The First Jews in the Americas Revisited

Jewish History Nerds won two Signal Awards, gold and listener's choice in the history category. So we decided to revisit the episode submitted for consideration.

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In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. That same year, Jews who didn't convert to Catholicism were expelled from Spain. Those two events are more connected than you think, and together they explain why the first Jewish community in the Americas ended up exactly where it did. Spoiler alert, It wasn’t New Amsterdam. It was Recife, Brazil.

Check out some of the other incredible episodes in the Americas Series.

What came next after Jews docked in Recife, Brazil? Jews thrived in the Caribbean.

Jewish Pirates and the Caribbean (unpacked.media/jewish-pirates-and-the-caribbean)

The surprising story of Emma Lazarus, the poet behind the Statue of Liberty’s famous words.

How One Jewish Poet Changed the Meaning of America: Emma Lazarus (Part 1) (unpacked.media/emma-lazarus-was-born-rich-why-…)

The Statue of Liberty Was Never Meant to Welcome Immigrants (Part 2) (unpacked.media/how-emma-lazarus-gave-the-statu…)

Email us at ⁠⁠nerds@unpacked.media⁠⁠. We want to hear from you.

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