Kosher and Jewish Life in Kingston

The history of the Jews in Jamaica predominantly dates back to migrants from Portugal and Spain to the island since 1494. At the time of the British conquest of the island in 1655, General enables recorded the presence of many "Portuguese" in Jamaica. The Jews were allowed to remain after the conquest and began to practice their religion openly. They were granted British citizenship by Cromwell and this was confirmed in 1660 by King Charles. It was formerly believed that only 200 people were religiously practising Jews in Jamaica and that most Jews had migrated out of Jamaica. A recent study has now estimated that nearly 424,000 Jamaicans are descendants of Jewish (Sephardic) immigrants to Jamaica from Portugal and Spain from 1494 to the present, either by birth or ancestry. While many are non-practicing of Judaism, it is recorded that over 20,000 Jamaicans religiously identify as Jews. In Jamaica in the 1800s, there were as many as eight synagogues and roughly 2,500 Jews, including quite a few who had a notable influence on civic life. But tides of migration and assimilation have dropped their numbers to roughly 200 congregants, and just the one temple remains.