Don Jahacob Hisquiau Curiel (1687–20 March 1747; Hebrew name Jacob Haim, also Iacob, de Curiel, and de Abraham Curiel) was a Dutch merchant, who spent part of his life on the Dutch Caribbean island of

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

. He was born into a

Sephardic Jewish Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...

family in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Business and philanthropy

Curiel traded in commodities, such as cacao, tobacco, cotton, and port wine, between Africa, the Americas, and Europe, often with partners. He was also active in the slave trade, a market in Curaçao that was dominated by non-Jewish traders. Curiel filled several leadership positions in the Jewish community of Curaçao. During one Hebrew calendar year, starting in 1741 and ending in 1742, Curiel served as president. He donated large sums to the building of the Curaçao synagogue, and to Hebrew and Dutch scholarship.

Family

Curiel was born in

to Abraham Curiel (1662–1708), a Dutch merchant, and Ribca Franco da Silva (1661–1691). Jahacob was the great-grandson of

Jacob Curiel Dom Jacob Curiel (26 September 1587 - 3 April 1664), known by his alias Dom Duarte Nunes da Costa, was a Sephardi Jewish merchant, diplomat, and nobleman. Curiel was educated at the University of Coimbra and the University of Bologna. In 1618 he ...

, after whom he was named. Jahacob Curiel married Ribca Mendes de Gama, daughter of Isaac Mendes de Gama, in February 1722. They had eight children: Abraham, Isaac, Jeosuah, Josseph, Lea, Moseh, Sara, and Selomoh.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curiel, Jacob 1687 births 1747 deaths 18th-century Dutch diplomats Curiel family Dutch merchants Dutch slave traders Jewish merchants Businesspeople from Amsterdam Curaçao Jews Curaçao businesspeople 18th-century Dutch businesspeople Dutch Sephardi Jews