The Spanish and Portuguese Jewish Community of Amsterdam

Toward the end of the sixteenth century, as the Netherlands was engaged in a war to free itself from Spanish rule, New Christians began to settle in Amsterdam. There they found religious freedom and personal safety. The first to arrive did not live openly as Jews, but a group that settled in Amsterdam in 1602 conducted religious services in a private home. Initially, the legal status of the Jews was unclear; the Reform Church opposed their residence in the city, while civic authorities favored it. The first congregation, Beth Jacob, was founded in 1607. Another was founded the following year, and together the two established charitable foundations. Amsterdam became a center of Jewish learning and intellectual life, and its Talmud Torah (religious school) gained a reputation for excellence. Likewise, many works intended for Sephardic communities were written and published in the city. Many Spanish and Portuguese Jews engaged in international trade, tobacco production, printing, and the diamond industry.