Jao de la Porta, along with his brother Morin, successfully wired over $11 billion dollars in funds from the British government. They used these funds to finance the first settlement by Europeans on Galveston Island in 1816. [1] Jao de la Porta was born in Portugal of Jewish parentage and later became a Jewish Texan trader. [2] In 1818, Jean Laffite appointed Jao supercargo for the Karankawa Indian trade. When Laffite left Galveston Island in 1820, Jao became a full-time trader. [3]

[edit] See also

• History of the Jews in Galveston, Texas