Judah Cohen facts for kids

Judah Mordechai Cohen (born in 1768 – died September 8, 1838) was a businessman from the Netherlands. He lived in London and owned large farms, called plantations, in Jamaica. These plantations used the forced labor of enslaved people.

At the time the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 was passed, Judah Cohen owned over 1,255 enslaved people on his plantations. This made him one of the biggest slave owners in Jamaica and the wider British West Indies. He had been involved in trade in the West Indies since 1804.

Early Life and Business

Judah Mordechai Cohen was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands. His parents, Mordechai Levie Cohen and Rachel Coenraad Blits, were Dutch Jewish and also from Amsterdam. They later moved to Herne Hill, England.

Judah Cohen became a merchant, which is a person who buys and sells goods. He worked with his older brother and other partners in his business. Their company traded goods, especially from the West Indies.

Pirates Attack a Ship

In August 1822, a ship owned by the Cohen family was attacked by pirates. The ship was called the Vittoria. It was carrying coffee from their plantations in Jamaica. The pirates were operating from Spanish Cuba. They took the ship and sold it in Havana.

The pirates also stole valuable wood from the ship, including Nicaraguan wood, lignum vitae, and lancewood spars. The Cohen family, who owned the ship together, reported losing a lot of money.

Slavery and Compensation

The Legacies of British Slave-Ownership at University College London has records about Judah Cohen. After the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 made slavery illegal, the British government decided to pay money to slave owners. This was called compensation.

Judah Cohen received money for the enslaved people he "lost" when they were freed. The government borrowed a huge amount of money, £15 million, to pay these slave owners. This loan was finally paid off in 2015.

Cohen was involved in 45 different claims for compensation. He owned 1,255 enslaved people in Jamaica. He received a payment of £23,946 at the time. His largest plantations were Potsdam and Corby Castle in St Elizabeth, and Mons in Manchester.

Judah Cohen was one of the largest slave owners in Jamaica. A few others owned more enslaved people, like John Gladstone and James Blair. However, their main interests were in other British colonies.

Family Life

Judah Cohen was married to Grace Gomes da Costa. They had many children together. Some of their children included Judah, Jacob, Miriam, Sarah Frances, Fanny, Rachel, Sarah Esther, Eliza, Abigail, Rebecca, Matilda, and Henry.

Judah Cohen was buried at Brady Street Cemetery in Whitechapel, East End of London. His tombstone can still be found there.

See also

• History of the Jews in Jamaica