How a Jewish refugee fleeing the Spanish Inquisition became a slave trade kingpin in colonial Rhode Island

Aaron Lopez and the Contradictions of Colonial Jewish Life

Born Duarte Lopez in 1731 to Portuguese converso Jews who secretly practiced Judaism, Aaron fled the Spanish Inquisition for Newport in 1752.

By the early 1770s, he was Newport’s wealthiest resident and laid the cornerstone for Touro Synagogue in 1759. Yet this refugee who built America’s oldest surviving synagogue also underwrote 21 slave ships that forced over 1,000 Africans into bondage. The synagogue itself was built with enslaved labor.

Here’s this story of this complicated legacy, preserved at the oldest synagogue in America that exists today.

Duarte Lopez Risked Death to Practice His True Faith

Duarte Lopez was born in 1731 to a Portuguese family living a double life. They went to Catholic church in public while secretly practicing Jewish rituals at home.

The Portuguese Inquisition threatened torture and death to anyone caught practicing Judaism. Duarte’s brother Moses escaped first, setting up in Rhode Island.

In 1752, Duarte followed with his wife Anna and daughter Catherine, sailing to Newport. Once there, he openly embraced Judaism, got circumcised, and took the name Aaron Lopez.

Newport welcomed the dozen Jewish families who lived there.

Newport’s Candle King Built His Fortune From Scratch

Aaron Lopez quickly started building his business after reaching Newport.

By 1755, he traded goods across Rhode Island with business agents in Boston and New York handling his growing business.

His first big venture came in 1756 when he built a factory making whale oil candles that burned brighter than regular ones.

Within a year, his ships sailed to Europe, the West Indies, and the Canary Islands loaded with American goods. In 1761, he joined eight other merchants to control whale oil prices.

His business soon included making rum, chocolate, ships, barrels, clothes, shoes, and hats.

Jewish Faith Blocked His Path to Legal Rights

Lopez asked the Rhode Island court to make him a British subject in 1761.

Despite living there seven years and running a business that hired many locals, the court said no because he was Jewish.

When Lopez and fellow Jewish merchant Isaac Elizer tried again, the lower house approved a compromise: citizenship without voting rights or the right to hold office. The upper house rejected even this limited status.

Lopez didn’t give up. In 1762, he bought property in nearby Swansea, Massachusetts, and got citizenship there instead.

Money From Slave Trading Built America’s Oldest Synagogue

By 1758, Newport needed a Jewish place of worship. Aaron Lopez placed the first stone for Touro Synagogue in 1759, starting construction on what became America’s oldest surviving synagogue.

Lopez asked Jewish groups across the Atlantic for help, getting donations from London, Jamaica, and Surinam. British architect Peter Harrison created the design, possibly giving his services for free.

Enslaved workers built the synagogue along with Newport’s other major buildings including the Redwood Library and Old Colony House.

Trading Rum for Human Beings Became His Most Profitable Business

In fall 1761, Lopez and his cousin Jacob Rivera funded their first slave trading trip, entering the cruelest business in colonial America. Their ship sailed to Jamaica, loading up with Newport-made rum.

From there, the captain went to Africa’s coast to trade rum for captured people.

After months at sea in terrible conditions, the surviving Africans were sold in Charleston, South Carolina. Records show this first trip delivered 134 enslaved people to Charleston in early 1763.

In his business books, Lopez coldly called these human beings “cargo” and “livestock.

Candlelight Filled Touro Synagogue During Its Historic Dedication

Touro Synagogue opened on December 2, 1763, during the first night of Hanukkah. Aaron Lopez stood with his family as the congregation celebrated their new home on Spring Street.

Jewish and non-Jewish religious leaders came from across New England for the opening. Minister Ezra Stiles, a close friend of Lopez, wrote detailed notes about the ceremony in his diary.

The synagogue had twelve columns representing the twelve tribes of Israel. The sanctuary faced east toward Jerusalem, following Jewish tradition.

Ships Under His Control Trafficked More Than 1,000 People

Between 1761 and 1774, Lopez backed 21 slave ships that traveled the terrible Middle Passage. Lopez and Rivera partnered on twelve more slave trips during this time.

Not stopping there, Lopez sent eight more slave trading ships on his own.

Over fourteen years, they transported more than 1,100 enslaved Africans from West Africa to the Americas. Their business made up just part of Newport’s involvement in human trafficking.

During this period, Newport merchants sent 347 slave ships to Africa, making the small Rhode Island port a major center in the slave trade.

Taxes Showed His Wealth Topped All Other Newport Residents

By the early 1770s, Aaron Lopez became Newport’s richest person with business in many industries. Tax records show he paid twice as much as any other Newport resident, showing his huge wealth.

When the American Revolution started, Lopez owned or controlled 30 massive ships for ocean travel. He also partly owned more than 100 smaller coastal boats that moved goods along America’s shore.

His friend Ezra Stiles called Lopez a “merchant of the first eminence” whose business was “surpassed by no merchant in America. ” From a refugee with little money, Lopez climbed to the top of colonial society.

Religious Rules Applied to Everyone in His Household

Lopez strictly followed Jewish practices while running his business. He carefully kept the Sabbath and all Jewish festivals, banning work on these holy days.

This rule covered his shipping business too, as Lopez stopped any ships from leaving his docks on the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday) or Christian Sabbath (Sunday).

His “no work” rule on Jewish holidays even applied to the five enslaved people he personally owned. His cousin and business partner Jacob Rivera owned twelve enslaved workers who worked in their candle factory.

In 1782, Lopez felt upset when a trial ran through Saturday, forcing him to stay overnight rather than travel on the Sabbath.

War With Britain Forced Another Painful Exile

When British forces took Newport in 1776, Lopez faced another life-changing choice.

Unlike some Jewish residents who stayed as Loyalists, Lopez sided with the Patriots and fled with his family to Leicester, Massachusetts.

While Isaac Touro, the synagogue’s leader, stayed supporting the British, Lopez rebuilt his business by supplying the Continental Army and backing privateers that attacked British ships.

These new ventures made less money than his peacetime business. The broke Continental Congress rarely paid its bills fully or on time, causing money problems.

Many of Newport’s Jewish families scattered to other colonies during the war.

Tragedy Struck Just as Peace Returned to Newport

After the British finally left Newport, Lopez waited until spring 1782 to return, hoping the war-damaged town would improve.

On May 28, 1782, while traveling from Leicester back to Newport, his carriage fell into Scott Pond near Smithfield, Rhode Island. Lopez drowned before help arrived.

He was buried in Newport’s Jewish cemetery that his community started decades earlier.

Despite his slave trading business, Lopez gave to many causes including the Redwood Library, Brown University, and Leicester Academy.

His life showed a deep contradiction: a man who ran from religious persecution became one of America’s biggest slave traders while building a temple celebrating religious freedom.

Visiting Touro Synagogue National Historic Site

Touro Synagogue at 85 Touro Street in Newport is America’s oldest synagogue, built by Aaron Lopez, a Portuguese refugee who also enslaved thousands.

Tours cost $12 for adults, with discounts for seniors and students. Kids under 12 get in free.

The 30-minute National Park Service tours show you the historic building, while the Loeb Visitors Center offers presentations Sunday-Thursday mornings for a $5 donation.

You can also take Colonial Jewish Walking Tours through the neighborhood when weather’s good, and check out Patriots Park next door that honors Jewish Revolutionary War heroes.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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