The Dark Side of Heaven: What Happened to the Jews Here is Horrible

In the vast expanses of the Atlantic Ocean, from the temperate archipelagos of Macaronesia to the equatorial waters of the Gulf of Guinea, volcanic islands rise dramatically from the sea. Today, destinations such as the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, Cape Verde and São Tomé are known worldwide for their dramatic landscapes, crystal-clear waters and unique colonial heritage. But beneath the green slopes and sun-drenched coastal towns lies a complex story of survival, forced exile and cultural revival.

For centuries, these remote Atlantic outposts served as critical meeting points for travelers, traders and Jewish refugees navigating the upheavals of the Inquisition and the trends of global trade. The Jewish story of the Atlantic islands reveals an extraordinary story, moving from brutal forced colonization in the fifteenth century to thriving trading networks in the nineteenth century.

The Abduction of the Children to São Tomé and the Moroccan Revival in Cape Verde

The darkest chapter of this Atlantic diaspora took root on the equatorial island of São Tomé. Following the Alhambra Edict of 1492, which expelled hundreds of thousands of Jews from Spain, many sought temporary refuge across the border in Portugal, but the respite was short-lived. In 1493, King João II of Portugal sought to establish control over the uninhabited island of São Tomé and establish sugar plantations there. Under royal decree, the crown authorities seized some two thousand Jewish children, aged two to ten, and tore them from their families in Portugal. The children were forcibly baptized into Christianity, put on ships, and sent overseas to populate the remote tropical island.

Life on São Tomé was brutal and unforgiving for the young exiles. Tropical diseases such as yellow fever and malaria, along with harsh living conditions, claimed the lives of most of the children during their early years on the island. However, those who survived adapted to the challenging environment and grew to adulthood alongside Portuguese convicts and slaves brought from Africa. Over generations, they worked their way into the island’s emerging Creole society, managing sugar plantations and entering the local municipal administration, quietly weaving their lineage into the genetic and cultural fabric of the nation.

Travelers to São Tomé today experience this historical memory amidst the dense rainforests and historic “roças,” the grand cacao and coffee estates that replaced the early sugar era. Walking through São Tomé’s colonial center, where pastel-hued architecture meets the humid Atlantic breeze, you step on land first cleared and cultivated by those exiled children.

The children were forcibly sent to the remote islands. São Tomé | Photo: Xinovap, shutterstock
São Tomé has beautiful beaches and an ancient Jewish heritage | Photo: Robert Harding Video, shutterstock

North of there, in the windswept archipelago of Cape Verde, a very different Spanish story unfolded some four centuries later. Following the official abolition of the Portuguese Inquisition in 1821, Cape Verde opened its Atlantic ports to international trade. Economic instability in North Africa led to a wave of migration of Sephardic Jews from Morocco, who came from ancient coastal cities such as Tangier, Tetouan, Rabat, and Mogador (now Essaouira), along with merchants from Gibraltar. Unlike the children of São Tomé, these 19th-century immigrants came of their own free will as educated men, entrepreneurs, and maritime merchants. Prominent families such as the Vanun, Ben-Oliel, Cohen, Udai, and Ben-Shimol established thriving commercial establishments throughout the islands of Santo Antão, Boa Vista, Santiago, and São Vicente, playing a central role in the transatlantic trade in salt, hides, and coal.

Since these immigrants were mostly men, many of them married local women from Cabo Verde. Over the generations, their descendants have assimilated into Catholic society, but have woven their heritage into the local identity and have retained family names that remain influential in the country to this day, including that of Carlos Váno de Carvalho Viega, the country’s first democratically elected prime minister. For history and heritage enthusiasts, Cape Verde offers a rich itinerary of historical sites that have been preserved thanks to local and international conservation efforts.

On the mountainous island of Santo Antão, you can visit the coastal village of Sinagoga (Synagogue), named after the community that once met between its volcanic cliffs and the waves. In the nearby town of Ponta do Sol, there are small Jewish cemeteries with tombstones bearing inscriptions in Hebrew and Portuguese. On the island of Boa Vista, along the sands of Praia Cabral, lies the restored Sal Rei Jewish Cemetery overlooking the water, while in the capital city of Praia on the island of Santiago, the historic cemetery in Cruz dos Passos has a dedicated Jewish section that commemorates an era of intercultural integration.

Moroccan Jews arrived in Cape Verde and began trading | Photo: Sopotnicki, shutterstock
Signs of Cape Verde’s Jewish heritage can still be found | Photo: Samuel Borges Photography, shutterstock
Canarians’ Anos, Madeiran traders and an ancient regional synagogue

To the north, the Spanish Canary Islands tell a fascinating story of the identity of Anos Jews during the early modern period. The Canary Islands, off the coast of northwest Africa, became a major refuge for the Anusim in Spain and Portugal, Jews who had been forced to convert to Christianity but who secretly continued to practice the religion of their ancestors, who had fled the continent in the late 15th and 16th centuries. In Gran Canaria and Tenerife, Anusim were integrated into the municipal administration and established vital trade routes in sugar and wine.

However, an arm of the Spanish Inquisition also reached the archipelago with the establishment of a special tribunal in Las Palmas in 1504. For more than two centuries, the tribunal conducted trials against people suspected of practicing Jewish customs. Today, visitors can visit the Canarian Museum (El Museo Canario) in the historic Vegata district of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, which houses the rich Inquisition archive, which displays evidence of secret Sabbath observance, eating habits, and hidden rituals that were maintained against all odds.