Paradesi Jews

During the 15th and 16th centuries Paradesi Jews were Sephardic
immigrants to the Indian subcontinent from Sepharad (Spain and Paradesi Jews
Portugal), who fled forced conversion, persecution and antisemitism Djudios Paradesi
in the wake of the Alhambra Decree expelling Jews from Spain, and
King Manuel's 1496 decree expelling Jews from Portugal. They are
sometimes referred to as "White Jews", although that usage is
generally considered pejorative or discriminatory and refers to
relatively recent Jewish immigrants (end of the 15th century onward),
predominantly Sephardim.[2]

During the 18th and 19th centuries Paradesi Jews were Mizrahi
immigrants to the Indian subcontinent from Jewish exodus from Arab
and Muslim countries[3][4] who fled forced conversion, persecution Portrait of David Henriques De
and antisemitism. Castro, by Gabriel Haim Henriques
De Castro (1838-1897)
The Paradesi Jews of Cochin traded in spices. They are a community
of Sephardic Jews settled among the larger Cochin Jewish community Regions with significant
located in Kerala, a coastal southern state of India.[2] populations
Israel 700
Paradesi Jews of Madras (now Chennai) traded in Golconda
diamonds, precious stones and corals, they had very good relations India 52[1]
with the rulers of Golkonda, they maintained trade connections to Languages
Europe, and their language skills were useful. Although the
Initially Ladino, later Judeo-
Sephardim spoke Ladino (i.e. Spanish or Judeo-Spanish), in India
they learned Tamil and Konkani as well as Judeo-Malayalam from the Malayalam, Tamil, now mostly
Malabar Jews.[5] Hebrew and English
Religion
Orthodox Judaism
Contents Related ethnic groups

History of Madras (Chennai) Jews Spanish and Portuguese Jews

Sephardic Jews in India
Paradesi synagogues and cemeteries
De Castro family
Last Jewish Business House and Trust of Chennai, Henriques family
Owned by Henriques De Castro Family
Luso-Indians
Places named after Madras (Chennai) Jews Cochin Jews
Notable Madras (Chennai) Jews Indian Jews
Madras (Chennai) Jewish surnames (partial list) Desi Jews

Image gallery
See also
References
Further reading
External links
History of Madras (Chennai) Jews
The East India Company
(EIC) wanted to break the
monopoly of Portugal in
trading with Golconda
diamonds and precious stones
from the mines of Golkonda.
The EIC entered India
around 1600 and had built
the Fort St. George (White
Town) fortress by 1644[6] at
the coastal city of Madras,
now known as Chennai.
Plan of Fort St George and the city
EIC policy permitted only its of Madras in 1726, b.Jews Burying
shareholders to trade in Place is the location of Second
Golconda diamonds and Madras Synagogue and Jewish
Cemetery Chennai.Bartolomeo
precious stones from the
Rodrigues Tomb in Four Brothers
mines. The Company
Garden
considered the Madras Jews
to be interlopers because they
Rabbi Salomon Halevi (Last Rabbi of traded separately through
Madras Synagogue) and his wife their Jewish community connections.[7]
Rebecca Cohen (Najran Jew)
Madras Jews specialised in Golconda diamonds, precious stones and
corals.[8] They had very good relations with the rulers of Golkonda
and this was seen as beneficial to Fort St. George, so Madras Jews
were gradually accepted as honourable citizens of Fort St.
George/Madras.[9]

Jacques de Paiva (Jaime Paiva), originally from Amsterdam and

belonging to Amsterdam Sephardic community, was an early Jewish
Mr.Cohen (Najran Jew) his German
arrival and the leader of Madras Jewish community. He built the
wife and kids, Paradesi Jews of
Second Madras Synagogue and Jewish Cemetery Chennai in
Madras
Peddanaickenpet, which later became the South end of Mint
Street,[10]

De Paiva established good relations with those in power and bought

several Golconda diamond mines to source Golconda diamonds.
Through his efforts, Jews were permitted to live within Fort St.
George.[11]

De Paiva died in 1687 after a visit to his Golconda diamond mines

and was buried in the Jewish cemetery which he had established in
Peddanaickenpet, which later became the north Mint Street,[11]
alongside the synagogue which also existed at Mint Street.[12]
Paradesi Jews of Madras
After de Paiva's death in 1687, his wife Hieronima de Paiva fell in
love with Elihu Yale, Governor of Madras and went to live with him,
causing quite a scandal within Madras’ colonial society. Governor Elihu Yale later achieved fame when he
 gave a large donation to the University of New Haven in Connecticut,
which was then named after him — the Yale University. Elihu Yale
and Hieromima de Paiva had a son, who died in South Africa.[13]

In 1670, the Portuguese population in Madras numbered around

3000. Before his death he established ‘The Colony of Jewish Traders
of Madraspatam’ with Antonio do Porto, Pedro Pereira and Fernando
Mendes Henriques.[11] This enabled more Portuguese Jews, from
Leghorn, the Caribbean, London and Amsterdam to settle in Madras.
Coral Merchant Street was named after the Jews' business.[14]

Three Portuguese Jews were nominated to be aldermen of Madras

Corporation.[15] Three - Bartolomeo Rodrigues, Domingo do Porto
and Alvaro da Fonseca - also founded the largest trading house in
Madras. The large tomb of Rodrigues, who died in Madras in 1692,
became a landmark in Peddanaickenpet but was later destroyed.[16]
Paradesi Jews of Madras at EIC Samuel de Castro came to Madras from Curaçao and Salomon Franco
garden came from Leghorn.[11][17]

Isaac Sardo Abendana (1662–1709), who came from Holland, died in

Madras. He was a close friend of Thomas Pitt and may have been
responsible for the fortune that Pitt amassed.[11]

Portuguese Jews were used as diplomats by the East India Company

to expand English trading. Avraham Navarro was the most prominent
of these.[18]

In 1688, the famous Sephardi poet Daniel Levy de Barrios wrote a

poem in Amsterdam, with historical and geographical meaning. His
Paradesi Jews of Madras at Fort St. information was usually most precise and drawing upon him we may
George receive a panorama of Sephardi life in the seventeenth century. There
were six Jewish communities — Nieves, London, Jamaica, fourth and
fifth in two parts of Barbados, and the sixth in Madras-Patan.[19][20].

During the 18th and 19th centuries Yemenite Jews started coming to Madras via Cochin. They were very
religious. Some came from Najran. They were Rabbis and jewelry-makers.[21]

From the 19th centuries Yemenite Jews and Portuguese Jews started intermarrying[22][23].

Paradesi synagogues and cemeteries

The Paradesi Jews had built three Paradesi Synagogues and Cemeteries.

In 1500 the First Madras Synagogue and cemeteries was built by Amsterdam Sephardic community in Coral
Merchant Street, George Town, Madras, which had a large presence of Portuguese Jews in the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries. Neither the synagogue nor the Jewish population remains today.[24]

In 1568 the First Cochin Paradesi Synagogue and Cemetery was built in Cochin-Jew Street, the oldest
synagogue in Cochin, adjacent to Mattancherry Palace, Cochin, now part of the Indian city of Ernakulam, on
land given to them by the Raja of Kochi.[25]
In 1644 the Second Madras Synagogue and Jewish Cemetery Chennai was built by de Paiva also from
Amsterdam Sephardic community in Madras, Peddanaickenpet, which later became the South end of Mint
Street,[11] It was demolished by local government in 1934 and the tombstones were moved to the Central Park
of Madras along with the gate of the cemetery on which Beit ha-Haim (the usual designation for a Jewish
cemetery, literally "House of Life") were written in Hebrew.[26] The tombstones were moved again in 1979
to Kasimedu, when government school was approved to be built. In 1983, they were moved to Lloyds Road,
when the Chennai Harbour expansion project was approved.[12] In this whole process 17 tombstones went
missing, including that of de Paiva.[27]

Last Jewish Business House and Trust of Chennai, Owned by

Henriques De Castro Family
HDC Transports, Henriques De Castro family.
HDC Industrial and management consultants, Henriques De Castro family.
Isaac and Rosa Charitable Trust, Henriques De Castro family.

Places named after Madras (Chennai) Jews

Isaac Street was named after Isaac Henriques De Castro, who
was killed in the Holocaust.[28]
Pereira Street was named after Pedro Pereira, a member the
colony of Jewish traders of Madraspatam.[11]
Coral Merchant Street was named after Jewish settlement.[14]
De Caster Main Road was named after De Castro family
Holocaust Memorial of Isaac & Rosa (Portuguese Jew).[29]
Henriques Decastro, erected by C.
N. Annadurai Former Chief Minister
of Tamil Nadu Notable Madras (Chennai) Jews
de Paiva – The first Madras Jewish community leader, he built
the Second Madras Synagogue and Jewish Cemetery Chennai in Madras,
Peddanaickenpet.[11][12]
Bartolomeo Rodrigues – Among 12 aldermen who founded Madras Corporation[11]
Domingo do Porto – Among 12 aldermen who founded Madras Corporation[11]
Alvaro da Fonseca – Among 12 aldermen who founded Madras Corporation[11]
Above Four were called four brothers, they had their own garden in which Bartolomeo
Rodrigues Tomb was built[30]
Plan of Fort St George and the city of Madras in 1726, shows Four Brothers Garden and
Bartolomeo Rodrigues Tomb[31]
Antonio do Porto – The Colony of Jewish Traders of Madraspatam[11]
Pedro Pereira – The Colony of Jewish Traders of Madraspatam[11]
Fernando Mendes Henriques – The Colony of Jewish Traders of Madraspatam[11]
Avraham Navarro – Prominent Jewish diplomat of East India Company[32]
Samuel de Castro – Founder of De Castro Trading house.[11][17]
Salomon Franco – Founder of De Castro Trading house.[11][17]
Isaac Sardo Abendana – Best Diamond Appraiser[11]
 Isaac Henriques De Castro - Close friend of C. N. Annadurai Former Chief Minister of Tamil
Nadu[33]
Rabbi Salomon Halevi[34] - Last Rabbi of Madras Synagogue[35]

Madras (Chennai) Jewish surnames (partial list)

ABENDANA SARDO[11]
Cohen
De Castro[11][17]
DE PAIVA[11]
Franco[11][17]
Halevi[36]
Helen Herzberg
Henriques De Castro
Henriques[11]
HEYNEMANN
JOSHUA
Levi[37]
Meyer
NAVARRO[38]
Pereira[11]
RODRIGUES[11]
do Porto[11]
da Fonseca[11]
Mendes[11]
Salomón
SALOMONS
SOFAER[39]
Toback
WECHSLER
Weichmann
Wolf

Image gallery
Court Sivaganga - Court Sivaganga - Court Sivaganga - Indemnity note
Issac HDC, Issac HDC, Issac HDC, 1932- Issac
Rebecca Cohen, Rebecca Cohen, Rebecca Cohen, Henriques De
Rabbi Salomon Rabbi Salomon Rabbi Salomon Castro
Halevi 1927a Halevi 1927b Halevi 1927c

Isaac Henriques De Issac Henriques De Issac Share HDC 3 Rabbi Salamon

Castro Cheque - Castro 25th April Halevi Fort St
1930 1932 Colombo Land George Gazette 19
Dec 1956

Rabbi Salamon Rabbi Salomon Rabbi Salamon tRabbi Salamon

Halevi Pawnbroker Halevi - Inoculation Halevi Airwin Halevi Madras Act
ACT 1943- 1st June Radios 3 Oct 1950 No 30 of 1963
1955
Rabbi Salomon Rabbi Salomon Rabbi Salomon Rabbi Salomon
Halevi War Damage Halevi Registration Halevi Registration Halevi War Damage
Commission 7 of Vechicles of Vechicles Commission 8
Malacca 7a Malacca 7b

Rabbi Salomon Rabbi Salomon Rabbi Salomon Rabbi Salomon Levi

Halevi Transfer of Halevi Air Sea Halevi Life Indian Relief
Shares 10 passage sponser 12 Assurance 31st Committee
December 1942

Rabbi Salomon Levi Rebecca Cohen 11- Rebecca Cohen Rebecca Cohen
Prescription 10-1913 Court 1940 Ownership Madrsa Motor
Immoveables Motor Vehicle Vechicles Taxation
Declaration Act 1931a
Rebecca Cohen Rebecca Cohen Rebecca Cohen - Rabbi Salomon
Madrsa Motor Indian Postal and Life Insurance Halevi Court Madras
Vechicles Taxation Telegraphs License - 1944a
Act 1931b

Rabbi Salomon HDC ‘Henriques De HDC Levi HDC Henriques De

Halevi Court Madras Castro’ - Money Henriques De Castro - Industrial
- 1944b lenders Receipt, Castro’ - Money and management
Rangoon 1950a lenders, Henzada, consultants, Madras,
12th March 1951 24th May 1957
HDC Henriques De Cheque 7th June Levi Henriques De Levi Henriques De
Castro - Transports, 1884 Castro - Patta Castro 1952 - Letter
Madras, 24th May Receipt Fee Registered
1957

Levi Henriques De Rachel Halevi Rachel Halevi Rachel Halevi Letter

Castro’ - Parry & Co Cohen- Home Cohen- Home
Department 1 Department 2

See also
Gathering of Israel
History of the Jews in India
Jewish Cemetery Chennai
Madras Synagogue
Meshuchrarim Jews of Cochin
Synagogues in India

References
1. Census of India 2001
2. Yisra'el, Muzeon (1995). Slapak, Orpa (ed.). The Jews of India: A Story of Three Communities
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Retrieved 6 October 2018.
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4. Hoge, Warren (5 November 2007). "Group seeks justice for 'forgotten' Jews" (https://www.nytim
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5. Katz 2000; Koder 1973; Thomas Puthiakunnel 1973
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15. Muthiah, S. (2014). Madras Rediscovered (https://books.google.com/books?id=4iVSCwAAQB
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22. http://www.madrasmusings.com/vol-27-no-20/the-last-family-of-pardesi-jews-in-madras/
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28. Parthasarathy, N.S. "The last family of Pardesi Jews in Madras" (http://www.madrasmusings.co
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32. Fischel, Walter J. (1956). "Abraham Navarro: Jewish Interpreter and Diplomat in the Service of
the English East India Company (1682-1692)". Proceedings of the American Academy for
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the English East India Company (1682-1692)". Proceedings of the American Academy for
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Further reading
Diamonds and Coral: Anglo-Dutch Jews and Eighteenth-Century Trade New edition by
Gedalia Yogev (Author)
Renascent Empire?: The House of Braganza and the Quest for Stability in Portuguese
Monsoon Asia C.1640-1683 by Glenn Joseph Ames
Global Trade and Commercial Networks: Eighteenth-Century Diamond Merchants By Tijl
Vanneste
Goods from the East, 1600-1800: Trading Eurasia By Felicia Gottmann, Hanna Hodacs, Chris
Nierstrasz
The Jewish Merchant-Colony in Madras (Fort St. George) during the 17th and 18th Centuries:
A Contribution to the Economic and Social History of the Jews in India (Concluded) Walter J.
Fischel
The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History edited by W. Rubinstein, Michael A. Jolles
Harikrishnan, Charmy (23 November 2008). "The Last Tribe: A lament for the dying Jewry in
Kerala" (http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/the-last-tribe/388811/0). The Indian Express.
Retrieved 6 October 2018.

External links
Jews of Kerala (https://web.archive.org/web/20051023045151/http://www.ananthapuri.com/ker
ala-history.asp?page=jew)
The Jews of Chennai (https://web.archive.org/web/20151110060957/http://dailysamsara.com/th
e-jews-of-chennai/)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paradesi_Jews&oldid=986958211"

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