The Jews of Eighteenth-Century Jamaica
Subtitle
A Testamentary History of a Diaspora in Transition
An in-depth look at the Portuguese Jews of Jamaica and their connections to broader European and Atlantic trade networks
Based on last wills and testaments composed by Jamaican Jews between 1673 and 1815, this book explores the social and familial experiences of one of the most critical yet understudied nodes of the Atlantic Portuguese Jewish Diaspora. Stanley Mirvis examines how Jamaica’s Jews put down roots as traders, planters, pen keepers, physicians, fishermen, and metalworkers, and reveals how their presence shaped the colony as much as settlement in the tropical West Indies transformed the lives of the island’s Jews.
Bio
Stanley Mirvis is an assistant professor of history in the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies, and the Harold Jean Grossman Chair of Jewish Studies, at Arizona State University.
