It was established in the 1600s by Sephardi Jews and became more developed and wealthy after a group of Jews fleeing persecution in Brazil settled there in the 1660s.[1] It was located in what is now Para District, about 50 km (31 mi) south of the capital Paramaribo, on the Suriname River. Sugarcane plantations were established and Black African people were used as slave labour. At its height in around 1700 it was home to roughly 500 plantation owners and 9000 slaves.[2] The colony faced regular attacks from Indigenous people, slave revolts, and even raids from the French navy.[3] The community eventually relocated to the capital of Paramaribo.