Samuel Abraham

Probably of Polish birth, Abraham was a Jewish merchant who settled in Cochin, South India around 1757 and soon rose to prominence. Cochin was known at that time as the “Queen of the Arabian Sea” because of its role of prominent trading center on west coast of India. He served there both the Dutch and English East India Companies in financial and diplomatic affairs.

As a merchant, he was predominantly active in trade with timber which was used in shipbuilding, and to a lesser extent in trade with pepper, rice, paper and iron. His moneylending activities included providing large loans to the Dutch and English Companies.

Along with other leading Jewish merchants, Samuel was entrusted with confidential diplomatic missions by the Dutch governor. He enjoyed a great prestige at Cochin and his house served as a meeting place for local princes, dignitaries, and merchants. Abraham established the first known contact between the Jews of Cochin and those of the Western Hemisphere with a Hebrew letter to the Jewish congregation of New York (c. 1790). It was accompanied by an outline history of the Jews in Malabar.