Eli Faber and Saul Friedman have identified and chosen specific Jews and Jewish families who were notable participants in the enslavement and trade of Africans
Historical research shows that Jewish people participated in the transatlantic slave trade as merchants, financiers, and slave owners, but their role was minor compared to the major European empires (British, Portuguese, Dutch, and French). Most Jewish involvement occurred within established colonial systems rather than as independent architects of the trade.
While there is no credible historical list of "families" who led or financed the business, historians such as Eli Faber and Saul Friedman have identified specific individuals and families who were notable participants in the 17th to 19th centuries.
Notable Families and Individuals
The Monsanto Family: Originating in Amsterdam, this Sephardic family became wealthy merchants in New Orleans and Natchez in the 18th century. They engaged in the Atlantic slave trade and owned plantations where they enslaved over 50 people.
The Davis Brothers (Ansley, Benjamin, George, and Solomon): Described as prominent slave dealers in Georgia in the 1830s, they advertised the sale of large groups of enslaved Virginians in local newspapers.
Aaron Lopez: A Portuguese-Jewish merchant based in Newport, Rhode Island, who was one of the few Jewish merchants to engage systematically in the African slave trade over a long period. He owned or held shares in several slave voyages.
Jacob Rodrigues Rivera: A business partner and father-in-law to Aaron Lopez in Rhode Island, he was heavily involved in the Newport merchant scene, which included the trade of rum and enslaved people.
Judah P. Benjamin: A prominent New Orleans attorney and later Confederate official, Benjamin owned the Bellechasse plantation where he enslaved approximately 140 people.
Alexandre Lindo: A 18th-century merchant in Jamaica who made a significant fortune through the factoring and sale of enslaved people.
The Isaac Monsanto Family: Early Jewish settlers in French and Spanish Louisiana who owned dozens of slaves for personal and plantation use.
Mordecai Moses: A plantation owner in Raleigh, North Carolina, who enslaved 30 people.
Joseph Simon
- Role: व्यापारी in Pennsylvania frontier regions
- Activity: Owned enslaved people and participated in colonial trade networks
- Type: Merchant-slaveholder
Haym Salomon
- Role: Financier during the American Revolution
- Activity: Known primarily for war finance; like many merchants of the समय, had indirect ties to Atlantic trade systems that intersected with slavery
- Type: Peripheral/indirect association (not a trader)
Abraham Gradis
- Role: French Sephardic merchant
- Activity: Connected to Bordeaux trade networks that included slave-based colonial commerce
- Type: Atlantic व्यापारी (indirect involvement)
Historical Context
Role in the Trade: Most Jewish merchants involved in the slave trade acted as "factors" or middlemen, buying enslaved people from large companies like the Dutch West India Company and reselling them to local plantation owners.
Scale of Involvement: In the American South (1830), Jews accounted for roughly 1.25% of all slave owners. Of the 12,000 Southerners who owned 50 or more slaves, only 20 were Jewish.
Geographic Concentration: Jewish participation was most significant in Dutch-controlled territories like Curaçao and Suriname, where they owned several dozen sugar plantations.
Abolitionism: Many Jewish figures also actively opposed slavery. For example, Nathan Meyer Rothschild helped finance the British government's £20 million compensation payment to former owners to facilitate emancipation in 1833
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