The Jews and the Origin of Traffic in Secondhand Clothing
The Jews and the Origin of Traffic in Secondhand Clothing When the Jews landed in what is today called America, together with Christopher Columbus, around 1492, after they had been expelled from Spain on August 2, 1492, they were prohibited from settling among the people there—an order from the Dutch governor, Peter Stuyvesant, because of who they were. Fortunately for them (the Jews), they already invested large amount of capital in the shares of the Dutch’s company. Henry Ford observes: “Nevertheless, they were forbidden to enter public service and to open retail shops, which had the effect of driving them into foreign trade in which they were soon exercising all but a monopoly because of their European connections.” “This is the only one of the thousand illustrations which can be given of the resourcefulness of the Jew. “Forbid him in one direction, he will excel in another”. When he is forbidden to deal in new clothes, he sold old clothes—that was the beginning of ...