The Unfolding Self: Transmutations of Jewish Identity through Migration to British North America, 1654-1776

Holly Snyder

Jewish migration to British North America in the colonial period has been, to date, a topic largely neglected by scholars in both Jewish and American history. Following the pioneering work of Yosef Haim Yerushalmi on Marranism and recent work by Frank Felsenstein on eighteenth-century English perceptions of Jews as "Others," the investigation of colonial source materials reveals a deep and complex identity shift within those Jews who chose to emigrate from Europe. Comparative study of Jewish settlements in colonial America suggests the outlines for a new model of both the motivations of and the impact on Jews of the migration process. Such a model would need to take into account social as well as economic and religious factors.

[WP #96006]