to the sugar industry The Jewish refugees brought with them expertise in the production and cultivation of sugarcane and coffee, expertise which contributed to the development of Barbados as a major producer of sugar. They brought with them the benefit of new technological methods in the sugar industry, and helped the island to become economically established. It has been suggested that the momentum of the technological drive in the sugar industry shifted to Barbados in preference to more politically volatile South American colonies. Decline and revival In 1831, the island was devastated by a hurricane that devastated the economy and by 1848 the Jewish population had seen a significant decline in numbers. Emigration and assimilation eventually took their toll on the original Jewish population of the island; the Jewish population is believed to have vanished by 1929 when it is said that the last of the practicing descendants of the Brazilian Jews left the island. As a result, the community's synagogue fell into a state of disuse. A Jewish presence returned to the island in the aftermath of World War II, in the form of Ashkenazi Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe. In 1968, there were about 80 Jews out of a total population of 251,000. Although small, the existing Jewish community has taken steps to preserve its heritage: for instance, in maintaining a functioning synagogue, the Nidhe Israel Synagogue, in the capital city Bridgetown. In January, 2008, the Nidhe Israel Museum was opened. The museum tells the story of the Barbadian Sephardic and Ashkenazi communities. Also in 2008, the archaeology of the yard of the seventeenth century synagogue was investigated by historians/archaeologists and students from the University of the West Indies. Though the focus is on the long destroyed rabbi's house, excavations have revealed the intact 17th-century mikveh, which was constructed over a still-running freshwater spring. See also Dutch Brazilian References Further reading JewishJournal.com - Barbados' Nidhe Israel: Torah on a tropical isle http://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/622036/1/Lichtenstein_BarbadosMuseumJournal_2018.pdf Samuel (1924) External links Early settlement of Barbados, Slavery and Economy in Barbados, BBC Slavery and the Rise of the Atlantic System The Shaping of America About some of the Dutch Brazilian Jews which came to Barbados - The History of Rum The Virtual Jewish History Tour - Barbados, Jewish Virtual Library Jewish Barbados History Barbados Immigration to Barbados