March 31 1684 – 16 Nisan 5444
In an unwitting acknowledgement of Jews’ importance to commodities trading, Commander Beekman, Dutch governor of Essequibo and Pomeroon wrote to his superiors in Amsterdam to explain the sudden drop off in vanilla production they were experiencing:
The Jew Salomon de la Roche having died some 8 to 9 months ago, the trade in vanilla has come to an end, since no one here knows how to prepare it, so as to develop proper aroma and keep it from spoiling. I have not heard of any this whole year. Little is found here. Most of it is found in Pomeroon, whither this Jew frequently traveled, and he sometimes used to make me a present of a little. In navigating along the river, I have sometimes seen some on the trees and picked with my own hands, and it was prepared by the Jew….I shall do my best to obtain for the company as much as shall be feasible, but I am afraid it will spoil, since I do not know how to prepare it.