The Struggle for Jewish Naturalization from Jamaica to London, 1748–1753

By 1550 many Sephardic Jews had found refuge in the New World. Settling in the French, Dutch, and English Caribbean colonies Jews in these imperial outposts had a common history. Scholars have identified themes of intra-Caribbean migration, commercial activity, and interimperial connection within and across the Northern European empires.¹ My work focuses on the British Empire and Jews in Suriname, Barbados, Antigua, Nevis, Bermuda, and Jamaica. The status of Jews in Britain and its colonies was important and complicated. In the Caribbean it was important demographically: Jews made up 5 percent of the white (i.e., of non-African origin) population in