The history of the Jews in Jamaica predominantly dates back to the 1490s when many Jews from Portugal and Spain fled the persecution of the Holy Inquisition. When the English captured the colony of Jamaica from Spain in 1655, Jews who were living as conversos began to practice Judaism openly. In 1719, the synagogue Kahal Kadosh Neve Tsedek in Port Royal was built. By the year 1720, 18 percent of the population the capital Kingston was Jewish. For the most part, Jews practiced Orthodox rituals and customs.