LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Recife
built 642 days ago
Within a few years the Jews at Recife numbered thousands, and one of them, Gaspar Diaz Ferreira, was considered one of the richest men in the country. Nieuhoff, the traveler, writing in 1640, says: "Among the free inhabitants of Brazil the Jews are most considerable in number; they have a vast traffic, beyond all the rest; they purchased sugar-mills and bought stately houses in the Receif." In 1642 several hundred Spanish and Portuguese Jews emigrated from Amsterdam to Brazil. Among these were two famous scholars, both of whom settled at Recife. One of them, Isaac Aboab da Fonseca, became the ḥakam of the congregation, and the other, Raphael de Aguilar, its reader. Among the prominent Jews born at Recife may be mentioned Elijah Machorro and Dr. Jacob de Andrade Velosino, who wrote against Spinoza.
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Recife is a cultural and historical center, the birthplace of many celebrated poets, novelists, musicians and artists. This area was the first part of Brazil to be settled by the Portuguese, who prospered by growing sugar cane. They needed labor, so landowners imported Black people from West Africa from the 16th to 19th centuries. Recife today retains many aspects of Afro-Brazilian culture and customs, in music, religion, cuisine, language and dance.
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Recife Palace Hotel has professional expertise in providing Congresses, Seminars and General Social Events. For this, it has 6 well equipped rooms for which the maximum capacity is 1,500 people. The business center is another option for small meetings with an excellent structure and a full range of equipment.
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The liberal policy of the Dutch induced many Jews and Neo-Christians to remove thither from other parts of Brazil, and soon Recife had a large Jewish population. It is described by Portuguese writers as being chiefly inhabited by Jews, who by 1639 had the trade of the city practically in their own hands; and in a work published at Amsterdam in 1640 they are stated to have been twice us numerous there as Christians. They were permitted to observe their Sabbath. The importance of the city increased during the wars between the Dutch and the Portuguese. Anxious to make it the foremost city of their possessions, the Dutch endeavored to attract colonists from abroad, and appealed to Holland for craftsmen of all kinds. In response many Portuguese Jews left Holland for Recife, induced to do so not only by pecuniary considerations and the advantage of the free exercise of their religion, but doubtless by a preference for a community in which the Spanish and Portuguese tongues were spoken.
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Recife Antigo consists of the initial Portuguese settlement in the 16th century around the port. Sugar cane production from Pernambuco was delivered to Portugal through Recife's port. While Recife had port functions, Olinda was the capital. In 1630, the Dutch invaded Pernambuco, set fire to Olinda and Recife became the seat of the Dutch government.
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It was not until 1630, when the Dutch occupied Pernambuco, that the Crypto Jews of Recife began to experience some religious freedom. Pernambuco remained under Dutch rule for 24 years, until 1654. This was an important period in Jewish history in South America, as Brazil under Dutch rule was the only region during colonial times where Jews were allowed to practice their religion openly and establish an organized community. Its members were mainly Jews from Holland and Crypto Jews who had already been in Pernambuco under Portuguese rule.
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Recife