Nathan Simson and New York Colonial Jewry

The original colony of New Amsterdam was by no means a large one. By 1652 it numbered a mere 750 souls but its reputation as a cosmopolitan center had already been well established. Settlers represented men of many nations and sects who, combined, spoke eighteen different languages. In the city there were French, Dutch, English, Anglicans and Huguenots who all integrated and intermarried. One group remained distinct and separate from the mass. This was a small body of Jews.