David de Isaac Cohen Nassy

A champion of Jewish emancipation, David de Isaac Cohen Nassy belonged to a leading family in the Dutch colony of Suriname. In 1792 he moved for a short time to Philadelphia, where he was elected to the American Philosophical Society in recognition of his work as a physician. A man of contradictions, he owned a plantation and held slaves although he saw himself as a proponent of Enlightenment ideals. Upon his return to Suriname, he was active in promoting the enlightenment of the Portuguese Jewish community, cofounding a learned society as well as a college of letters. Over his career he played a variety of roles, including pharmacist, journalist, and historian.