Chuts facts for kids

The Chuts were a group of Jews who moved to London from the Netherlands in the late 1800s. They mostly came from the city of Amsterdam. These immigrants often worked in trades they already knew, like making cigars, caps, and slippers.

They settled mainly in a small area of streets in Spitalfields, London, called the Tenterground. This place used to be where Flemish weavers stretched and dried cloth. By the 1800s, houses were built there. It became a special neighborhood where the Dutch immigrants lived closely together. They kept their community separate from others. Today, this area is bounded by White's Row, Wentworth Street, Bell Lane, and Toynbee Street.

Who Were the Chuts?

The Chuts were Jewish people who moved from Amsterdam to London. They were skilled workers, especially in making cigars. They formed a tight-knit community in the Tenterground area.

Life in the Tenterground Community

The Tenterground was a unique place for the Chuts. It allowed them to live as a close community. They maintained their customs and traditions. This helped them feel at home in a new country.

Changes and Moving On

Around 1881, many thousands of Jewish refugees arrived in London's East End. They were escaping political problems in Eastern Europe. By this time, the Chuts had started to spread out from the Tenterground.

A big change happened when machines began making cigarettes cheaply. This new way of making cigarettes hurt the cigar-making business. Many Chuts had relied on cigar making for their jobs. Because of this, many Chuts went back to Amsterdam. Conditions there had improved. Some moved even further away, to places like Australia and the United States. Others joined different Jewish families in London. Some Chuts eventually lost their Jewish identity over time.

Differences with Other Jewish Immigrants

There was often a rivalry between the Chuts and the Jewish immigrants who arrived later. The Chuts had come from cities and had useful industrial skills. By 1881, they had also learned to speak English.

The later immigrants were often poor farm workers. They had to learn new jobs in difficult workshops called sweatshops. These new arrivals came in large numbers and without money. This drew attention to the issue of immigration. It eventually led to the Aliens Act 1905 in 1905. This law aimed to control who could enter the country.

Other Jewish communities also viewed the Chuts with some suspicion. This was because the Chuts had developed their own unique customs. Many of their families had lived in Amsterdam since the first synagogues were built there in the early 1600s. In Amsterdam, Ashkenazim (often called "German Jews") and Sephardim (often called "Spanish Jews") lived very close together. This led to a mix of cultures not found anywhere else. Interestingly, Dutch Jews were used to the sea. They sometimes ate seafood that other Jewish groups did not consider kosher (acceptable to eat).

Why Were They Called 'Chuts'?

The exact origin of the name Chuts is not fully known. One common idea is that it comes from the Dutch word goed. This word means "good" and sounds a bit like "chut." People might have used it to describe the foreign language they heard.

Another idea is that it comes from the Hebrew word חוץ‎. This word means "outside" or "in the street." It might have been used for the Dutch Jews in London because they were socially separate. Or, it could be because many of them were street vendors.

It's also possible that the Hebrew word appeared more often in Amsterdam synagogue records. This would happen as more people moved to London. So, others who followed might have said they "went chuts," meaning they emigrated. The word Chut is sometimes used for one person, but it likely came from the plural form.

Life in the Netherlands Before Moving to London

Even after Jewish emancipation in 1793 during the Napoleonic Era, Jews in the Netherlands faced challenges. They were not allowed to join trade groups called guilds. They also couldn't be shopkeepers, except for a few cases like kosher butchers. This was because others feared their competition. They were also not allowed into the public school system.

Despite efforts by William III after Napoleon's defeat, many Ashkenazi Dutch Jews lived in slums in Amsterdam. They resisted blending into society. Prejudice against them continued through the mid-1800s. This prejudice, along with the Dutch economy getting worse, caused many Jewish people to leave Amsterdam.

In contrast, Jews in the UK gained more rights in 1858. After this, they could become skilled workers and do business freely. They no longer had to take Christian oaths. This made London an attractive place for them.

See also

• Sandys Row Synagogue
• Ashkenazi Jews
• Sephardi Jews
• History of the Jews in the Netherlands
• Jewish ethnic diversity