Jacob Barsimson petition in New Amsterdam

Petition for Acceptance into Defense Forces

The first known Jewish settler to settle in America was Jacob Barsimson, on August 22, 1654, from Holland. He was sent by Dutch Jewish leaders to determine whether New Amsterdam would provide a better life for Jews than Europe. Shortly thereafter, Jews from the West Indies and Brazil arrived for the same reason. They found little difference in the treatment of Jews in New Amsterdam than their homelands, though. They were not granted citizenship, were limited in business activity, expected to pay unfair taxes, and banned from military service. However, Barsimson stayed in New Amsterdam and teamed up with Asser Levy to petition the Dutch Governor, Peter Stuyvesant, for citizenship rights. Stuyvesant sought to expel the Jewish-Portuguese immigrants and refugees because of the trouble he felt they would cause and their rejection of Jesus as their savior. At the time, however, much of the Dutch wealth came from the West India Company, in which the Dutch Jews had influence and they successfully petitioned the Dutch West India Company to allow the Portuguese Jews to stay. The Jews were then allowed to buy land for the first New York Jewish cemetery and granted the right to serve in the defense forces.