Guerin Spranger

Spranger established good relations with the indigenous people and founded plantations of sugarcane and other tropical plants.

[2] Spranger obtained a grant from the States General of the Netherlands and established a Dutch colony on Cayenne Island around 1656.

[3][b] The Jews brought slaves with them, established friendly relations with the indigenous people, and began producing sugar for export.

[3] Several other groups of Jews from Brazil joined Spranger, who introduced sugar cane and indigo which proved very successful.

According to Jacques Dutertre in his Histoire générale des Antilles, "under Spranger's administration, the island of Cayenne was reputed an El Dorado.

"[2] In 1658 Spranger made an agreement for prospecting for minerals with commander Balthazar Gerbier, baron Douilly.

[3] The group of Jewish colonists, mostly refugees from Brazil but some from Amsterdam, were refused permission to disembark on Cayenne by the Protestant governor, Jan Classen Langedijk.

[13] Tracy disembarked the new French governor Antoine Lefèbvre de La Barre and his garrison, and left for Martinique.

[14][c] Germán Arciniegas relates, In the Antilles, among Dutch, French and English things are settled in a brotherly manner.

The French would let the Dutch military march out, drums beating, and would give them and all other inhabitants transport with their goods and slaves to their destination island or country, providing food and drink on the voyage.

The inhabitants who remained, including the Jews, would have freedom of religion and full possession of their goods, lands and slaves.