch West Indies, specifically Curacao, > Suriname, etc. A much larger work on that topic is Isaac Emmanuel's > "History of the Jews of the Netherlands Antilles". I mention these books > because there is evidence that there was movement of Sephardic Jews between > the Netherlands Antilles and Jamaica, as there was between those Sephardic > Jews who found refuge for a time in Recife, in the Pernambuco province of > Brazil, and then were forced to leave once the territory was captured from > the Dutch by the Portuguese. Many of these Jews found their way to Barbados > for some time, thanks to permission granted them by Oliver Cromwell, the > Protector. I know of at least one family that left Barbados for Jamaica. > > Many of the Sephardic Jews who came to Jamaica did so from England, where > they had been given permission by Cromwell to settle, some 400 years after > they had been expelled by Edward I. Around the late 1780s Jews from England > with German background also settled in Jamaica, and founded the English and > German Synagogue in Kingston, at a time when there were several Sephardic > synagogues in the island. > > There is absolutely no credibility to the claim that Ethiopian Jews ever > settled in Jamaica. To my knowledge the only connection to Ethiopia is the > 20th century Ras Tafari movement which came out of Marcus Garvey's Back to > Africa movement, in which the followers of the Rastafarian cult took the > Emperor Haile Selassie, the "Lion of Judah", of Ethiopia, whose original > name was Ras Tafari, as their spiritual leader. Other than that there was > no ethnic connection to Ethiopia. > > I don't want to get into any particular argument regarding physical > appearances, etc., but it should be noted that there was miscegenation > between Jews and blacks in Jamaica. There is evidence of this in various > will where Jews have recognized their natural children. And of course, > there has always been intermarriage among races in Jamaica, which no doubt > accounts for our motto: "Out of Many, One People". > > Finally, to completely understand the Diaspora as a result of the > Inquisition I strongly recommend Jeffrey S. Malka's recent book, "Sephardic > Genealogy: discovering your Sephardic ancestors and their world". It will > help people to understand just how far afield the Jews of Spain and Portugal > fled to and settled, and how to go about researching the records. This book > is available from Avotaynu, Inc., Bergenfield, NJ. Mordechai Arbell has > also compiled an excellent bibliography, "Spanish and Portuguese Jews in the > Caribbean and the Guainas". > > There is a lot of information out there. Remember, folks! We really > cannot do good genealogical research without first studying the history and > geography of the region where we are researching! > > Dorothy > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Ernest M. Wiltshire" <murcot@synapse.net> > To: <CARIBBEAN-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: June 16, 2003 6:03 PM > Subject: RE: MSNBC News Link: DNA tackles a familys mysteries > > > I had deliberately kept out of this discussion, as I did not care for > the tone it was taking, but I must come to Russ Campbell's defence, as > my reaction to some of the statements being put forward as fact was > total disbelief. I think that if one is truly seeking knowledge, it is > unwise to insist on conjecture as if it were proven fact, and even more > unwise to attack those whose well-founded knowledge contradicts the > fiction. > > Moreover, Russ did say in his message that he apologized in advance if > he was mistaken, and that should have been more than enough apology; but > he can hardly be blamed for wondering whether this was all a put on: > remember we have had such an experience on this List earlier, so forgive > us if we are sometimes sceptical about queries that seem excessively > naïve. But enough already > > Re the topic of the slave trade, I would recommend yet another very > useful book: "The Atlantic Slave Trade: A Census" by Philip D, CURTIN, > 1969, University of Wisconsin Press, ISBN 0-299-05400; LC 69 17325, > > He deals with the difficult problem of how the numbers of slaves > imported from Africa have been calculated. It is again clear from this > work, that the vast majority of slaves came from West Africa: mainly > from Senegambia, the Bight of Biafra, the Bight of Benin, the Gold > Coast (i.e. Ghana) and so on, and a tiny percentage from Mozambique & > Madagascar. [People also tend to forget that a great proportion of the > slaves went to Brazil, not to North America, because of the Portuguese > connection]. > > Anyone with a particular interest in the Transatlantic Slave Trade > should not forget the numerous excellent books (& CDs) by David ELTIS, > which should be relatively easy to find. > > Ernest > > > > ==== CARIBBEAN Mailing List ==== > The CARIBBEAN-L FAQ can be found at > http://www.rootsweb.com/~caribgw/mailinglistfaq.htm. > > > ==== CARIBBEAN Mailing List ==== > The CARIBBEAN-L FAQ can be found at http://www.rootsweb.com/~caribgw/mailinglistfaq.htm. > ==== CARIBBEAN Mailing List ==== For information on individual islands, research aids, island bulletin boards or history please visit the CaribbeanGenWeb project at http://www.rootsweb.com/~caribgw/